This information is provided for your safety a well as the protection of the children with whom you will be working. Please review it carefully and ask any questions that may arise.  We want the time you spend volunteering in a Cascade school to be a positive experience for all.

Relationships:  For the protection of all, the relationship between you and all students with whom you volunteer must be kept appropriate at all times.  Continuing your volunteer relationship out-of-school contact, such as phone calls, home visits, or invitations to your home, social events, office, vehicle, or activities is not permitted.  This prohibition, of course, would not restrict out-of-school contact with students who are family friends or know to you through other community contacts.

Appropriate touching: Handshakes, “high five’s”, an arm or hug around a shoulder are the only safe and friendly ways to touch a child when you are volunteering. For some children, or for some cultures, even these gestures may be unwelcome. No child should be subject to unwelcome touching no matter how well intended. If a child ever inappropriately touches you, please inform a staff member right away.

Communication: You are a role model. Your conversations with students and staff should demonstrate respect for others and avoid language that may be perceived as discriminatory, profane, sexist, or offensive. No student or staff person should ever be treated differently, spoken to disrespectfully or denied services on the basis of sex, race, religion, disability, age, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, or marital status. In addition, school personnel or volunteers cannot encourage or promote religious beliefs by class activities, comments or invitations to their place of worship.

Confidentiality: As a volunteer, you must respect and maintain confidentiality in regard to personal information obtained regarding a child or his/her family with certain exceptions. Reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, illegal or dangerous activities should be shared with staff. Be assured they will follow up on the information.

Discipline: Any discipline of a student should be left up to a staff member. Physical punishment is never permitted.

School safety plan: In the event of an emergency while you are on site (fire, earthquake etc.) you need to be familiar with the Safety Plan of the building in which you volunteer. Each school will provide their Safety Plan to volunteers.

Check in/out: All visitors, including volunteers, are required to sign in at the main office in the school and wear an identification badge while on campus. 

We are pleased you are interested in volunteering in the Cascade School District.  As you take on this very important role, we want to provide information to you related to confidentiality so that each person who works in our school will understand the importance of this issue and the privacy rights of our students and staff.

Volunteers observe students working at different levels and with different needs and challenges.  Some students need extra support in academic areas, some will need help in solving problems and others will need help making appropriate behavior choices.  These areas of support might be observed while helping students with acadmic learning or while in the hall, cafeteria, on the playground or other common areas of the school.  Anytime you notice conflicts or difficulties that are not resolved by the students, please make sure a staff member is informed promptly.  Please make sure any conersations that take place with a staff member related to a speicific student's or group of students' needs are done privately (out of earshot of all students and other adults).  Please understand that teachers are not free to discuss other students with you.

We appreciate it when volunteers report any such incidents or concerns to us and we also request that volunteers not speak of such incidents or concerns with anyone after having left the school.  In this way, we can protect the privacy of all children at our schools.  This is expected of all staff members within our schools and we must require it of all volunteers as well.  There can be no tolerance for violations of confidentiality.  Continued volunteering is contingent upon respecting this request.

If you do have questions related to confidentiality please do not hesitate to ask a school staff member.

Volunteer Athletic Coaches:  Cascade School District offers many athletic programs for our students.  Some of these programs need and welcome volunteer help.  All current and continuing needs for volunteer athletic coaches are strictly determined by the school administration.  Check with the school before applying to determine if there is a placement for you.  At least 2 weeks prior to volunteering, go through the online volunteer process.    

Volunteer Activity Coaches:  There are many extra curricular and enrichment programs in the Cascade School District that welcome volunteer help - robotics, math team, after school programs, drama, band, and many others.  All current and continuing needs for volunteer activity coaches are strictly determined by the school administration.  If you would like to volunteer with a school sponsored activity, check with the school before applying to determine if there is a placement for you.  At least 2 weeks prior to volunteering, go through the online volunteer process.