Press Release Source: General Mills

General Mills' Box Tops for Education Builds on $100 Million Cash to America's Schools with Parental Involvement In Education -PIE- Grant Program

Ten schools to receive (PIE(SM)) Grants to establish or enhance a school program that increases parental involvement in education in an innovative and creative way

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MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2005-- General Mills' Box Tops for Education(TM) program today announced the recipients of its signature Parental Involvement in Education (PIE(SM)) Grant program. Box Tops is awarding the grants in time for schools to plan for how to engage parents in their children's education next year. With more than 17 states having parental involvement in education policies, Box Tops understands this issue is one that is of increasing importance to Americans.

The PIE Grant program is a component of General Mills' Box Tops for Education program, whose mission is to provide schools across the country with easy, every day ways to earn cash for a K-8 school of their choice. Since 1996, Box Tops for Education has provided more than $100 million in cash to schools. The PIE Grants are one additional way, Box Tops exhibits its commitment to ensuring that all children have access to a quality education.

"Box Tops for Education remains committed to providing America's schools with funds needed to support school improvements. Through its support of the PIE Grant program, General Mills encourages parents and teachers to work together in a positive manner to enhance family participation in students' education and overall well-being," said Jeff Peterson, Director, Box Tops for Education, General Mills.

"Every parent wants their child to have a better quality of life than they themselves had. Education is the key to success and parents are educators' greatest allies," said Joseph Dulin, President, National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID). "We applaud General Mills for helping to reduce the achievement gap by distributing their signature PIE Grants, which will help increase parental involvement and subsequently improve the likelihood of a child's academic as well as future success."

General Mills knows that parental involvement in education is an important and timely issue affecting American families today. Research about parental involvement in education shows that:

Students with parents involved in their schooling are more likely to attend school regularly while earning higher grades and test scores.(1)
Because of positive involvement of parents and teachers, schools where teachers reported high levels of outreach to parents had test scores that grew at a rate of 40% higher than in schools that reported low levels of outreach to parents.(2)
In a survey, 90% of new teachers agreed that involving parents in their children's education is a priority at their school, but only 25% described their experience working with parents as "very satisfying." When asked to choose the biggest challenge they face, 31% of them cited involving parents and communicating with them as their top choice. 73% of new teachers said too many parents treat schools and teachers as adversaries.(3)
As evidence of the importance of parental involvement in student achievement mounts, states have enacted legislation designed to increase parental involvement in the education process. Nearly all states have some form of parental involvement laws.(4)

The ten Box Tops 2005 PIE Grant-winning schools were selected based on the applicant's ability to outline an established need for a creative and innovative parental involvement program in the school. Following are the 2005 PIE Grant Winners and a summary of their programs:

California (Los Angeles) - Community Magnet School - Caring Adults
Teaching Children How (CATCH) - Parent volunteers tutor K-5 children
performing below their grade level in language, arts and mathematics.

Florida (Gainesville) - Howard Bishop Middle School - Teen Champions
Club - A student club that meets regularly for field trips, special
lunches and activities and engages parents for monthly dinners and
daily home activities.

Florida (Port Charlotte) - Meadow Park Elementary School - Family Math
Nights - Four themed nights for parents and children to come together
to learn math in fun and creative ways.

Illinois (Palatine) - Lake Louise Elementary - Parents Partner to
Unify Lake Louise (P.U.L.L.) - A multi-faceted program designed to
guide English speaking and non-English speaking families through
absenteeism, tardiness, homework difficulties, school functions and
PTA involvement.

New York (Springville) - Preschool Learning Center, League for the
Handicapped, Inc. - Parent Support Group for parents of children with
autism - Parents meet ten times per year to discuss similar problems
and hear from experts on how to best help their children.

New York (Brooklyn) - P.S. 132K - The Conselyea School - Community
Cares - Once a month, parents, guardians, faculty and community
members are invited into the school to share their talent, interest or
area of expertise with the students.

Oregon (Ione) - Ione Community School - High Flyers - Parent
volunteers work in fun and creative ways with K-5 children on math and
reading.

South Carolina (Kershaw) - Eastside Academy - Step to the Future -
Workshops with guest speakers for parents on how to better relate to
their children and joint field trips for children and parents.
Children also receive technology-based training to learn life skills.

Texas (Richardson) - Aldridge Elementary - Everyday Language Made
Simple (ELMS) - English speaking parents volunteer to teach
non-English speaking parents and their children language skills.

Washington (Seattle) - Brighton Elementary School - Parent Cultural
Breakfasts - Each of the six major minority groups of the school will
host one breakfast per year for children, parents and staff to
showcase their cultural background.

About Box Tops for Education

The Box Tops for Education program began in 1996, as more and more schools struggled to make ends meet. Each year, all enrolled schools receive a complete program kit (written in English and Spanish) to help them build their own comprehensive fundraising campaign. Most schools designate a program coordinator to develop ways to encourage students, parents, school staff and community members to clip Box Tops from participating products and bring them to school.

After the collected Box Tops are sent in to General Mills, the school receives a check, equivalent to 10 cents for every Box Top redeemed. Schools can earn up to $60,000 per year, up to $20,000 respectively from the Clip, Shop and Charge program components, to spend on anything they choose. Thousands of schools have used the money from Box Tops for Education to purchase items such as computers and computer software, library books, art supplies, and playground equipment.

Box Tops for Education is open to any accredited public, private, or parochial schools for grades K-8 in the United States that have a 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(1) tax-exempt designation and to any United States military schools, for grades K-8, worldwide. The program is also available to accredited home school associations, K-8, in the United States that ha e a 501 (c)(3) or 509 (a)(1) tax-exempt designation and have 15 or more students.

Participating products include General Mills cereals, some Betty Crocker products and Betty Crocker fruit snacks, Yoplait Yogurt Multi-Packs, Yoplait Go-Gurt, some General Mills snack products, and General Mills food service products.

About Box Tops Parental Involvement In Education (PIE(SM)) Grant Program

The Box Tops Parental Involvement in Education Grant Program is an extension of General Mills highly successful Box Tops for Education loyalty program. The program further encourages parents' involvement in their child's educational endeavors.

Ten (10) $2,000 grants were distributed to schools- across the country. Grant applicants communicated how they would use a $2,000 grant in their school to establish a program or enhance an existing program that encourages parental involvement in an innovative and creative way.

The grassroots program underscores Box Tops' commitment to helping parents develop unique and simple ways to be involved in their child's education. The Parental Involvement in Education Grant program is not a retroactive program that recognizes past examples of parental involvement in education, but instead encourages new and innovative ways to increase parent's participation in schools.

About NAAPID

NAAPID is a national call to action to get parents, particularly those of children of African American descent, more involved in their children's educational lives. It is expected that this national observation will open up dialogue among teachers, parents, and students, which will lead to a more conducive learning environment for African - American students from kindergarten through college.

NAAPID's call to action is designed to address the serious achievement gap facing African American students, who continue to lag behind other ethnic and minority groups. With the many failures of African- American students in our schools, colleges and universities, something must be done to retain and support them through to successful graduation. Research also shows that the more that parents are involved in the educational lives of their children, the greater their academic success. Therefore, NAAPID is making a concerted effort to get more parents involved in this win/win endeavor that will only be of benefit to all stake holders. NAAPID is the second Monday in February annually throughout the nation -- during Black History Month. The NAAPID call to action will take place in local school districts, at neighborhood schools, and at colleges and universities throughout the nation.

(1),(2) NCES The Condition of Education 2004

(3) Source: The 2004 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, TIME, February 21, 2005

(4) Education Commission of the States

17 states direct all districts, boards of education or schools to implement parental involvement policies: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia

17 states have grant or award programs to encourage or recognize schools or districts operating programs involving parents in their child's education: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Sough Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia (Mississippi operates an award program that recognizes parents who become involved in school improvement efforts.)

15 states encourage, urge, expect or direct employers to enable parents to attend school activities such as parent/teacher conferences: Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia

Contact:
Cone
Jessica Rothchild, 617-939-8362

Source: General Mills

Box Tops For Education

National African American Parent Involvement Day

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