Classroom Coaching Kicks-Off Recruiting Season with Head Coach Mack Brown

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 26, 2009 --

AUSTIN—Austin Partners in Education (APIE) kicked off a fall volunteer recruitment drive for its flagship Classroom Coaches program with a series of public service announcements featuring Head Coach Mack Brown. Television, radio and billboard advertisements featuring Coach Brown will encourage Austinites to spend 1 hour a week volunteering as Classroom Coaches in Austin public schools. State agencies, including the Comptroller, Attorney General, Health and Human Services, and the Teachers Retirement System have been recruited by Karen Hughes, Chair of the ‘41st Hour’ volunteer campaign.
“Classroom Coaches make a remarkable difference in the lives of Austin students,” said Kathrin Brewer, APIE Executive Director. “We are honored to have state agencies join the City and friends to volunteer their time and talents as Classroom Coaches each year. This year, we are bringing to the program to a new level, recruiting more Classroom Coaches than ever before so we can reach over 2500 Austin students.”

Advertisements will be featured on 10 Capital Metro buses, sponsored by the 3M Corporation, 2 RunTex billboards, Univision, Ahora Si, and BMP. The Statesman, Ahora Si, KEYE, and News 8 are running features on the program.
The APIE Classroom Coaches spend 1 hour a week, working with a small group of 3 or 4 students under the supervision of a teacher in a collaborative learning approach. Volunteers can identify a school, day, and time that works best for their schedules. Classroom Coaches measurably improve student achievement at critical points: reading by 3rd, math skills in 8th and college readiness preparation in 12th.

Gary Farmer, Chair of the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Opportunity Austin campaign, states, “The APIE Classroom Coaching program is a key component of our education initiative. We’re proud to have helped in substantially increasing the number of college-ready graduates and look forward to engaging the business community as we take this to scale.”
“I was attracted to APIE’s innovative, results-driven model,” said Karen Hughes, Global Vice Chair of Burson Marsteller and an APIE Classroom Coach. “I signed up as a volunteer, and then wanted to help build a recruitment campaign that would engage Austin’s civic-minded population. Coach Brown is well known, widely respected and is a champion for kids and education. We’re honored to have Coach Brown’s support in recruiting Classroom Coaches for Austin’s public schools.”
About APIE

APIE was created as an independent 501(c)(3) organization through a partnership between Austin ISD and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. APIE provides innovative, scalable, and results-driven programs to schools across Austin. In the flagship Classroom CoachingTM programs, volunteers encourage student engagement and support teachers on key academic objectives during the school day. Programs focus on Title I schools and students from under-resourced communities. Find out more, visit www.ClassroomCoaching.org.

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