Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

In developing this guide, the authors reviewed many supervision strategies operating at different grade levels. This guide describes in-depth three representative models which capture the effective elements of all the strategies reviewed. The three supervision programs are: 1) Parents on Campus, used at secondary schools in Sacramento; 2) Community on Patrol, operating at a middle school in San Francisco; and 3) Kid Watch, a school/community supervision program in Los Angeles.

What do Parents on Campus, Community on Patrol, and Kid Watch have in common? They are all programs working to keep schools and communities safe for kids. Throughout the state, caring and committed citizens are coming together to help schools provide safe learning environments. This section highlights some promising approaches to school safety that include parents and other caring adults. The descriptions provide readers with information on how the schools and communities have incorporated parent volunteers into their campus supervision programs. The program descriptions are also intended to offer readers ideas and encouragement for establishing such programs in other communities and schools.

The programs featured in the following descriptions were selected from responses to a survey conducted in key geographical locations throughout California.

The presence of parents on school campuses is not unusual, but asking parents to serve in the formalized role of campus supervisor is a relatively new strategy. Consequently broad-based research studies and evaluation results regarding the effectiveness of such programs is limited. The programs featured in this guide are considered promising because program evaluation measures indicate students and parents feel safer and disruptive behavior appears to diminish when there is an increased adult presence at school and on the way to and from school.