Volunteers

  • New Volunteers:
     
    Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Parkway School District.  The district has a long history of active school volunteers.
     
    View our current volunteer guidelines here.
     
    1.  To begin the volunteer process,  click this link which will direct you to information on how to get signed up with Transact (previously known as AppGarden).  Transact is our volunteer tracking system.  Once you submit your application in Transact, you will receive an email from dadmin@app-garden.com with links to the MACHS fingerprinting instructions and the Vector online required training sessions.  If you do not have a response within 48 hours of submitting your online application, please be sure to check your spam folder. 
     
    As a regular volunteer, your primary location will be where you are wanting to spend the majority of your time.  The following volunteer categories are by invitation only and you will need to select your primary location according to the list below (you can mark actual building locations under "other preferred volunteer locations"):
     
    Athletics/Extra Duty - Unpaid Volunteers -  Select "Athletics"extra Duty" as your primary location.
    Fine Arts - Select "Fine Arts" as your primary location
    OASIS - Select "OASIS" as your primary location
    Vendors/Consultants - Select "Vendors/Consultants" as your primary location.
     
    2.  Please be aware that the appropriate background checks are required based on current legislation. Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) FBI fingerprint background checks are mandated by Missouri Statute 168.133.  The cost to you, the volunteer, for the MACHS fingerprint background check is currently $44.75, all of which goes to MACHS and not Parkway.  This price is subject to change. Please contact Karen Crews (kcrews1@parkwayschools.net) if you have any questions.   If prints were done through another entity, you will still need to get them done using the Parkway code in order for us to view your background results and get notifications when things change on your background report.
     
    3.  As part of the volunteer approval process, you will be required to complete two online training sessions through Vector Solutions.  When you review the Volunteer Guidelines (link shown above) more information is provided.  Once you submit your volunteer application, you will receive an email with more information and a link to the training site.
     
    4.  Once you have been approved to volunteer, please reach out to the volunteer coordinator at your building.  You must be approved before you can volunteer. You will receive an email notification from Transact (Volunteertracker@app-garden.com) when you are approved.  You will need to then sign back into Transact to activate your account as the final step in the process.
     
    Please check back here for program changes or updates and/or look for updates from your child's principal throughout the school year.  Again, thank you for your interest in volunteering.
     
    If you would like to view step by step instructions for the above volunteer application process, please view this guide.
     
    Returning Volunteers:
     
    We are excited that you are returning to volunteer another year. There are only a few steps you need to complete as a returning volunteer.
     
    1.  Sign into Transact and click on "Renew Application".  If possible, we ask that you do not create a new account.  Instead, just update your previous application.  If you forgot your login information, there is a link to reset your password.
    2.  Update your information and click on "Save Changes".
    3.  You will receive an email from "dadmin@app-garden.com" within 48 hours with a link to complete your required online training sessions* through Vector Training, K-12 Edition (SafeSchools).  There are two required online training sessions: 1) Bullying:Recognition & Response, and 2) Sexual Misconduct:  Staff-to-Student.  After you finish the first one, you need to click on the "home" icon in the upper left corner to get back to your assignments and select the other training.  If you log out of Vector Training, please do not create another account to get back in to complete your training.  There is a link on the right side of the sign-up page in the blue area for people that have already created an account.
     
    *Vendors/Consultants do not need to complete online training through this process as you will get more in-depth training as part of your Parkway email account access.
     
    Once your training is complete and verified, you will receive an approval email from "volunteertracker@app-garden.com" to activate your account.  This is the final step in the application process.
     
     
    Employees wanting to volunteer
     
    If you are employed with Parkway and wish to volunteer, you still need to adhere to the volunteer guidelines above.  However, you will not need to do the online training as Parkway requires more in-depth training from employees.  If you have any questions about whether or not your previous fingerprint background check done through Parkway meets the volunteer requirements, you can contact Karen Crews in HR at kcrews1@parkwayschools.net.  You must have been fingerprinted since November 2020 and be enrolled in the MACHS Rapback system.
     
    What is the definition of a visitor versus a volunteer?

    A visitor is someone that is just coming in to drop something off for their student or a staff member, a guest speaker, they are having lunch with their child, they are attending a class party, they are dropping books off in the library, they have a meeting with a staff member, etc.  There is no chance they could be left alone with a student. 

    According to Missouri Statute 168.133 a volunteer:

    "...shall mean any person who assists a school by providing uncompensated service and who may periodically be left alone with students.  The school district shall ensure that a criminal background check is conducted for all screened volunteers, who shall complete the criminal background check prior to being left alone with a student.  Screened volunteers include, but are not limited to, persons who regularly assist in the office or library, mentor or tutor students, coach or supervise a school-sponsored activity before or after school, or chaperone students on an overnight trip."  This includes chaperoning field trips.