NEW: BASD Volunteer Process
August 2023
Boyertown Area School District volunteers play a key role in supporting staff, students, sports and music programs, and other activities throughout our schools. We appreciate your interest in becoming a volunteer!
NEW BEGINNING WITH THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR:
BASD is proud to introduce a new approach for collecting and tracking volunteer information using Raptor, a software program already in place throughout the district.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Once we are through the initial conversion, it will be as simple as
- The individual volunteer submits an application/renewal and required clearances through Raptor using their personal contact information.
- The completed application is routed to our Human Resources department for approval.
- Once approved, the volunteer will receive personal access to the volunteer portal via email to the address used to complete their application.
I AM NOT ABLE TO VOLUNTEER AT THIS TIME...
You are done. If you change your mind, you can always visit the Human Resources department/Volunteer Information on our website! Enjoy your day!
WHO IS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN VOLUNTEER CLEARANCES?
There is a difference between a visitor and a volunteer.
All volunteers are required to obtain clearances. "Volunteer" is defined as an adult in an unpaid volunteer position who is responsible for a child's welfare or has direct contact with children. Direct contact shall mean care, supervision, guidance, or control of children or routine interaction with children. Any adult who is individually responsible for the children's welfare, directly caring for, supervising, guiding, or controlling the children, is required to obtain clearances. Any volunteer who is present and working with students one or more times per week will be presumed to be a volunteer and must obtain clearances.
Visitors are not required to obtain clearances to the extent that such visitors are not responsible for a child’s welfare or are visiting the school irregularly and not providing for the care, supervision, guidance, or control of children. Assembly attendees, sporting event attendees, mystery readers (who come in, they read, they leave) are examples of visitors.
Parent/teacher organization volunteers who volunteer at events outside of normal school hours ONLY are visitors and are subject to their organization's rules.
However, such parent/teacher organization volunteers who volunteer in the building during the school day are considered volunteers under this process.
Anyone helping with a school-sponsored event, regardless of whether or not the event takes place during school hours, who is responsible for a child's welfare, etc., must obtain clearances. As an example, if you help with the high school musical as a volunteer, this process applies to you, and your clearances MUST be on file with HR in order for you to help.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS!!
Volunteers Who Serve 10 Hours or More Per Week Must be Tested for TB
The Pennsylvania Public School Code, Section 1418(b) requires that school personnel be tested for TB. School personnel to be tested include employees and independent contractors who provide direct services to students on behalf of a school, including but not limited to teachers, nurses, administrators, physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, custodians, janitors, cooks, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, librarians, psychologists, audiologists and counselors, and student teachers and volunteers. The Department of Health defines "direct services" as those persons in direct contact with students ten or more hours/week.
The TB Test process occurs over multiple days. The test is administered. Wait 48-72 hours. Go back to have the test read. Tests are available through your physician's office, urgent care type locations, clinics, and local pharmacies.
This provision is also included in our Board Policy Item #916.
The only volunteers excluded from this provision are those who serve less than 10 hours per week. NOTE: The new system will track volunteer hours, and volunteers determined to serve 10+ hours per week will be asked to provide TB Test results if they have not done so. Due to Raptor's functioning, BASD will expire the initial submission. All clearances will need to be reloaded along with the TB Test results. Those volunteers will not be able to serve until the results are received.
This provision includes:
- ALL new, incomplete, and expired 10+ hour volunteers. The TB test results MUST be included at the time of their new Volunteer Application before final approval.
- ALL active 10+ hour volunteers must provide their TB test results by Friday, November 17, 2023
- ALL Volunteer Athletic Coaches (regardless of hours) must provide their test results starting with the Winter 2023-2024 sports season.
- If you are a volunteer and facing students in any capacity and serve more than 10 hours per week, you must obtain a TB test to be cleared to volunteer. Questions should be directed to volunteer@boyertownasd.org.
The only volunteers excluded from this provision are those who serve less than 10 hours per week. NOTE: The new system will track volunteer hours and volunteers determined to serve 10+ hours per week will be asked to provide TB Test results, if they have not done so. Those volunteers will not be able to serve until the results are received.
THREE ADDITIONAL CHANGES
1. Effective with this new process, ALL clearances, including the BASD Act 153 Volunteer Affidavit, will be active for five years from the date on the form or date of notarization (not the date of submission).
2.There is a new BASD Volunteer email address for questions. That address is volunteer@boyertownasd.org. HR and additional members of our administrative team are monitoring the address. Please be patient as we roll this process out. It may take up to 10 days to receive a response due to the anticipated volume of inquiries.
3. Now that we are using Raptor for volunteers during school hours, you will be required to sign in and sign out, not only for BASD to track volunteer service hours, but also as an added level of safety and security for you, our staff, and students at each building.
Before We Move On...A (Very Strong) Recommendation
Never, ever, ever get rid of your original volunteer paperwork - or at least not for the five years that it is considered current with BASD. We are dealing with technology that can sometimes fail the humans it is designed to help and humans who are...well, human.
I AM A NEW BASD VOLUNTEER...
Please visit us at https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/6459 and get started today! We look forward to you joining our volunteer team!
The remainder of this document does not apply to your circumstances.
1 OR MORE OF MY CLEARANCES EXPIRED ON OR BEFORE JULY 25, 2023
One or more of my volunteer clearances have expired since the last time I volunteered, and I want to keep volunteering.
Because you are currently unable to volunteer due to an expired clearance(s), you are considered a new volunteer for the purposes of this process.
OR
I STARTED THE PROCESS BUT NEVER FINISHED (Incomplete Paperwork)
I started the volunteer paperwork process and never finished. I would like to complete it now.
Because you are currently unable to volunteer due to incomplete paperwork, you are considered a new volunteer for the purposes of this process.
If you need to obtain copies of your active clearances from BASD to complete the new process, please complete this form. Due to the anticipated volume of requests, please allow up to 10 business days for a response. All responses will come from volunteer@boyertownasd.org.
If you already have your active clearance paperwork, or once you have the documents you need, please visit us at https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/6459.
The remainder of this document does not apply to you.
ONLY FOR BASD's CURRENT, UNEXPIRED VOLUNTEERS
Deadline: Friday November 17, 2023
These changes will be a good thing...
...however, we recognize that we are very close to the start of the school year and there is a lot for you to know and to do. The first thing you need to know is that this process will take time. We will continue to operate under the old process for verifying ACTIVE Volunteers ONLY through Friday, November 17, 2023.
UNFORTUNATELY: BASD CANNOT MOVE YOUR CURRENT DOCUMENTATION TO RAPTOR FOR YOU
ALL documents uploaded to Raptor MUST be less than 5mb and in one of the following formats:
.jpg, .png, or .pdf ONLY.
IF YOU REQUIRE A TB TEST, THOSE RESULTS MUST BE INCLUDED
WHEN YOU UPLOAD YOUR CHILD ABUSE CLEARANCE
Raptor does not have a separate place for you to make a one time submission of the TB test results. The document must be part of your Child Abuse upload.
YOU HAVE UNTIL 11/17/2023 TO COMPLETE THESE TASKS
AS LONG AS NONE OF YOUR CLEARANCES EXPIRED BEFORE July 26, 2023
If ANY of your clearances expire(d) between Tuesday, July 25, 2023 (the day BASD stopped taking clearances) and Friday, November 17, 2023, you are covered under a "grace period." This includes a BASD Act 153 Volunteer Affidavit as they are now active for five years
from the date of notarization.
I HAVE COPIES OF ALL OF MY CURRENT VOLUNTEER PAPERWORK
Please visit us at https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/6549. If you serve more than 10 hours per week, please complete a TB test and upload the results as part of your Child Abuse Clearance upload. (Raptor does not allow for a separate TB test results upload.) You have until 11/17/2023 to complete this entire process in order to remain active effective as of 11/18/2023 and beyond.
I NEED TO GET COPIES OF MY PAPERWORK FROM BASD
If you need copies of your paperwork from BASD to complete this new process, please complete this form. Due to the anticipated volume of requests, please allow up to 10 business days for a response. All responses will come from volunteer@boyertownasd.org.
THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION & SOME WILL HAVE QUESTIONS SO WE ARE HOSTING A Q&A
Public Zoom Meeting, Monday, August 14, 2023 at 7PM
https://boyertownasd.zoom.us/j/94192110955
If you have questions prior to this email, please email them to us in advance at volunteer@boyertownasd.org.
This format will allow for up to 500 attendees.
If we exceed the number of attendees, we will host additional meetings.
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