Volunteers are a distinct group of people within the school.  Some may never be part of the school council, yet they offer plenty of helpful services to students and the school.  

Helping this group of people to carry out their tasks well, and abiding by board policies on volunteers is the challenge facing Principals, Vice-Principals and school councils across the province.

The four main types of involvement for volunteers include:

• Traditional volunteering, including assisting individual classroom teachers, librarians or others within in the school
• Organizing or running fundraising campaigns to benefit the students within the school
• Organizing school social events that bring families to the school
• Bringing community resources into the school for the benefit of students

Two of the most important elements of working with volunteers include providing appropriate training and guidance AND recognition.

Perhaps the hardest part of working with volunteers is this - they are not staff members and need to be supported and treated in a manner that is different from that of staff.

One of the beliefs of the School Council Support Centre is that school councils can and should take an active role in nurturing volunteers - to support the school in ways that are consistent with board policies and the school plan to improve student learning.  Although many of these volunteers may never attend a school council meeting, they play a vital role within almost every school community.  

... and supporting volunteers assists in fulfilling the purpose of school councils ... to support student learning.

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Last modified: September 13, 2007