VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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Parent volunteers are critical to our success. All of our special events and fundraising efforts are organized and staffed by Peirce parent volunteers. Parent volunteers also manage parent communications, run school tours, support teachers in the classroom and on field trips, take photos at events, organize and manage the annual book fair, provide support in the library, care for the garden, and participate in Career Day.
All parents and caregivers are encouraged to volunteer throughout the year. Please consider taking an active role in supporting the Peirce community. Current volunteer needs are posted on the Peirce Service Organization Facebook page and on the friendsofpeirce.org website. You may also find them in the weekly school newsletters or emails directly from the Peirce Service Organization and Friends of Peirce parent groups. |
GET INVOLVED! If you are interested in volunteering in your child's classroom, please contact your child's teacher directly. For questions about the volunteer approval process, please contact Andrea Khosropour [email protected] |
CPS VOLUNTEER PROGRAM: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF VOLUNTEERING?
All individuals who are interested in volunteering (which includes chaperoning field trips) must be approved by CPS annually. Depending on the type of volunteering you plan to do, you will be asked to complete an application for either a “Level I” volunteer or a “Level II” volunteer.
You can check out this graphic for a visual explanation and also read below:
Examples of Level 1 Volunteer Activities
Examples of Level 2 Volunteer Activities
INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW APPLICANTS
Level 1
Within 24 hours of the school's approval, Volunteer Programs will email the prospective volunteer forms and instructions to:
The application will be approved once Volunteer Programs receives all the results and documents requested. You can email the TB test results and a copy of your fingerprinting receipt to [email protected] in order to submit them. The volunteer and volunteer coordinator at the school will receive an email with the approval notification.
* Please keep in mind that level 1 clearance can take up to 4 weeks in some cases. We advise that volunteers and schools plan ahead of time and encourage volunteers to complete the application process promptly to avoid any delays.
Level 2
**Volunteer approval is only valid for the school year in which it was granted and will expire on June 30th. Individuals seeking re-approval do not need to create another volunteer account. Please log back into your volunteer account and submit the application for the new school year. Volunteers may receive an email with further instructions for re-approval.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETURNING VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer approval is valid for the one school year it was granted and expires on June 30th. Individuals seeking re-approval for a new school year do not need to create another account. To start the re-approval process, please log into your volunteer account anytime after July 1st and select APPLICATIONS, then select ADD NEW APPLICATION. After submitting the application, please contact Peirce Volunteer Coordinator Sally Suarez ([email protected])l to let her know you would like to be re-approved. The volunteer coordinator will log in and re-approve the application for the next steps. The following steps for each level are listed below.
Level 1
Within 24 hours of the school’s approval, Volunteer Programs will email the returning volunteer further instructions. You may not be required to submit everything on this list. The email will specify which requirements are needed from you for the re-approval.
Your application will be approved once Volunteer Programs receives all results and documents requested. The volunteer and volunteer coordinator at the school will receive an email with the approval letter.
*Please keep in mind that level 1 clearance can take up to 4 weeks to clear in some cases.
Level 2
Within 24 hours of the school's approval, Volunteer Programs will conduct a soft background check using the applicant's legal first name, legal last name, and date of birth through the
EXAMPLES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE NOT SUBJECTED TO THE VOLUNTEER PROCESS:
Additional Documents to help you with volunteering:
All individuals who are interested in volunteering (which includes chaperoning field trips) must be approved by CPS annually. Depending on the type of volunteering you plan to do, you will be asked to complete an application for either a “Level I” volunteer or a “Level II” volunteer.
You can check out this graphic for a visual explanation and also read below:
Examples of Level 1 Volunteer Activities
- A parent or guardian volunteers over 10 hours a week.
- Any individual or non-parent volunteering over 5 hours that does not have a child enrolled at the school.
- Any parent or individual attending an overnight trip.
- Anyone who will have one-on-one contact with a student.
- All Volunteer coaches.
- All Tutors (Virtual Tutors included).
- All Mentors.
- Anyone whose service may end up in an unsupervised setting.
- Chaperones for a day field trip supervising a group of children without a CPS employee present.
Examples of Level 2 Volunteer Activities
- A parent or guardian chaperoning a day field trip with a CPS employee present at all times.
- Guest speaker at events or assemblies.
- Serving as an Academic Judge for competitions.
- Corporate volunteers.
- A parent volunteers for under ten hours a week in the school.
- An individual volunteering under 5 hours a week who does not have a child enrolled at the school.
- An individual taking classes in a Parent University or in schools with courses provided by the City Colleges of Chicago.
- PAC Chairs.
- Dance Chaperone.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW APPLICANTS
- Visit CPS.EDU/VOLUNTEER to create your volunteer account. Please use your full legal name and correct date of birth.
- Visit the school to present your ID to the volunteer coordinator Sally Suarez to confirm your information and appropriate level according to the Volunteer Policy. Please note that if you select multiple schools on your application, you will need to provide your ID to each school. You can also email it to her at: [email protected]. If you need to switch between Level 1 and Level 2 then you will need to reach out to Sally for her to adjust your application on the back-end, you cannot hold approvals for both levels at once nor can you change it once submitted.
- The volunteer coordinator at the school approves your application for the next steps. The next steps for each level are listed below
Level 1
Within 24 hours of the school's approval, Volunteer Programs will email the prospective volunteer forms and instructions to:
- Complete a full fingerprint background check at Accurate Biometrics (free, no appointment required. Be sure to take the forms with you, they will not be provided on-site.)
- Complete a TB test and submit negative results (cost covered by the volunteer, see a compilation of local resources here)
- Complete online SafeSchools training (~6 hrs, virtual, asynchronous, new as of 10/2023)
The application will be approved once Volunteer Programs receives all the results and documents requested. You can email the TB test results and a copy of your fingerprinting receipt to [email protected] in order to submit them. The volunteer and volunteer coordinator at the school will receive an email with the approval notification.
* Please keep in mind that level 1 clearance can take up to 4 weeks in some cases. We advise that volunteers and schools plan ahead of time and encourage volunteers to complete the application process promptly to avoid any delays.
Level 2
- Within 48 hours of the school's approval, Volunteer Programs will conduct a soft background check using the applicant's legal first name, legal last name, and date of birth. The registries checked are:
- Illinois Sex Offender Registry
- National Sex Offender Registry
- Illinois Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry
- Internal CPS Do Not Hire List (DNH)
- Once all registry checks are completed, Volunteer Programs will approve the application. The volunteer and volunteer coordinator at the school will receive an email with the approval letter.
**Volunteer approval is only valid for the school year in which it was granted and will expire on June 30th. Individuals seeking re-approval do not need to create another volunteer account. Please log back into your volunteer account and submit the application for the new school year. Volunteers may receive an email with further instructions for re-approval.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETURNING VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer approval is valid for the one school year it was granted and expires on June 30th. Individuals seeking re-approval for a new school year do not need to create another account. To start the re-approval process, please log into your volunteer account anytime after July 1st and select APPLICATIONS, then select ADD NEW APPLICATION. After submitting the application, please contact Peirce Volunteer Coordinator Sally Suarez ([email protected])l to let her know you would like to be re-approved. The volunteer coordinator will log in and re-approve the application for the next steps. The following steps for each level are listed below.
Level 1
Within 24 hours of the school’s approval, Volunteer Programs will email the returning volunteer further instructions. You may not be required to submit everything on this list. The email will specify which requirements are needed from you for the re-approval.
- Complete Background Check. All Level One returning volunteers must undergo a new background check every school year.
- Please note we cannot use background check results from LSC, CPS Vendors, Field Experience, outside organizations, or previous school years.
- Negative TB test results are valid for two years from the date it was administered. If you need updated results at the time of re-approval, we will let you know. Otherwise, you will receive a separate email before the actual expiration of the results to remind you to update them.
- Complete online SafeSchools training (new as of 10/2023: virtual asynchronous training, approximately 6 hrs)
Your application will be approved once Volunteer Programs receives all results and documents requested. The volunteer and volunteer coordinator at the school will receive an email with the approval letter.
*Please keep in mind that level 1 clearance can take up to 4 weeks to clear in some cases.
Level 2
Within 24 hours of the school's approval, Volunteer Programs will conduct a soft background check using the applicant's legal first name, legal last name, and date of birth through the
- Illinois Sex Offender Registry
- National Sex Offender Registry
- Illinois Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry
- Internal CPS Do Not Hire List (DNH)
EXAMPLES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE NOT SUBJECTED TO THE VOLUNTEER PROCESS:
- Parents or guardians visiting the school specific to their child
- Report Card Pick-Up
- School assembly
- PAC, PTA, and or LSC meetings
- DCFS Personnel visits
- Graduation ceremonies
- Spectators for evening sports events
Additional Documents to help you with volunteering:
- Peirce Volunteer Interest Form - This form will let parent organizations know that you are interested in volunteering. It is monitored by the Friends of Peirce and Peirce Service Organization, both parent-run organizations.
- Instrucciones para nueva solicitud de voluntariado en español
- Instrucciones para un voluntario que regresa en español
- Link to the CPS Volunteer Programs Website
