The program typically attracts 75 to 100 parents. For the past two years, a district volunteer coordinator has directed parent volunteer activities. To support individual school volunteer efforts, the district hosts an evening program for parents at the beginning of each year to inform them of volunteer activities available at each school. This year, the district volunteer coordinator plans to bring all of the coordinators together to compile a districtwide volunteer manual. Finally, the coordinator organizes an annual teacher workshop entitled Building Effective Relationships with Volunteers to provide participants with ideas and skills for viewing parents as a resource.
Parents participate in decision-making at the district level and the individual school level.
The district's special projects director encourages parents to help with school projects, seek funding, and offer their opinions on district activities. For example, parents at Unity Elementary worked with the special projects director and other school staff to rewrite and revamp report cards for students in grades 4-6. The district invited parents from each school to participate in the year-long effort to write the plan for implementing Title I and other federal programs, which will include parents' feedback on developing new forms for reporting students' academic progress. This grant supports the experiential learning activities and the related parental involvement programs at Camp Kieve. A grant from the L.L. Bean Company through the Maine Development Foundation also contributes to these programs.