A Tradition of Excellence with a Vision for Tomorrow Public Schools Kathy Guenther District Volunteer Coordinator Education Service Center 205 East B Street,

A Tradition of Excellence with a Vision for Tomorrow Public Schools

Kathy Guenther District Volunteer Coordinator

Education Service Center205 East B Street, Room 207D

Jenks, OK 74037918-299-4415, Ext. 2291

Fax: [email protected]

NEW VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION


Kathy GuentherDistrict Volunteer Coordinator

• Welcome to the Jenks Volunteer Program! My name is Kathy Guenther and I am the District Volunteer Coordinator. Features of this training include:

Stacey Butterfield, Superintendent• Welcome

Bo Rainey, Attorney with Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold• Student Confidentiality Laws

Barbara Dismukes, District Special Education Coordinator• Special Education Laws and School Procedures

Kathy Guenther, District Volunteer Coordinator• Volunteer Orientation and Procedures


STACEY BUTTERFIELD, SUPERINTENDENT

• Thank you for giving time out of your life to participate in our volunteer orientation. On behalf of students, staff, and community patrons, I want you to know we recognize our volunteers are essential to the daily functioning of our schools, as well as the success of unique projects and special events.

• Jenks Public Schools has a long history of success in the five A’s – Academics, Activities, the Arts, and Athletics. By electing to volunteer your time and energy to our schools and departments, you are contributing to the success we experience throughout the Jenks District.

• When reflecting on our district motto: A tradition of excellence with a vision for tomorrow, I am reminded of the role our volunteers assume in continuing the tradition and building bright futures for our students. As a classroom teacher and administrator, I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of volunteers of all ages and observed how each volunteer has the opportunity to influence students and impact the future of Jenks Public Schools.

• Thank you for volunteering and electing to make a difference in the lives of our students, staff members, and your community.


BO RAINEY, ATTORNEYRosenstein, Fist & Ringold

Confidentiality – Training in confidentiality is required for all staff at Jenks annually. It is a part of the monitoring process from the State Department of Special Education.

Need To Know District legal protections only apply to volunteers so long as they are acting in good faith and

in performance of their duties. Anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason!

Laws Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 – FERPA

o Requires recipients of federal funds, i.e. school districts, to keep personally identifiable information regarding a child confidential

o Parental permission needed to release informationo Student permission if over the age of 18o Limited exceptionso Limitations on information provided to law enforcemento Some records are considered “Directory Records” and may be released.

• Determined by Board Policy; refer to Jenks Public Schools Policies and Procedures Handbook, found on the Jenks PS website.

• Parent can opt out of having directory records released


BO RAINEY, ATTORNEYRosenstein, Fist & Ringold

o Oklahoma Open Records Act• Designed to provide transparency of government• Limitations on information that can be provided • Student records may be kept confidential• Home addresses of former and present school employees required to be kept

confidential• Employment applications of unsuccessful candidates• Grades of employees listed on transcripts

o OKLA. STAT. tit. 10A, § 1-6-102• Requires that non-directory information be kept confidential• Sets forth specific procedures for obtaining a student’s education records• Additional limitations above and beyond FERPA

o OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, § 6-115• It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor for any teacher to reveal any information

concerning a child obtained by him in his capacity as teacher except as may be required in the performance of his contractual duties, except information may be furnished to the parent or guardian of said child upon request.


BARBARA DISMUKESDISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – IDEA• Free and appropriate public education• Least restrictive environment• Provides categories of disabilities• An individualized education plan• Guarantees confidentiality on the part of all school staff and volunteers

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act - FERPA• Is the controlling law for confidentiality of all student records.• Applies to all educational agencies that receive federal funds. Consequently, all public schools in

the state of Oklahoma must abide by FERPA.

FERPA affords parents and students over 18 certain rights with respect to student records. Rights include:• Access to their records• The right to expect confidentiality on the part of school personnel regarding the content of those

records.


BARBARA DISMUKESDISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR

Student Records refers to:• Physical custody of the records• Information contained within the records• Discussions (formal and informal)

o Discussions regarding a student’s status (behavior, physical condition, etc.) are a violation of FERPA if unauthorized persons have access to personally identifiable information within those discussions.

Volunteers should follow this protocol:• Volunteers should not share any information regarding any student and/or any information that

would indicate that a student is a student with special needs and is receiving special education services.

• Conversations should not occur in regards to students while in common areas (lounge, hallway, cafeteria, etc.).

• Volunteers and children of volunteers should not be present while information is being shared among staff or parents.

• Confidentiality must be maintained outside of school hours.• If approached by others, use the “need to know” test … does this person need to know this

information for education or health/safety reasons? Say “I’m sorry, I am not able to discuss students or give out that information.”



VOLUNTEER PROCEDURES

There are volunteer procedures that every volunteer must follow with regard to legal regulations and Jenks school policy. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these procedures.



• Volunteer Contract and Criminal Background Forms – All volunteers are required to sign a contract and background form each year. These can be found at jenksps.org/District/Volunteer Program, or at any site office.

• Lobby Guard – Each time you are on campus, sign in at the Lobby Guard machine and put on your name tag. You can also purchase an ID tag for $5 that will allow you to scan at the machine instead of signing in every time.

• Discipline Issues – Volunteers must seek the aid of school personnel in case of discipline problems.

• Medicine/Treatment – Volunteers may not administer medication or give medical treatment to students.

• Dress Code – Volunteers are expected to follow the school’s dress code.• Liability – You are covered under the Jenks liability as long as you are following

school district policy and procedures.



SOCIAL MEDIA

In reference to FERPA and other confidentiality laws,

please familiarize yourself with Jenks Public Schools

social media policies.



• Emails: Be aware of information put in an e-mail:o Do not discuss any students in an e-mail.

• Do not use students’ names within the subject line of an e-mail.o For example, use “Student concern,” “Student information,” “Parent contact,” or

“Student meeting date” in the subject line instead.• Do not automatically forward e-mails from parents when the student’s name is noted

in the subject line.o Replace the name, as recommended above, before forwarding on.

• Social Sites: Be aware of information put on Social Media sites (Facebook, etc.):o Do not discuss any students in social media sites.o Do not put pictures of other students on social media sites without prior

permission of the school. • Personal Contact Information: Do not provide any personal contact information

about a student that has not been approved by the school and the parent.



RECORDING VOLUNTEER HOURS

Recording your volunteer hours is important not only to you, but to our district. The more volunteer hours we can report for State requirements, the more extra credits/points we get on our School Report Card. For example, grant funds directly impact each site, whether it’s through specific programs, bringing in grad assistants, or hiring employees. If we don’t show the state where our volunteer hoursare going, we don’t have the proof to be able to fight for the areas where we need people or funds.

Record your hours online at jenksps.org/district/record volunteer hours.


2012-13 Volunteer hours (220,800 hours) =

$4,888,512 of value added to Jenks Public Schools

Value Added



VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There are many ways to check for

volunteer opportunities and to find out

what’s happening at your site.



Check for Site Specific Applications:

Jenksps.org/Schools/click on your specific site/Volunteer tab Newsletters Flyers Newspaper Articles Email blasts Phone messages from the school District Volunteer Coordinator Site Coordinators Building Coordinators Grade Coordinators Homeroom Parents



TO RECAP:

Sign a Volunteer Contract every year.Sign a Background form every year.Record your Volunteer Hours.Maintain confidentiality at all times.



CONTACT INFORMATION

• Jenks Public Schools• District Volunteer Coordinator• Education Service Center• 205 E. ‘B’ St., Room 207D• Jenks, Ok 74037• (918) 299-4415 x2291• Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

A Tradition of Excellence with a Vision for Tomorrow Public Schools Kathy Guenther District Volunteer Coordinator Education Service Center 205 East B Street,