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In an effort to ensure the safety of all our students, CBA requires all volunteers to submit an application to the school and receive approval before interacting with children in the school or chaperoning any school field trip. Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of our children and maintain compliance with the appropriate guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation as we complete this process.
Please feel free to contact the school if you have any questions.
There are two types of volunteers – Volunteer Level I and Volunteer Level 2.
Volunteer Level I: (i.e. Lunch/pizza day, guests/visitors, office and classroom helpers, etc.) Volunteer must be in the presence of and supervised by a CBA employee at all times, if working with children. The volunteer must have a National Sex Offender Registry check conducted every time (s)he volunteers at the school.
Volunteer Level II: (i.e. Field trip chaperones, therapists, coaches’ assistants, etc.) This status allows interaction with students without a CBA employee immediately present. A volunteer must have a National Sex Offender Registry check run every time (s)he volunteers at the school in addition to a criminal background check.
Volunteers should familiarize themselves with the school handbook. Volunteers who fail to follow school policies may lose volunteer status, be denied access to the school, or be subject to other consequences.
Volunteer Policies and Procedures
Charleston Bilingual Academy values the contribution of its many volunteers in keeping costs down and helping the school run efficiently. In order to make sure that our volunteers understand their important role, we ask you to review the following policies and procedures.
Attendance: Volunteers who are unable to show up at the time and place appointed should make every effort to notify the school and/or the parent volunteer coordinator as soon as possible.
Sign-in and Sign-out procedures: Volunteers must bring a photo ID and sign-in and sign-out in the front office each time they visit the school. Volunteers are required to wear and clearly display the school-issued temporary volunteer tag.
Professional Volunteer Attire: The school image that we desire to reflect is one of a professional nature. Adult attire should model for students how to dress for success and how to lead well with professionalism and modesty. Undergarments should not be seen at any time.
Bloodborne Pathogens: Pathogens are disease-causing organisms found in the blood and certain body fluids. Volunteers should treat all blood and bodily fluids as infected and take steps to protect yourself. Immediately contact a teacher or school employee if you believe that a student has been injured or if there is a concern related to bloodborne pathogens. Only trained and/or authorized persons can clean injuries.
Emergency/Drills: If you are in the building during an emergency drill (fire, lockdown, tornado, etc.), volunteers are expected to participate and set a good example for the students. Red folders with emergency information are located beside the door in each classroom.
Statement of Faith: Volunteers must read CBA’s statement of faith and agree not to teach or endorse anything contrary to the stated beliefs.
Child and Sexual Abuse Policy: Volunteers are expected to familiarize themselves with the policies and procedures in place to protect our students; including, but not limited to, policies regarding not being alone with any one student.
Student Safety: If children are placed under the care of a volunteer (Level II only), the volunteer must count the number of students at each transition and ensure that a student is never left alone.
Cell phone use: Volunteers should not use personal cell phones while supervising children, except as directed by CBA employees.
Discipline: Volunteers may not discipline students, but should report behavior problems to the supervising staff member.
General behavior: Volunteers, themselves, should always model respectful, kind behavior and speech for children.
Student Records: Volunteers may not access confidential student or personnel records and should respect the confidentiality of students.
Injury policy: If a volunteer is injured while on school property or providing volunteer services, (s)he should report the injury to a school administrator; however, please note that CBA volunteers are unpaid and therefore not covered by worker’s compensation. Instead, volunteers should consult with their personal insurance company to add community volunteer work to their policy.
Issues/concerns: If any issues arise during while working as a volunteer, concerns should be addressed with the early childhood director, elementary/middle principal or headmaster of the school.
