If you would like to develop and present an Engineers Week program to a local school, perhaps your child's school, determine whether or not the school has local business partners, including your company, that might be making National Engineers Week visits. You should also check with your employer's community or educational affairs office for advice and touch base with any local National Engineers Week Committee that might be planning local outreach programs. If an organization already plans to work with your selected school, offer to participate. If you're on your own, contact your child's math or science teacher. Read below for tips on contacting the school and for developing your presentation.

If you are interested in reaching more than one classroom and one school, and involving a number of local sponsors, organize a Discover"E" committee to plan your program.

Build partnerships with local businesses, universities, and engineering societies to help foster community spirit and increase your leverage. Many successful Discover"E" committees enlist the advice of local educators.

Assemble an "All-Star" team of CEOs, university presidents, high-level government officials, and other prominent engineers to recruit volunteers and visit with students in or out of the classroom.

Make a list of schools to be contacted. If the list is long, divide it among several committee members/organizations. A coordinated approach is very important. Make sure there is only one group contacting any school.

Before contacting schools, be sure you will be able to commit enough volunteers to meet demand. Keep in mind that one engineer is probably not enough to cover one school. A teacher may want him/her to visit with every earth sciences class, for instance, requiring a full day of one volunteer's time for just one teacher.

How will you recruit volunteers? Ask engineers to visit their own children's schools. Contact the local chamber of commerce and engineering societies to ask for help.

Approach local universities to involve faculty and engineering students. Each organization can assign a coordinator responsible for recruiting a certain number of volunteers. Try to involve engineers who reflect the diversity of your community.

Learn about the school(s) you plan to approach. Are students there likely to be on the science and mathematics fast track? Is there a large minority population? For tips on how to get started click here.

Next: Contacting Schools