Volunteering at NPE

We encourage and welcome our families to join us in the building as part of the educational community, while maintaining a high level of safety.

WSSD requires volunteer Clearances for anyone volunteering with students more than once, which is the vast majority of our visitors.

If you are interested in volunteering at NPE, please review the following procedures: 

  • Volunteer clearances are required for anyone volunteering to work with our students, whether that is in school, on a field trip, at an athletic event/practice, etc. Essentially, everyone who is volunteering with our students or in a school is required to obtain volunteer clearances. This includes but is not limited to adults who regularly volunteer but are under the supervision of a staff member.

  • Volunteer clearances are good for 5 years from the date of issue.

Information about how to obtain clearances and how to submit them are available in the Volunteer Information, Guidelines, and Requirements section on the WSSD website.

WSSD School District Volunteer Guidelines and Directions

 

Clearances must be renewed after five years. New volunteers must have clearances less than five years old. Check with the front office if you are not sure if you have clearances on file.

The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District supports the participation of the community as volunteers to enhance its programs.  There are two types of volunteers, Position Volunteers and Guest Volunteers, as defined below.

Guest Volunteers

Guest Volunteers are those that work under the supervision of a staff member and therefore will not be responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control of children. Examples of Guest Volunteers are:

  • Classroom volunteers working in the classroom or hallways during the instructional day under the general supervision of the teacher

  • Chaperones working with students as part of a larger group that is monitored by a certificated staff member

In order to become a Guest Volunteer, please see the information and steps listed above.

Position Volunteers

Position Volunteers are those that will be responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control of children, and will have routine interaction with children. All Position Volunteers will be required to complete the Volunteer Application and have background clearances on file. Examples of Position Volunteers are:

  • Volunteer Coaches

  • Field trip chaperones independently responsible for students, other than their own child

  • Volunteers working after school to provide programs where classroom teachers are not present

In order to become a Position Volunteer, follow these directions:

    1. Complete the Volunteer Application (for Position Volunteers only).

    2. Complete all required background clearances as explained below

    3. Once completed, submit the application and clearances, at the same time, to the main office of your child’s school

Guidelines about Clearances

Directions and forms for completing background clearances are located on the District's website.

There are three different types of background clearances: PA Child Abuse, PA Criminal, and the FBI Fingerprint. All three are required except for the FBI fingerprint background check, if you have lived in PA continuously for at least 10 years and have not been convicted of any crime, as listed on the Volunteer Application (for Position Volunteers only).

Presently, the cost for volunteers to get the child abuse and criminal background checks has been waived. The cost for the FBI check is $27.00.