- Willmar Public Schools - District 347
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Volunteering at Willmar Public Schools
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Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Willmar Public Schools. We value the time and talent of our volunteers! Volunteering in Willmar Public Schools can be an amazing and rewarding experience. As a volunteer, you will provide direct service to children in our schools. Volunteers are asked to be dependable, patient, flexible and sensitive to the learner. A sense of humor comes in handy, too! Since we serve a diverse population of learners, you'll have the unique opportunity to see the world through another's eyes.
Volunteers must complete the following two items prior to volunteering:
- Background Check
- Bullying Training
Please continue reading for more information on these two requirements for volunteering.
Background Checks
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To ensure the safety of our students, we require criminal background checks on the following:
- Any volunteer who accompanies students off campus (i.e.. chaperones for field trips).
- Any volunteer who is responsible for working with students on campus, but outside of the regular classroom structure.
- Any volunteer who is responsible for working with students in the classroom or on a regular basis.
Volunteer background checks do not need to be done every year. Volunteers are required to complete a background check every 5 years. Once you have been approved through our volunteer background check process, you will be cleared to volunteer within the next 5 years . To inquire whether you already have a cleared volunteer background check on file, please contact Renee in Human Resources at 320-231-8514 or getzr@willmar.k12.mn.usThe online criminal background check form requires you to provide authorization for a variety of criminal background checks:
- Nationwide Sex Offender Registry Search: Provides a sexual offender registry check of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
- Nationwide Criminal SuperSearch: A criminal search for 47 states plus the District of Columbia.
- Social Security Number Trace: Provides the name, aliases, 10 year address history, and all social security numbers associated with the individual. Verifies that the social security number is valid, gives year of issuance and state issued.
- MN BCA Criminal Search: Provides a criminal history through the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions.
Please list the name of the classroom teacher that you are volunteering for under "position applying for" on the form. The background checks will normally be done at the volunteer's expense ($12 - paid online while filling out the form) and information will be kept confidential. Click here to complete the volunteer background check. If a volunteer is unable to pay for the background check, please contact the building principal.Human Resources staff members will review the results of each background check. If there are any concerns regarding the results of a background check, Human Resources will contact that individual directly within 24-48 hours after receiving the results. The online form includes an option for volunteers to request a copy of their own report.Thank you for your cooperation as we continue to maintain a safe and secure educational environment for our students.
Note: If you are a current employee of Willmar Public Schools, you are already cleared to work in the District, so do not need to complete the volunteer background check.
Bullying Training
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All volunteers must also read the Notice to School Volunteers. An electronic signature will be required at the end to ensure that each volunteer has read and understands these requirements under the Safe and Supportive Schools Act. This Act is widely known as the anti-bullying law passed by the Minnesota legislature.
The Act requires public schools to adopt a written policy to prevent and prohibit bullying and to discuss this policy with its volunteers. As a past school volunteer or new volunteer, we are notifying you of our new policy #514 Bullying Prohibition. In the hopes that you wish to continue to volunteer, we are also inviting you to attend training sessions on the policy that we will be conducting with students and/or staff members. If you are interested in attending these training sessions, please contact Adam Gregory at gregorya@willmar.k12.mn.us or 320-214-6500. Mr. Gregory is our Primary Contact Person with respect to this policy.
If you are unable to attend a training session, it still is important that you are aware of some of the basic provisions of the new law and policy as set forth in this notice. Please read the District Bullying Prohibition Policy by clinking the link above and read the additional information below. Once you have completed this, click the link below.
Please click here to submit your electronic signature confirming you received and read this notice.
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What Conduct is Prohibited?
Under the policy, students are prohibited from engaging in any act of bullying on school premises, school district property, at school functions or activities, or on school transportation. School policy also prohibits acts of cyberbullying that occur on school premises or through the use of school resources as well as cyberbullying that occurs off school premises, to the extent such acts substantially and materially disrupt student learning or the school environment. In addition, retaliation for asserting, alleging reporting or providing information about an act of bullying or cyberbullying or knowingly making a false report of bullying is prohibited.
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What is Bullying?
For purposes of our policy, bullying is intimidating, threatening, abusive, or harming conduct that is objectively offensive and:
- there is an actual or perceived imbalance of power between the student engaging in the prohibited conduct and the target of the prohibited conduct, and the conduct is repeated or forms a pattern; or
- materially and substantially interferes with a students' educational opportunities or performance or ability to participate in school functions or activities or receive school benefits, services, or privileges.
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What conduct is considered to be intimidating, threatening, abusive or otherwise harming?
Intimidating, threatening, abusive or harming conduct includes, but is not limited to, conduct that does the following:
- causes physical harm to a student or a student's property or causes a student to be reasonable fear of harm to person or property;
- under Minnesota common law, violates a student's reasonable expectation of privacy, defames a student, or constitutes intentional infliction of emotional distress against a student; or
- is directed at any student or students, including those based on a person's actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, sex, marital status, familial status, socioeconomic status, physical appearance, sexual orientation including gender identity and expression, academic status related to student performance, disability, or status with regard to public assistance, age, or any additional characteristic defined in the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA). Prohibited conduct need not be based on any particular characteristic defined in this paragraph or the MHRA.
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What is Cyberbullying?
"Cyberbullying" means bullying using technology or other electronic communication, including, but not limited to, a transfer of a sign, signal, writing, image, sound, or data, including a post on a social network Internet website or forum, transmitted through a computer, cell phone, or other electronic device. The term applies to prohibited conduct which occurs on school premises, on school district property, at school functions or activities, on school transportation, or on school computers, networks, forums, and mailing lists, or off school premises to the extent that it substantially and materially disrupts student learning or the school environment.
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What are the obligations of volunteers to address bullying?
As a volunteer, you are not obligated to report or refer incidents of bullying to school officials. In an effort to curb negative behavior, however, we do ask for your cooperation in making reasonable efforts to intervene in and report incidents of prohibited contact to our Primary Contact Person, the classroom teacher, or the building administrator.
Willmar Public Schools greatly appreciates the time you have offered as a volunteer. If you have any questions about our anti-bullying policy or your role as a volunteer, please contact the Building Principal or Adam Gregory, Director of Alternative Programs at gregorya@willmar.k12.mn.us or 320-214-6500.
