Parent Volunteer Resources
While parent or guardian volunteering is not mandatory, research indicates a strong relationship between parent involvement and academic achievement. Therefore, we encourage each family to volunteer 40 hours per school year.
Parent Volunteer Process
At Valley Life Charter School, we believe it takes a village to raise a child. Our students and staff truly value the time, talents, and support of our parent volunteers!
To ensure the safety of our students and compliance with updated state requirements, all volunteers must complete the volunteer approval process each school year before volunteering in classrooms, chaperoning field trips, or participating in other school activities.
Please note: Due to updated volunteer policies, Volunteer Training is now required annually, even if you have volunteered in previous years. All volunteers must be fully approved and cleared at least two weeks prior to their first volunteer opportunity. Please plan accordingly to allow enough time for all required steps to be completed.
Volunteer Approval Process
Watch the Volunteer Training presentation and submit the verification of completion.
You will receive a confirmation email containing links to the Mandated Reporter Training, Volunteer Application, and Fingerprint Form (if applicable).
Complete the Mandated Reporter Training. This training is required for all parent volunteers and must be completed before volunteering in any capacity.
Submit the Volunteer Application, including:
Mandated Reporter Training certificate
Fingerprint form (if required)
Any other requested documentation
You will be notified once you have been approved and are cleared to volunteer.
Fingerprint Information
Fingerprint clearance through Valley Life Charter School is only required one time. If you have previously completed fingerprinting through Valley Life Charter School, you do not need to be fingerprinted again. New volunteers who have not yet completed fingerprinting through Valley Life Charter School will receive instructions as part of the volunteer approval process.
We encourage families to complete the volunteer process as early as possible so you are ready to participate in classroom activities and field trips throughout the school year.
To help students and teachers establish strong classroom routines and relationships, we ask that parents refrain from volunteering in classrooms during the first three weeks of school. All classroom volunteer opportunities must be arranged with the classroom teacher in advance, allowing teachers adequate time to prepare meaningful volunteer activities.
Thank you for partnering with us to support our students and school community. We are grateful for your willingness to serve and look forward to having you volunteer at Valley Life Charter School!
Parent Lighthouse Meetings
Parent Lighthouse meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 5:45 pm directly following the Parent Volunteer/Engagement Training. Childcare TBD.
The Parent Lighthouse is in charge of many exciting school events such as Tears & Cheers, Fall Carnival, Pastries with Pals, Tricky Tray, Teacher Appreciation Week and the Scholastic Book Fair, just to name a few.
If you're interested in joining the Parent Lighthouse community, contact President, Lacey Hall at Parentgroup@vlcs.org
Engaging Parents
Our goal for volunteers is to engage our parents and community. This helps to enrich the lives of the students. Parent engagement has been documented to improve the child’s well-being, literacy, and math skills (Gross et al., 2020).
“The USDE defines it as the participation of parents and educators in “regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities” (United States Department of Education 2015). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines parent engagement as parents and schools working together to support and improve students’ learning, development, and health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012). The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement defines parent engagement as a shared responsibility to actively support children’s learning and development (National Association for Family (n.d.)).”
Ways VLCS parents can be involved: Volunteering in the classroom, assisting the teacher with material preparation, reading to students in the classroom, volunteering in the office, serving on the Parent Lighthouse team, serving in the lunchroom, chaperoning field trips, attending school activities and events, creating a quiet place for your child to read at home, or do homework, attending student-led conferences, teacher meetings, sports events, and assemblies. We also have specific needs such as fundraising, working at the carnival, working at Tricky Tray, assisting with performances, and attending the parent group meetings. As a leadership/performing arts school, when you take your children to a live performance, musical, or other culturally enriching activity, we also consider this as being engaged in their education.
When you come on campus, you must sign in through Raptor. If you come for an IEP meeting or any other reason, you are engaging in your child’s education.
If you are engaging in your child’s education, and are not on campus, you can log your volunteer hours through Parent Square. You can also log materials purchased towards their education, time spent in enriching educational activities, or donations to the school through Parent Square.
References:
Gross, D., Bettencourt, A. F., Taylor, K., Francis, L., Bower, K., & Singleton, D. L. (2020). What is parent engagement in early learning? Depends who you ask. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(3), 747-760.