The subject of this thesis focuses on the early development of Volunteers in Portland Schools. Commonly referred to as VIPS, this program was designed to coordinate and optimize the use of volunteers throughout the school district. VIPS is jointly sponsored by the Portland Public Schools and the Portland Council, P.T.A . and is funded by the Portland Public Schools. The VIPS concept was conceived by the author of this thesis in August 1968. A proposal for a cooperative school volunteer progrcnn was written in the fall of that year with the endorsement of the School Board and the assistance of school district personnel. This proposal was approved and adopted by the Board February 1969 and the author was directed to coordinate a VIPS pilot project in the Cleveland High School area from February until June 1969. In June the School Board expanded the program citywide and hired a part-time director. The author continued in the role of section coordinator for the Cleveland High School area during the school year 1969-1970. T'he discussion of the VIPS program in this thesis is essentially historical and is based on the direct experiences of the author.