Within three months of instituting the pledge, Walker found himself sitting in the White House, being asked how this document could be used to improve education across the nation. One characteristic of the pledge that makes it appealing to educators and parents alike is the specific measuring of the number of hours raised. We can quantitatively track just how much involvement our pledge creates, says Walker. It s a measurable way to determine exactly how parental involvement affects the education process. According to Roger Warner, registered nurse and parent of two young daughters, the flexibility of the volunteering is a plus.
Monthly meetings are so restrictive.
And when I saw Kevin on the Today show, his ideas were so close to mine that I looked up Project Appleseed s Web site, he says. My goal with the pledge was to try to ensure that my daughter get the best possible education without having to find a private school, Warner recalls. Private schools may have additional resources, but parent involvement is still essential. Project Appleseed could be the template for the way parents become active in their children s education. Warner s expectations for the pledge in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin, school system sound simple enough, but the way to education reform has never been easy.