In this book, the Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools presents an overview of volunteer activity in U.S. public schools. After an introduction in the first chapter, the second chapter provides a brief history of the organized volunteer movement. A mainly statistical profile of the use of volunteers comprises the third chapter. The fourth chapter provides an analysis of related literature on research and evaluation. In the fifth chapter, site visits to exemplary volunteer programs are analyzed. The chapter includes a description of the criteria by which the sites were chosen, the protocols followed, discussion of the programs observed, and a summary of findings. Factors believed to foster or inhibit successful programs are reviewed in the sixth chapter. This chapter includes a brief discussion of findings that might be helpful to Congress as it considers legislation on a national voluntary youth service program. Recommendations are included at the end of chapters when appropriate. The report concludes with a call to action that presents conclusions and concerns, highlights elements of broad national interest, and proposes actions that the President, the Secretary of Education, and the Congress could take to support the use of volunteers in schools. Appendices provide data from the 1987-1988 National Center for Educational Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey, an annotated bibliography with 81 citations, and biographical sketches of committee members and staff. (RH)