THE DEERFIELD COMMUNITY SCHOOL VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK

The Deerfield Community School offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. Some examples of these opportunities include being a room parent, chaperoning on a field trip, helping in the school office, the library or the art room, or helping to organize lunch tickets. Some volunteer opportunities occur on a regularly scheduled basis, and some are only a one-time commitment. In whatever way you can help, you can be sure that the faculty, staff, and administration at DCS will greatly appreciate your help and recognize its value in keeping DCS running smoothly.

It is our hope that this handbook will answer questions you may have regarding the policies and procedures that govern the volunteer program at DCS. If you should have any other questions or concerns regarding the DCS volunteer program, please feel free to contact the volunteer coordinator or the school principal. Either may be reached by calling the school office at
463-7422

As always, thank you for your time and commitment to the staff and students of the Deerfield Community School.

Parking
Signing in and out
Volunteer logbook
Volunteer Acknowledgement of Student Privacy Rights
Name Tag
Training
Confidentiality
Working with or overseeing children
Criminal Records Check
Transporting students

PARKING Top

You may park in front of the school building in the parking area at the flagpole. If there are no spaces available, please park in the large front lot.

SIGNING IN/OUT Top

When you arrive at the school, please go directly to the school office. Please "sign in" in the VOLUNTEER LOGBOOK. If it is your first time volunteering at DCS, you will need to review and sign the "Volunteer Acknowledgment of Student Privacy Rights" Form, and to start a "Volunteer Log Sheet" for yourself. This will be our record for tracking the number of volunteer hours and the type of volunteer activities our volunteers are providing at DCS.

Please then take a Volunteer Tag, and wear it at all times while you are in the school building. The volunteer tags are located next to the Volunteer Logbook.

When you have finished volunteering, please return the Volunteer Tag to the office, sign out, and document your total volunteer time in the Volunteer Logbook.

If you have volunteered your time and talents outside of the school building (i.e. baking, making phone calls, preparing art folders...) please document your activity and your total volunteer time, in the Volunteer Logbook, the next time you visit the school. This will help us accurately track the various volunteer activities at DCS.

TRAINING Top

The volunteer coordinator will provide general training at the first DCS-PTO meeting following the start of the new school. The staff member you will be volunteering with will provide any individual training necessary for your volunteer activity. For example, if you are helping in the classroom, you will be trained, as needed, by that teacher. Any volunteer that starts later in the school year will receive any necessary training on a 1:1 basis. This will be coordinated with the volunteer coordinator.

PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES Top

A) Confidentiality is a great concern while you are in the school. As a volunteer, you may become privy to information about students' personal or educational information, either formally or informally. The law and DCS policy strictly forbids the unauthorized discussion and/or disclosure of any such information. All volunteers must read and sign the "Deerfield School District Volunteer Acknowledgement of Student Privacy Rights" Form. This form is located in the back of this handbook, and in the Volunteer Logbook.

B) All volunteers working with or overseeing children must do so in the presence of a DCS staff member. Volunteers working and/or overseeing children in the presence of a DCS staff member are not required to undergo a criminal records check.

C) A criminal records check is required for all volunteers accompanying students and staff on an overnight trip. The Deerfield Community School will assume the cost of any such record check. Arrangements for these record checks will be made on an as needed basis through the school office staff.

D) Volunteers who transport students to or from school sponsored events, in private vehicles, on behalf of the Deerfield School District, are required to be accompanied by another adult (either staff or volunteer), so that two adults occupy each vehicle. Certification of liability insurance and verification of limits in the amounts of $100,000/$300,000 must be submitted to the staff member coordinating the transportation. This staff member will forward this documentation to the school administration. All motor vehicle laws, including the use of seat belts, must be strictly observed. It is the responsibility of the volunteer to notify the school administration if there are any changes in their insurance policies.