Children make up only 20 percent of our population, but are 100 percent of our future. And to ensure a positive future, it's important to realize it takes more people involved in education than just parents and teachers alone-it takes the whole community. Yes, parents are ultimately responsible for raising their children, and schools are responsible for teaching them. But in these busy times, schools and parents often can't do the job alone. They need the help and support of everyone-neighbors, community organizations and local business, such as electric cooperatives.

HOW COMMUNITIES ARE SUPPORTING EDUCATION

Changes in family roles today have left many youths with limited amounts of adult contact. In many families, both parents work full-time jobs to make a living. To help fill in this vacancy, schools and communities are reaching out to local children.

Mentor programs are a great way schools are involving their local communities in education. In mentor programs, interested persons, such as employees from local businesses, college students or senior citizens offer emotional and educational support, guidance and specific assistance to young people. Carlinville Middle School has developed a mentoring program called LINK. "It's a mentoring program we began in 1990," says Richard Nicholson, Carlinville Middle School principal. "The program pairs responsible adults with middle school children grades sixth through eighth who would greatly benefit from extra adult attention," he says. The program was established to try to give kids some consistency in their lives, and someone they could count on. "You won't
 

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believe how many adults make promises to kids and never keep their word," says Nicholson. "This program shows them they can still depend on adults."

LINK coordinator Connie Bequette says last year 28 mentors volunteered for the program. "And the program continues to grow because more people know about it now," she says. Bequette says this program is much like the Big Brother Big Sister program, in that the kids spend quality time with their mentors, becoming friends and doing all sorts of activities together. "The mentors have done a wide variety of activities with their kids. They have lunch at least once a week, they go shopping, they bake, make crafts, hunt, build tree houses and anything else they want to do together."

Jean Laverty, LINK mentor says, "Each child I've mentored has given me such a unique experience.

MENTOR PROGRAM ARE A GREAT WAY SCHOOLS ARE INVOLVING THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN EDUCATION.

I have a very positive outlook about this program." She says it always feels good when one of the mentored kids does well. "There is a girl who is a senior right now who has been in the mentor program since the sixth grade and she will be the first in her family to graduate from high school...that's the ultimate reward," Laverty says.

If you'd like more information on LINK, or are interested in starting a similar program in your school, contact Connie Bequette or Richard Nicholson at (217) 854-3106. "We'd be happy to send anyone information, or answer any questions," says Nicholson.

Retired citizens also make great educational volunteers and mentors because they have a lot of experience and expertise to offer children. Often they have a lot of time to give, and positive feedback to lend about their mentoring experiences. After retirement, Evelyn Smith of Vandalia was looking for something to fill the emptiness in her day. "I thought spending time with kids would make me feel less retired, and more active," she says. Evelyn spends two afternoons a week at two daycare centers in her community reading to the three and four-year-olds. "The children are so full of love, and they are so excited to see me that I really look forward to the time I spend with them," she says.

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT EDUCATION

If you belong to a community organization, such as a civic group, a men's or women's association, a service club or a religious group, work together to get involved in education. Give monetary donations, sponsor school events, volunteer as a group to work at different sporting events, or chaperone dances. "There are plenty of volunteer opportunities available within the school system," says Nicholson, who suggests simply calling your local school to see how you can get involved. "Volunteers can be tutors, or teacher aides. They can help in the library, or the office, or they can help with after school activities," says Bequette.

In addition, communities can offer after-school programs to help keep kids busy. They can join together to build a summer recreational program, or they can encourage the development of business-school partnerships to create school-to-work programs. There are an abundance of opportunities available for volunteers willing to give a hand.

There are innumerable resources available on the Internet for those wishing to learn more about getting involved in education. A group called Businesses in the Community works with companies helping them work in partnership with schools. On their Web site, www.bitc-education.org.uk/ get_involved.htm, you can find ways that your local business can help out.

The Family Involvement Partnership for Learning is an organization of more than 100 family, educational businesses, community and religious organizations nationwide who have designed a program to give parents information on what steps to take to improve education. You can contact them at (800) USA-LEARN or visit their Web site at www.ed.gov/Family/families.html.

Another Web site with a lot of valuable information is http:// npin.org/library/prel998/n00359/ n00359.html. This site is full of great ideas on how you can get more involved in education, and it also has a helpful list of educational resources such as The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education and The National Committee for Citizens in Education. "Finding ways to get involved is very important," says Nicholson. "We need to remember that the kids who make up our schools will one day become community members. And if we do our part to support education, the future of our communities will thrive," he says.

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HOW LOCAL CO-OPS SUPPORT EDUCATION

Illinois electric cooperatives have a long history of stepping up to get involved in education. One of the many ways electric cooperatives differ from investor-owned utilities is their genuine care for their local schools and communities. As local, member-owned businesses, co-ops practice the seventh principle of cooperation - Concern for Community.

The Illinois Electric Cooperatives (IEC) Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) in 1994 to provide financial assistance to deserving students in the electric cooperative family. Four $1,000 scholarships are awarded each year to selected students.

Another educational cooperative program is the "Youth to Washington" tour. This program offers students the opportunity to compete for a tour of Washington D.C. "It's an instructive program that helps students to better understand the value of electric cooperatves and to become more familiar with the historical and political environment of the nation's capital," says Linda Comstock, coordinator of youth programs at the AIEC. To find out more information about the IEC Memorial Scholarship Fund or the "Youth to Washington" tour, contact your local electric cooperative.

Electric cooperatives believe in promoting electrical safety to children, and many have gone to extra lengths to get the message out. Western Illinois Electric Coop. in Carthage sponsors an all-day safety fair for the fifth graders in their service territory each year. And cooperatives, such as Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association in Steeleville, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative in Paxton, Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Mount Vernon, Southwestern Electric Cooperative (SWECI) in Greenville, Corn Belt Energy Cooperative (CBEC) in Bloomington and Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative

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(RECC) in Auburn put together traveling electrical safety demonstrations they use to teach safety lessons to middle school students.

Co-ops that don't have an electrical safety program of their own often hire Kyle Finley, a former lineman for Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative in Paxton who believed so strongly in educating children about the dangers of electricity that he founded his own traveling electrical safety demonstration called Live Line Demo, Inc.

Cooperatives hire Finley to present his professional safety demonstration for their local schools because the kids learn a lot from Finley, and he teaches in a way that is very entertaining. "Finley really keeps the kids' attention with his display by using loud noises and flashes," says Becky Dickenson, office manager of Western Illinois Electric Coop. "He even cooks a hot dog on the power line to illustrate the power of electricity," she says.

"I do this demonstration because I support educating families about electrical safety," says Finley. "Anytime there is a fatality, it comes back to haunt us.....we just want to take every step to help prevent that from happening." If you are interested in having Kyle Finley come to your school, call him at (217) 759-7916 or contact your local electric cooperative.

SWECI began selling used and outdated utility materials and used the profit to further invest in their schools. "To date, SWECI has invested in 120 scholarships amounting to $60,000," says Sandy Nevinger, director of member services and public relations at SWECI. In addition, their directors approved the C.LA.S.S. A.C.T. Program (Cooperative Lending Area Schools Support to Accelerate Connectivity of Technology). "This program was developed to assist eligible school districts to meet local matching funds in order to receive the Illinois State Board of Education Technology Grant,"

Nevinger says. SWECI has contributed $49,400 to 13 area school districts. "In addition, the C.LA.S.S. A.C.T. Program motivated other surrounding utilities and businesses to donate goods, services and financial contributions of more than $50,000 in value," Nevinger says.

"ITS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE WE ARE NOT A PART FROM THE COMMUNITY, WE ARE THE COMMUNITY, AND TOGETHER CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE" NICHOLSON SAYS.

"SWECI's mission is to be a partner for progress in the rural communities we serve. Supporting education is one way this organization can fulfill that mission," says Ann Schwarm, SWECI director and educational services director for the Bond-Fayette-Effingham regional office of education.

Some co-ops help local schools by making donations, such as computers, Internet service, video-audio equipment, books, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, or by erecting poles and lights for playgrounds and baseball fields, and by donating man-power or electrical knowledge to various school projects. McDonough Power Cooperative in Macomb donated an "Uplink Satellite System" to five area high schools. "This allowed them to connect to Western Illinois University and take classes or do research," says Lynn Cavett, marketing and member services representative at McDonough Power. And Norris Electric Cooperative in Newton donated more than 32 telephones and a control unit to their local school to help improve the school's interoffice and emergency communication resources.

CBEC also participates in a reading program through their local newspaper, The Pantagraph. The co-op donated money that will go to buy newspaper subscriptions for local schools to teach the children about the news and current events.

Making an effort to support education is very important to our future. Today's children are tomorrow's leaders. Taking small steps to get involved is crucial to the growth of our economy. The events of September 11 opened our eyes to how vulnerable we are. Communities all across America pulled together to help. But why wait for another tragic event to happen when we can continue the efforts now to ensure a bright future and a strong local economy. It's in times like these when we are reminded of the good that comes from working together for our children, our community and our nation. "It's important to realize we are not a part from the community, we are the community, and together we can make a difference," Nicholson says.

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