• Please review Vida Charter School's Volunteer Manual linked below.

     

    Vida Charter School Volunteer Manual

     

    How to volunteer?

    The following items must be submitted to the school office or sent to volunteer@vidacharterschool.com before volunteering

    1. Submit Pennsylvania State Background Check Clearance (Act 34 or PATCH). This is available online at https://epatch.state.pa.us/RecordCheckEntry.jsp. When you apply, please mark “Volunteer,” and there will be no charge. The clearance can be printed out and submitted to the office.

    2. Submit Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151 or Public Welfare). This form is available from https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home Check that you are a volunteer. The clearance will be sent to you and you can submit it to the school record.

    3. FBI Federal Criminal History Records (Act 114) Register and schedule an appointment at  https://uenroll.identogo.com/ 1KG6Q9 (code needed when registering) . When you apply, please mark “Volunteer.” Then you will need to be fingerprinted (usually the LIU in New Oxford). After you are fingerprinted, the school will look up the results of the record using your Registration ID. *Volunteers who have lived in Pennsylvania for the past 10 consecutive years or longer may sign an affidavit instead of submitting FBI fingerprinting. The affidavit can be obtained from the school office.

    4. In order to clear a volunteer as not being a registered sex offender, the volunteer’s name will be processed through Pennsylvania State Megan’s Law website.

    5. Submit a Tuberculin (TB) test dated within three months before the start of volunteering. All Volunteers must submit either proof of a negative tuberculin skin test or a statement from a medical provider that the person is free of or considered low-risk for communicable tuberculosis.

    6. Fill out and submit the VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION FORM, VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT, and CONFIDENTIALITY FORM found at the end of this Volunteer Manual. These forms must be returned to the office at Vida Charter School. Please do this at the same time that you return all of your clearance requests. 

    Notices regarding the requirement for background clearances:

    • If you have clearances from another organization (i.e. church, scouting program, etc.) that were obtained within one year, you may submit these clearances to the Front Office. 

    • Volunteers under age 18 are not required to submit background clearances, but must submit the Volunteer Registration form and signed Statement of Confidentiality.

    • Volunteer clearances must be renewed every five years, and must be updated on file before their expiration date in order to continue volunteering.

    • The initial TB test is considered valid and does not have to be resubmitted as long as the volunteer is continuously serving at the school.

    • Should a volunteer cease involvement with the school for a period of one (1) school year, they will be required to repeat the Act 34,151, and 114 clearance checks as well as a TB test.

    • If, under the pertinent laws or regulations, a volunteer’s clearances would preclude them from being hired as an employee, that person may not be a volunteer. 

    • America Reads tutors (through Gettysburg College) are considered as “employees” in that their clearances should not be submitted as “volunteers”; All America Reads tutors including those under age 18 must submit clearances and a TB test

    • School personnel are available to assist interested volunteers with applying for background clearances. The school will offer volunteer workshops to help our community members with the process.

    Policies Concerning Volunteers

     

    1. Vida Charter School administration shall approve volunteers. 

    2. Volunteers shall not be asked to assume the professional responsibilities of the school staff. Volunteers may provide assistance that is supportive when under the direction of a staff member. 

    3. Volunteers will not be permitted to directly administer student discipline nor will they be permitted to administer first aid (except in the case of an emergency). 

    4. The principal or designee shall assume general authority and responsibility over all volunteers serving at the school. 

    5. Under no circumstances shall a volunteer be considered an employee of the school. A volunteer shall receive no wages from the school. 

    6. Volunteers are not permitted to transport students in their personal vehicles. 

    7. Volunteers are generally prohibited from bringing children not formally enrolled in the school when volunteering during the regular school day. Permission may be granted by the Executive Director or designee.

    8. The volunteer position is not a right, but rather a privilege that is conferred by the Board and the Administration. As such, any volunteer position may be eliminated at any time for any reason. In addition, any volunteer may be removed from a volunteer position for any reason. 

    9. Additional pertinent school policies can be found on pages 8-9 of this manual, and at https://www.vidacharterschool.com/domain/12