RAE Volunteer Guidelines

Entering/Exiting the Building:

Bring your ID! You must show your ID to the camera in the front entry area (to your right).
Check in with the front office staff. Let them know you are here to volunteer and get your Raptor badge. (The staff helps us log our on-campus volunteer hours.)
Wear your volunteer badge at all times. Your badge lets everyone know you are checked in and approved to be in the school.
Enter and exit through the front door only.
Do not wander through the building. Please stay in your area of volunteering.
When leaving, give your Raptor badge to the front desk. They will check you out and log your hours.

Parking Restrictions:

Do not park in a reserved spot with a sign with someone’s name or position.
Do not park in the parking lot next to the playground – it is exclusively for school staff.
Do not park in a fire zone or block a crosswalk.

Dress Code:

Dress appropriately by adhering to the same dress guidelines as our students and staff members.

Phone Etiquette:

Have your phone on “silent/vibration” mode while on campus and limit cell phone usage to prevent teaching distractions.

Behavior:

Please use appropriate language at all times and do not make any comments to any children that may be considered inappropriate.
As a representative of Katy ISD, avoid expressing differences of opinion or dissatisfaction with teachers, staff, or other volunteers on campus.
Remember you are serving under the direction/supervision of the teacher. Do not discipline students and only work with students in open, observable areas.
Conversations heard while at school should remain confidential.
Be respectful of other parents, staff, and students.
Do not congregate in the halls, outside of classroom doors, or offices.
Respect the teacher’s time. All personal concerns should be scheduled at a parent conference. Do not go into your child’s classroom unless that is where you are scheduled to volunteer. During class time, please do not distract your child or interrupt instructional time. This time is precious to our teachers and children.

Restroom:

Use the front office restroom (just past the nurse’s station). As a safety precaution, adults should NEVER use student restrooms.

Siblings/Younger Children:

Please make arrangements for your little ones if you signed up to volunteer at an event inside the school, during school hours, or for a workbasket, parent reader, or the library. For safety reasons, younger siblings are not allowed in the school during school hours.

Volunteer Hours:

Before volunteering, make sure you registered and created a volunteer profile on the Katy ISD Raptor site.
When you are at school, the Raptor system logs your hours automatically.
If you volunteer outside of the school (ex. at home), please log into the Raptor site and log your “OFF-Campus Hours.”
Every hour volunteered at RAE is reported to Katy ISD (this includes writing emails, cutting out workbasket materials, planning meetings for an event, driving around collecting donations, etc.)

Emergency Procedures:

Fire – Evacuate in an orderly manner.
Bomb – Exit building.
Lock Down – (Hide) out of sight, lights out, blinds drawn, SILENT, report by email to Principal Secretary – catherinewestervelt@katyisd.org.
Lock Out – (Keep them out) return to building, lock exterior doors, location least visible, report by email to Principal Secretary – catherinewestervelt@katyisd.org.
Shelter in place – Indoors, lock exterior doors.
Tornado – Move inside, away from windows, remain until clear.
Intruder – Run, hide, fight, silence technology, call 911.

Classroom Volunteering:

DO NOT ENTER any classroom unless instructed by the teacher. If you need to talk to your child’s teacher, please email her.
Contact your teacher the day before you are to volunteer for something in their classroom via email and remind them that you will be coming the next day for whatever you are volunteering for.
Workbaskets are the materials your teacher needs cut, stapled, glued, etc. The teacher should place it outside the classroom in a box or basket for you to pick up. DO NOT DISTURB THE CLASS. If you want it sent home, email the teacher to make sure it is something that can be sent home in your child's backpack.
Parent Reader: Due to changes in the district’s read aloud policy, ALL CLASS READER BOOKS MUST COME FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. Please bring your child’s current library book or arrive early to select 2-3 books from the school library to read to your child’s class. If you have never checked out a book before, please allow extra time on your first visit to set up your library account. Please arrive at the classroom on time and let the teacher know you are ready to start by knocking on the door. If you arrive early, please wait at the front office until 1 minute before your volunteer time. Out of courtesy to other parents, do not sign up for more than once a month. (However, if you go back to the sign up and there is a need for a reader that week, you are welcome to do so). Here's a link to search the RAE Library Catalog https://library.katyisd.org/cataloging/servlet/handlebasicsearchform.do
Classroom Library Organization: You will help the teacher organize her classroom/personal library. They have set up specific times for this. Please respect this time. Do not arrive earlier or later, since this “library” is located inside the classroom, the teacher has set it up so that the class is not disturbed.
School Library: Our amazing librarians need a lot of help too. They make their own sign up and you can find those on the E-news every Monday.

Workroom:

Children are not allowed in the workroom.
Workroom supplies and equipment are for school use only.
DO NOT use the laminating machine. It is exclusively for RAE Staff.
Instructions on how to use the copy machine will be located in the workroom next to the copy machine and in the grade-level folders. If you have questions, contact Leonor Picott. If you have issues with the copy machine, please walk back to the front office and ask Lisa Preen or Cathy Westervelt for assistance.
If a teacher comes into the workroom to make copies while you are working on the machine too, please stop and give priority to the teacher.
CLASS COPIES: The teachers have been told to put anything they want copied in the boxes across from the copier in the workroom (there are two grade levels assigned to each day). If there is nothing in the box from your grade-level teachers, then you don't need to do anything. If there is something, please make the amount requested, and then place them in the teachers' mailboxes (located just outside of the workroom).

Parties/Teacher Birthdays:

Classroom birthday treats are NOT allowed.
Classroom door decorating is NOT allowed.
PTA and Homeroom Parents are not allowed to ask for money specifically for birthday or holiday presents, we can only remind parents about the upcoming teacher’s birthday and propose to send a note/birthday card, etc.