The initial meetings of the planning team should be used to define the needs of the school. Conducting a needs assessment survey is usually the first order of business. There must be substantial and widespread interest in and support for a safe campus.

At many schools where Parents on Campus has been implemented, the planning team has conducted a pilot program prior to full implementation. After the needs assessment has been conducted and reviewed and program plans have been established, a pilot program can serve as a "dress rehearsal," allowing the planning team to identify strengths and carefully examine areas needing change. Allow enough time (usually 4 to 6 weeks) to get a clear idea of what will be needed to run an effective program on an on-going basis. Maintain a daily log of the pilot program to document what seems to be working and what doesn't. Address problems immediately. Running a pilot program can also be useful to:

  • Determine the number of parent volunteers needed on campus daily.
  • Identify "critical times" when additional adult supervision is needed on campus.
  • Determine the length of a "shift." The ideal time is at least one hour. This is just long enough for parents to feel they are a part of the school.
  • Create training/orientation guidelines for the parent volunteers.
  • Secure an initial pool of parent volunteers for full implementation of program.

Illustration Once the planning phase is complete, a steering committee is formed to help implement the permanent program. Very often the planning team becomes the steering committee and implementation team. From this group leaders will emerge to take on the roles for program implementation. In some cases the program may have a budget that supports one or more coordinator positions. In any case, program implementation will require designating people to perform tasks such as coordinating the program, managing fund-raising, handling public relations and recruiting and scheduling volunteers. Specific tasks related to these roles are listed in the Toolkit section of this guide.