• Volunteering

    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.

    The new Raptor process:

    1. The individual volunteer submits an application/renewal through Raptor using their personal contact information.  This application will include an upload of all necessary clearances and additional paperwork as required and outlined below. 
    2. The completed application is routed to our Human Resources department for approval.
    3. Once approved, the volunteer will receive personal access to the volunteer portal via email to the address used to complete their application.


    Effective immediately, all volunteers MUST complete the ONLINE VOLUNTEER APPLICATION.  As part of this application, you must upload your clearance documents into Raptor directly.  Those uploads must be less than 5mb and in one of the following three formats: .jpg, .png., or .pdf.

    IMPORTANT CHANGE: BASD will no longer accept paper copies of volunteer information.

    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. It will take up to ten business days to receive a response.  If an application is denied, the approval process timeline starts again.

     

    3. Now that we are using Raptor for volunteers, 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.

    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. For 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 for you to help.

    ANOTHER BIG CHANGE:

    Board Policy Item #916 - Volunteers

    Pennsylvania law requires all persons having direct contact with school children to obtain background checks and clearances.   
    Volunteers who spend more than 10 hours per week in the school setting MUST have a TB test* and provide the results to the district.  

    Source: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Tuberculosis.aspx

    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.

    TB Test results must be dated within three months of submission and will only be required one time. Unless there are specific circumstances that require additional testing (potential exposure, etc.), TB test results will NOT be subject to the five-year renewal process.

    This provision includes:

    1. 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.
    2. ALL active 10+ hour volunteers must provide their TB test results by Friday, November 17, 2023
    3. ALL Volunteer Athletic Coaches (regardless of hours) must provide their test results starting with the Winter 2023-2024 sports season.
    4. 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. 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.

     

    In light of the numerous and recent changes to legislation, namely Act 153 of 2014, concerning volunteers obtaining and renewing clearances, we have developed the following protocols.  All new volunteers must obtain clearances.  All clearances must be dated within five years of registering to volunteer.  After that, all clearances must be renewed every 60 months.  BASD will always use the date listed on the document, not the date of submission.


    Required Clearances:

    1. Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Report:  https://epatch.pa.gov/home
      • Click the control number to view your results.  Click the "Certification Form" link in the center of the page to view, save and print your official Pa State Police Certificate.
    1. Child Abuse History Clearance from the Department of Human Services: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home
      • Click "Create Individual Account." The Keystone Key is a user name you create. Follow the site's step-by-step instructions for creating a password.  Be sure to keep a record of your Keystone Key and Password, as you will need them to access your results.  You will receive an email from the site when your results are available within 14 days of submission.  
    1. Federal Criminal History (2 Options):
      • You must complete the fingerprinting process if you have been a Pennsylvania resident for less than ten consecutive years. Enroll at IdentoGo and make an appointment for digital fingerprinting at a location of your choice.  The Service Code for VOLUNTEERS is 1KG6ZJ.
      • If you have been a Pennsylvania resident for the past ten consecutive years, you may submit the BASD Act 153 Volunteer Affidavit in place of fingerprinting. The affidavit must be notarized and uploaded as part of the application process.  IMPORTANT CHANGE: The renewal of this volunteer affidavit will move to five years from the date of notarization.

    FAQ's


    How do I submit my volunteer paperwork?       All volunteer clearances, the affidavit, and TB test results, as required, must be uploaded as part of the application process using the ONLINE VOLUNTEER APPLICATION.  Complete the online application and upload your paperwork to the appropriate pages.  Uploads must be in one of the following formats, not to exceed 5 mb: jpg, png, pdf.  TB Test results should be uploaded as part of your Child Abuse clearance paperwork.  Raptor does not have a separate location to upload these results.

    What happens next?  Once submitted, our HR Volunteer Clearance Coordinator will review the submission, enter the appropriate expiration date, and authorize Raptor to issue a personal user ID and password for the volunteer.  Raptor will then notify the volunteer via email and provide the information for the volunteer to access the Volunteer Portal.  The portal is available ONLY to those volunteers who have been approved.  Volunteer Portal Link

    The expiration date of clearances across multiple timelines will be entered as the date on the earliest clearance.  Again, the date used will be the date on the clearance or of notarization - not the date of submission.

    What happens when my clearances are ready to expire?  What is the renewal process?  Sixty days prior to your expiration date, Raptor will send a notification.  Thirty days prior, you will receive a reminder.  You will be required to follow Raptor/HR's process to renew your status as an active volunteer.

    Why do I need clearances?  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires any person in direct contact with school children to complete background checks.  You can read more on the PA Department of Education's Website. 

    For Established Raptor Users ONLY:  Volunteer Portal Link

    If you have any additional questions about volunteering in our district, please contact our HR Volunteer Clearance Coordinator at  volunteer@boyertownasd.org or at 610-369-7606.