Dates set for monthly fingerprinting

The Glendale Elementary School District (GESD) has scheduled monthly fingerprinting opportunities for parents, guardians and community members who would like to participate in school-related volunteer activities. All fingerprinting sessions will be held at the Glendale Elementary School District Offices, 7301 N. 58^th Ave., from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. During the 2013-14 school year, volunteers can be fingerprinted on these dates:

                        Aug. 13                       Jan. 14

                        Sept. 10                      Feb. 11

                        Oct. 22*                     March 4*

                        Nov. 12                       April 8

                        Dec. 10                       May 13

Under a system introduced last year, fingerprints will not be required from all parents. The tiered system, which was developed by a group of parents and District employees, was started by GESD it order to make it easier for parents to volunteer. The goal is to lead to a more welcoming culture for parents at GESD’s 17 schools.

The B.R.A.V.O. (Building Positive Relationships and Volunteer Opportunities) system balances the need to keep students safe while using the services of parent and non-parent volunteers. It replaces a system that required every parent who wished to volunteer to be fingerprinted no matter what level of volunteer support they wished to offer. The system was lengthy, and locked out some parents because of a lack of documentation.

B.R.A.V.O. requires background checks, fingerprinting, or both based on the level of services for which a parent or community member wishes to volunteer. The system works like this:

Tier I

No background check or fingerprints  are required because these volunteers assist only with activities that do not involve interaction with students, or their interactions with children are supervised by certified staff at all times. Examples include clerical/office work, field day and campus events.

Tier II

At this level only background checks are required of parents, but non-parents must have a background check and be fingerprinted. At this level volunteer activity occurs on or off-site and may or may not be supervised by a certificated staff member. Non-parent volunteers in this category must be supervised. Examples include day field trips, parent volunteers who supervise groups of students on field trips without direct supervision, tutoring, reading with students and small group activities.

Tier III

At this level all volunteers must go through background checks and be fingerprinted. On Tier III volunteer activity occurs on or off-site with the likelihood there is not always a certified staff member present. Examples include coaches, overnight field trips, non-parent volunteers supervising small groups on field trips or after school clubs without certified sponsor.

Parents who currently have a valid fingerprint card are cleared for Tiers I and II. To qualify for Tier III, a background check is required. Parents without a social security number must present photo identification and have a background check for Tiers II and III. Non-parents who currently have a valid fingerprint card must have a background check for Tiers II or III. In addition, the District will continue to provide the opportunity to be fingerprinted monthly during the school year at the District Office, 7301 N. 58^th Ave.

Before being fingerprinted, volunteers must fill out a volunteer application at their school office. Volunteer applications must be signed by either the school’s principal or assistant principal. Everyone seeking to be fingerprinted must bring either a valid Arizona Drivers License / ID, or a photo ID. Both must include physical descriptions of the ID holder. Volunteer applicants are not eligible to participate in school-related volunteer activities until their volunteer clearance information is distributed to schools. It can take up to 10 weeks for fingerprints to be cleared, so parents and volunteers need to plan accordingly.

*This post has been updated to reflect a change in dates parents and volunteers can be fingerprinted during the months of October and March.