Volunteer
Volunteer for SPS
Seattle Public Schools encourages parents, family members, organizations, businesses, and other community members to volunteer with us!
When volunteers commit to serving at a school, students achieve higher grades, have access to more opportunities, and gain community connections to help them thrive.
Which Schools Need Volunteers?
District-wide, schools enjoy tremendous volunteer support, with over 20,000 individuals available to help. However, volunteer resources are distributed unevenly across our city. Schools in predominantly white-collar neighborhoods receive hundreds of volunteer applications, benefiting from parents with flexible work schedules and the ability to work from home. In contrast, schools in blue-collar neighborhoods have fewer volunteers available, as many households juggle multiple jobs and must forgo pay to take time off to volunteer.
High-impact volunteers needed: Help a student get closer to meeting academic goals, feel supported, and be more confident coming to school. Volunteer 1.5-2 hours weekly to show your support for our schools! For lasting impact and the most rewarding volunteer experience, we encourage volunteers to make a 3-month commitment to one classroom or program. This is a big ask, as are volunteer needs in our priority schools.
Volunteer Opportunities
- Every fall, we publish a list of volunteer opportunities for the current academic year. This list is updated every month based on school needs.
- The application and approval process takes 1-2 weeks.
- We recruit and place volunteers until mid-March. If you are visiting this page between April and August, please come back at the end of September.
Review these additional ways you can get involved with SPS!
Volunteer needs vary by school and time of the year. Often, schools are looking for volunteers who have skills that make them a good fit for their specific school community.
You can find out more about volunteer opportunities at local schools by visiting the school’s or PTSA’s website. When looking at school websites, look both for highlighted volunteer opportunities and for a list of community partners.
Families of SPS students:
Below are some ways families of SPS students can support their schools, but please be open to the most urgent needs the school may present you with:
- Lunch and recess support.
- Classroom or library help: Read or listen to students read in your native language, organize books, prepare materials, tutor math, and more!
- 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’ day and help them be safe.
- Lost & Found: Offer to organize lost and found items once or twice monthly.
- Special talents: Schools have unique needs. Are you fluent in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, or Chinese? Can you lend a hand in the learning garden or the robotics club?
Community members:
Volunteer opportunities for community members vary greatly among SPS schools. Some schools focus on engaging their students’ families only, while others seek volunteer support from the community.
Our online registration process is not designed to match applicants with volunteer needs. Please do not complete the online volunteer application until you have a volunteer role confirmed with an SPS staff member.
Often, community-based organizations provide before and after-school programming and recruit volunteers as well.
Seattle Tutoring Coalition
Seattle Tutoring Coalition (STC) offers a connection to a wide range of volunteer (and paid) tutoring opportunities across Seattle. Visit their tutor recruitment page to find tutoring opportunities by neighborhood, time of day, age, and more!
The following organizations are members of STC and actively recruiting volunteers:
- East African Community Services
- Foster Grandparent Program – AmeriCorps Seniors
- Horn of Africa Services
- Minds Matter
- Reading Partners Seattle
- School Connect WA
- Seattle Public Schools
- Solid Ground
- Team Read
- The Math Agency
- The Seattle Public Library
- Tutors Impacting Public Schools
- UW Community Engagement & Leadership Education (CELE) Center
- Youth Tutoring Program
Communities in Schools of Seattle
Are you looking for ways to meet people, get involved, and give back to your amazing community? Our goal is to connect volunteers. Watch a video with some of our outstanding volunteers and visit our Communities in Schools of Seattle website to consider current opportunities.
Volunteer as a Coach
- Looking to volunteer as an athletic coach? Athletic coaches (both volunteer and paid) are required to complete additional Adult Sexual Misconduct prevention training and national-level background checks. Apply for athletics/coaching.
- Please note that athletic coach volunteer applications follow a separate onboarding process led by the athletics department.
- Some schools also have club sports volunteer coach opportunities (Lacrosse, Cheer, Ultimate Frisbee, etc). Please visit your preferred school’s website for more information.
- Seattle Public Schools is committed to creating a culturally responsive workforce to better serve students furthest from educational justice. Consider volunteering with us to network with staff, gain mentorship opportunities, and discover if a teaching career is right for you!
- Need observation hours to apply to a teaching program? Our school district welcomes future educators to actively fulfill this school application requirement through volunteering. Since processing volunteer applications, orienting, and training new volunteers to support educators and students takes time, we require a three-month commitment of at least one recurring weekly volunteer shift per week. This timeline allows staff to provide thoughtful feedback, mentoring, and potential recommendations to teaching candidates while guaranteeing your hourly requirement will be met. You can complete our Volunteer Interest Form to be matched with a school.
- Are you in an undergraduate program for future educators and seeking an internship placement? Please ask your internship coordinator to contact our volunteer program to discuss undergraduate internship partnership opportunities.
- Student teaching and graduate-level internships: Please do not apply to volunteer with SPS; instead, inquire with your university about their placement arrangements with SPS. Graduate programs must have affiliation agreements with SPS before placing student teachers and interns.
- Graduate-level internships unrelated to teaching: SPS staff interested in hosting a graduate-level intern should contact their central office program manager or their principal to find out if SPS has an affiliation agreement with the prospective intern’s university. Graduate interns may not apply to be volunteers—they must be cleared through an affiliation agreement.
The Volunteer Enhancement Program regularly needs volunteer groups to implement school building or ground improvements, including:
- Developing a school garden
- Weeding and mulching landscape areas
- Installing new playground equipment
- Creating a mural
- Landscape renovation
- Developing a conceptual master site plan
Volunteer Impact
Volunteers make a BIG difference in the classroom
By showing up at the same school regularly, you show students that their success matters to you and that the community supports their school. You also develop rapport and trust while learning how to support your scholars best. Your volunteer support can make a big impact on their lives!
- Research shows that students who receive direct support from volunteer tutors achieve higher grades, test scores, and are more likely to graduate.
- When volunteers provide clerical support to staff, educators have more time for instruction and individualized support for students.
- Volunteers make programs supporting the lowest-income students possible: Friday food backpacks preventing weekend hunger, school supply drives, etc.
- Schools with large numbers of volunteers offer students more learning experiences through clubs, field trips, enrichment.
Reny Mathan intentionally selected James Baldwin Elementary:
“Volunteering at James Baldwin Elementary allowed me to put my efforts where I felt they were needed and appreciated, and where I could feel I was making a difference, whether it be helping teachers with class prep or students with learning.”
Reny Mathan, Volunteer – James Baldwin Elementary