Parent Volunteerism in the School Community
Appropriate and Inappropriate Examples of Volunteering
Apr 4, 2009
Direct parent involvement within the school community through regular volunteering represents the highest level of support, something every teacher and administrator is proud to encourage. With budget cuts and added responsibilities given to staff members, parental volunteerism can certainly plug many holes.
Parent volunteerism, however, also creates an entirely new set of potential problems that involve confidentiality and privacy issues as well as the possibility of unwelcome intrusions in school decision making, something that should be strictly reserved to educational professionals.
The Parent Volunteer Agenda
Although many parent volunteers that devote several hours to school service during the week are motivated by genuine feelings of service and possess great personal integrity, some parents see school volunteerism as a way to clandestinely help their children that may be students at the school. This can be as mild as bringing a bag of hamburgers and fries for lunch or as overt as walking into a classroom unannounced to discuss a problem with the teacher.
In other cases, parent volunteers may be asked to help with mass mailings. The danger here is that if such mailings contain sensitive material such as report cards or progress reports, parents may compare their own child’s grades with those of other students. Invariably, this feeds the parent community gossip channels.
How parents “pull” for their children is best seen on the athletic fields where moms and dads have no reticence in demanding playing time for their children or confronting coaches, even threateningly. Such parents, when volunteering in other school functions, carry their agendas to other areas of the school community, frequently hindering rather than helping.
Appropriate Parent Volunteerism
It is important for schools to recruit parent volunteers not only to free tasks that may be part of staff responsibility, but to develop an on-going relationship of support. Appropriate use of parent volunteers might include the following:
- Helping to chaperon day field trips (never over-night trips)
- Managing parking lot traffic and security
- Assisting in the library or school Media Center
- Providing Hospitality at staff meetings or on special occasions
- Making copies for teachers (never tests or quizzes)
- Maintaining public area bulletin boards
- Helping with fund raising activities
- Facilitating socials like school dances or the Senior Prom
- Providing guest speakers
- Substitute teaching if academically qualified
Qualifying Parent Volunteers
School systems facilitate background checks on all employees. In some cases, this includes drug tests. Such pre-hire policies should be required of all persons working within a school community, including volunteers. Parents see the value of such precautions and generally support them.
Rewarding Volunteers
Appreciation goes a long way. At the end of the school year, the school community should host a “thank you” event, whether a picnic or a dinner, to express gratitude to all volunteers. Such events can also take place during key times in the school year, like Christmas or at spring break. “Thank you” goes further than any type of compensation.
Developing an Active Pool of Parent Volunteers
Even if their children graduate from the school, regular parent volunteers should be encouraged to continue their efforts into the next school year. Developing a pool of volunteers begins with already existing parent volunteers. Requests for volunteers can be made through home mailings, at PTA and Open House events, and through teachers during parent conferences. Sometimes, asking a "key" regular volunteer to head the school volunteer program will produce widespread response.
Schools should begin by assessing their needs: how many volunteers are needed for the different activities, etc. Some parents may only wish to devote a few hours a week while others may opt to volunteer several days of the week. Keeping an organized pool of volunteers based on continuing needs is as important as maintaining a good substitute pool. Finally, regardless of how harried a day might have been, the phrase “thank you” is an everyday expression.
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