- To increase the educational attainment of
students;
- To provide enrichment experiences beyond those
that the school can provide;
- To provide more effective utilization of teacher
time and skills;
- To give more individual attention to students who
need it; and
- To promote greater community involvement.
The "Partner in the Advancement of Learning in
Schools" (PALS) is a program of the district and is at all times
guided by the principles and policies of the district. The Assistant
Superintendent for State and Federal Programs has responsibility for
the administration of this program and the School Volunteer Leader has
responsibility for the day to day operations of this program.
The "Comer Model" is a program of the district that
encourages community and staff involvement in promoting learning
opportunities for students. The program is administered by the
Director of School Development who shall work with the School
Volunteer Leader to place volunteers in schools.
General principles:
- Volunteers are assigned to a school only upon the
request of the teacher or principal;
- Volunteers serve only in an auxiliary capacity
under the direction and supervision of certified school personnel;
- A volunteer is not a substitute for a member of
the school staff, but offers supplemental and supportive services;
- A volunteer shall never have access to
confidential files and records;
- Wherever possible, volunteers shall be assigned
to the particular school where they wish to serve;
- The relationship between volunteers and the
school staff should be one of mutual respect and confidence; and
- Volunteers are bound by the policies, rules/
regulations and procedures of the district.
All school volunteers work under the direction of
the school staff and provide supportive services to them. Volunteers
are not teachers; they assist teachers and will only be assigned to
those staff members who request them. The volunteers shall never
replace the paid school staff, nor will their presence mean that fewer
paid staff members will be needed.
The "Comer Model" encourages the building of a
volunteer network for schools. First year school volunteers under the
Comer program shall be paid a stipend, as long as funds are available,
while working in school buildings. At the completion of their first
year in the program, they shall graduate to full volunteer status and
not receive enumeration for their services. The Director of School
Development is responsible for keeping records of these volunteers.
General Guidelines:
Each school shall initiate and direct its volunteer
program with the assistance and cooperation of the School Volunteer
Leader. The School Volunteer Leader and the Director of School
Development shall work closely with the principal and staff in the
respective schools to recruit, train, and place volunteers.
Services which volunteers may offer on a regularly
scheduled basis shall include: compiling the school newsletter;
supervising the playground or lunchroom; working on a one-to- one or
small-group basis in the classroom; assisting with the clerical load
of the school; and assisting with the athletic program, etc.
The following
instructional tasks are strictly certified staff responsibilities and
shall not be performed by volunteers:
- Diagnosing student needs;
- Prescribing instructional materials;
- Counseling with students;
- Selecting appropriate materials;
- Evaluating student programs and achievement; and
- Initiating or determining the why, the how, the
where, and the when of any
instruction. The volunteer can be of considerable
assistance in accomplishing some tasks; however, it is primarily the
teacher's sole duty to initiate and direct such tasks.
The Role of the
Principal:
It is the principal's
responsibility:
- To determine the scope and nature of the
volunteer program in the building;
- To acquaint the staff with the program (goals,
services available, ways to use services effectively, etc.) with the
help of the School Volunteer Leader and Director of School
Development;
- To provide orientation if necessary in the
acceptance of volunteers by teachers, parents, and students;
- To provide orientation training, placement, and
evaluation within the building with the assistance of the School
Volunteer Leader and Director of School Development;
- To provide orientation of school policies and
procedures to the volunteers;
- To provide access to the faculty lounge and
cafeteria;
- To provide space within the building for
volunteer meetings, bulletin boards, assignment box, materials,
etc.;
- To provide a sign-in, sign-out sheet for all
volunteers; and
- To take responsibility for disseminating
information to the volunteer, School Volunteer Leader, Director of
School Development, and professional staff.
The role of the
teacher:
A teacher should take
part in the program only because the teacher has a desire to use the
volunteer in an effective way.
The teacher shall:
- Make requests for volunteer services to the
principal;
- Determine the specific duties a volunteer can
perform in the particular classroom/department;
- Write a brief job description for each volunteer
assignment and give specific instructions when assigning tasks to a
volunteer;
- Help train and use volunteers in any way that
will be helpful to students;
- Plan ahead to provide meaningful activities for
volunteers;
- Help volunteers feel comfortable among the staff
and students;
- Meet with volunteers to mutually assess the
effectiveness of their services; and
- Have the option to request that the principal
reassign any volunteer.
