This webpage was created to support multilingual families who apply to be volunteers. On this page, you can find translated resources, guidance on navigating the application process, and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

To translate, use the Google Select Language button located at the top right of this page.

• Español: Vea el sitio en su idioma,
• Af-Soomaali: Ku fiirso Webside-ka SPS Luqadaada,
• 中文: 用您自己的語言查看西雅圖公立學校網站 谷歌,
• Tiếng Việt: Xem trang web SPS bằng ngôn ngữ của quý vị

Resources For Multilingual Families

Why volunteer at your child’s school?

When parents, caregivers, or other important adults help out at school, students do better. Kids feel supported and try harder when the adults in their lives get involved.

Here are some good things that can happen when families volunteer:

• Students get better grades and do well on tests
• They come to school more often
• They feel more confident and motivated

There are many ways to get involved! Consider becoming part of the school community by helping once a week, a few times per year, or by volunteering from home. 

“Volunteering is a way to make a direct contribution to something I care deeply about: education. As I strive to make a positive impact on students, I also gain a sense of community and partnership with teachers and families. Best of all, I get a delightful peek into my children’s day!“ Kaori Tanaka, Thornton Creek Elementary School

What can I do as a school volunteer?

• Think about your availability, skills, and interests.
• Look for volunteer requests from the teacher or check with the librarian.
• Check your school website, community boards, and/or the principal’s newsletter.  
• Ask the school office if they need volunteers for playground monitoring or a lost & found items helper.
• PTA or an after-school program may also be looking for volunteers – they will have their own but similar volunteer application process.

Examples of volunteer opportunities your school may be recruiting for:

Classroom or library help: Read or listen to students read in your native language, organize books, prepare materials, tutor math, and more!

Time before and between classes: Help for 30-40 minutes during recess, in the lunchroom, or as students arrive in the morning. Your positive presence will brighten students’ days, keep them safe, and help them behave at their best. 

Events and field trips:  Chaperone an evening event or a field trip, share your country’s cuisine at a school event, or attend career day and tell students about your job, business, or the leadership role you play in the community. 

Lost & found: Offer to organize lost-and-found items once or twice per month.

Special talents: Schools have many specialized needs. Are you fluent in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, or Chinese? Can you lend a hand in the learning garden or the robotics club?

Volunteer from home:  Ask the teacher for a project you can work on at home, or offer to help with the school newsletter or event, like Rachel Hart Rios from Ballard High School:

Barriers to volunteering

We appreciate all SPS families for their diverse contributions to our school communities. Volunteering is optional – there is no pressure to volunteer. However, if barriers to completing the volunteer application process are preventing you from getting involved, please let your school know so we can help with technology, interpretation, or the national background check fee (required only for families new to Washington State).

Support for Multilingual Families

Interpretation and Translation Assistance

• The required Sexual Misconduct Prevention Course is available in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, and Chinese. A written Amharic translation is available from your school volunteer liaison.

• Our online volunteer application instructions are available in many different languages via Google Translate. Scroll to the top of the page and click on the “Select Language” drop-down menu on your right. Next, select your preferred language – page translation will be available instantly.

• Our volunteer portal also features a built-in Google Translate tool, which can be accessed in the same way as described above. This is where you can log in to your previously submitted application to renew or update it.

• Human-translated versions of the online volunteer registration form are available in Amharic, Chinese, Somali, and Spanish. Please reach out to your school volunteer liaison for a copy in your language.

• Use TalkingPoints to text your student’s teacher about their volunteer needs, upcoming field trips, or assistance with the volunteer application process.

• If your school has a Bilingual Instructional Assistant (IA) who reaches out to families in your language, ask the school volunteer liaison if the IA can assist you with the volunteer application process.

Technology Tips

• Our online volunteer application process can be completed via a smartphone; however, we recommend using a larger device, if possible.

• Don’t have a tablet, computer, or internet at home? Please visit your local library or community center with free access to computers and the Internet. This City of Seattle website will help you find the most convenient location. 

• If you experience problems creating your volunteer application in the volunteer portal, refer to our volunteer portal guide for helpful tips – it has a Google Translate built in.

Financial

Since SPS only has access to free state background checks, we selected an online vendor to offer affordable national and international background checks for volunteers who need those. The fee is usually $21, unless you have lived in the State of New York. If this background check fee is causing you financial hardship, please contact your School Volunteer Liaison to ask if the school can sponsor your volunteer background check. Let your school know they can cover background check fees for low-income families using PTA funds, levy performance funds, or Self-Help funds. Field trip-related background check fees can be covered through the field trip budget. The school will need to contact the Volunteer Program Admin to set up a free background check for you.

Work schedule

We know many families have strict work schedules that don’t allow them to take a few hours off during the day. Some families miss their pay when taking a day off to chaperone a field trip. It’s OK if your work schedule makes it too hard to volunteer. You can show your student(s) that you care about their education by talking to them about school, responding to teachers’ emails and texts, checking your students’ grades, praising them for their progress and efforts, and reading principal newsletters to stay in the know about school events.

Caretaking

Caring for multiple children or family members can make it difficult for SPS families to formally volunteer at school. However, all the ways you support your child—ensuring they are prepared for school each day, getting them there on time, partnering with their teachers, and engaging in conversations about their school experiences—demonstrate your commitment to their education and are just as meaningful. Opportunities to volunteer will be available throughout your child’s time at SPS.

Why are SPS volunteers background checked?

In the United States, volunteer application processes in organizations that work with vulnerable people, including children and the elderly, include a criminal background check. This is a requirement for all public schools created by the state legislature. Additionally, insurance companies that provide coverage to organizations like SPS also require that volunteers follow specific processes before being approved to help out in our schools. We understand that criminal background check requirements may cause some SPS families and communities to think twice before applying to volunteer, especially those members of our community who have disproportionate or negative experiences with law enforcement, including immigration law enforcement. Please know that most options for participating in your child’s education do not require a background check, including:

• family events at the school, e.g., the new school year bash, curriculum night, parent-teacher conferences,
• Parent Teacher Organization-organized events (PTSAs, “Friends of” organizations),
• socializing with fellow SPS families at the bus stop or during student drop off or pick up,
• families supporting each other with walking students to and from school (when arranged among families),
• supporting your child’s learning at home, reviewing their schoolwork or homework, discussing school with your child, and facilitating after-school friendships among schoolmates.

What can I expect from the background check process?

• While completing the online volunteer registration form, you will be asked to agree to have your background checked.
• Our online volunteer registration process includes a free, automatic, state background check (Washington State Patrol Background Check). We ask that you be honest when completing the criminal history section; omitting any information can make you ineligible to volunteer with SPS.
• If you have any crimes on your record, it’s important to tell the truth about them on your volunteer application. If you don’t share this information, or if the crimes were violent or involved people who needed extra protection (like children, older adults, or people with disabilities), it could affect whether you’re allowed to volunteer.
• Your background check results are confidential – the school office and your child’s teachers will not have access to your background check results.

Getting started

We want every parent and caregiver to be part of their child’s education. Even though family members follow the same volunteer steps as other community volunteers, we do offer some help and flexibility for SPS families.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Follow the volunteer application process. Once you are approved, your application stays active as long as you keep volunteering in SPS—even if your child moves to a different SPS school.
• You can start helping out at any time during the school year.
• It takes time to approve applications, so please allow at least four weeks.
• SPS is working to build a volunteer program that welcomes people from many cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. We encourage everyone to apply!

If you don’t have a computer or internet at home, here are some places you can go:

• Your local library: Most libraries let you use a computer for up to 90 minutes each day. You can choose the library that’s easiest for you to get to.
• The John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (JSCEE): This building, at 2445 3rd Avenue South in SoDo, has two computers you can use if you’re applying to volunteer or work with SPS. The computers are located between the Enrollment Office and the Security Office.
• Your child’s school: If your child goes to the school where you want to volunteer, ask the school office if they have a computer you can use. If the school’s computer lab isn’t being used by students, families may be allowed to use it to complete their volunteer application.

Please tell the school staff if you’re having any of these problems so we can help:

• You don’t have a computer or internet to watch the required video.
• You can’t afford the cost of the national background check.
• You don’t have a credit or debit card to pay for the background check online.

How schools can help:

• Schools can pay for background checks for families in need of financial assistance using their operating or program budgets, or PTA grants.
• Field trip background check fees can be paid from the field trip budget.
• The school office can request a special link from the Volunteer Office for school-sponsored background checks.

“We show what we value by what we spend our time on. By spending time at their school, I show my children that I value education and theirs in particular.” Harold Baker, South Shore PK-8