Visitors & Volunteers

We welcome and encourage parental involvement in our schools and offer many opportunities throughout the year for parents to engage with their student(s) in school-based events and activities.

When you visit our schools please be aware of the visitor and volunteer guidelines that help us maintain a safe environment for our students and staff.

  • All Pelham City Schools use the Raptor Visitor Management System which enables us to facilitate the effective and efficient management of visitors in our buildings and determine a visitor’s registry status with the National Sex Offender Database.
  • Upon arrival at the school, all visitors must report to the main office. Office personnel will facilitate the process for visitor registration.
  • Visitors will be required to provide a valid government-issued ID/correspondence that will be scanned or manually entered into the Raptor Visitor Management System.
  • Each visitor will be issued a badge with a photo, indicating the time and purpose of the visit. The badge is to be worn while at the school and returned to the office upon departure.

The Raptor system will be used for school visitors who are attending the following*:

  • open lunch sessions
  • scheduled class parties
  • athletic events or other extra-curricular events
  • scheduled student performance events
  • scheduled meetings and/or parent-teacher conferences
  • meetings of parent-teacher organization(s)
  • other activities identified by the superintendent (or designee)

*Exemptions may include widely attended events (when large groups are entering at one time it may not be feasible to require everyone to process through the visitor management system). On these occasions, school staff will assist with visitor management and supervision.

Lunch Visitors

If you plan to attend lunch with your student, please visit the Visitors & Volunteers section on your student’s school website for details and follow the Lunch Visitors guidelines.

Other Guidelines Regarding School Visitors

  • Visitors must follow all school rules and stay in designated areas as determined by school.
  • Parents may not bring other non-school aged children to school while participating in school activities, school volunteer opportunities, field trips, and class parties. Exceptions to this rule are certain student performance events during the school day as allowed by administration and any after-school, widely attended events such as student performances, meetings, and extracurricular activities when school personnel are not directly responsible for children. Non-school aged children may participate in school lunch visits if such visits can occur without disruption to the normal school environment.
  • The principal may suspend or revoke the privileges of any visitors for failure to comply with the school rules or the requests of school personnel.
  • Principals will determine when visitors are allowed for school activities.

Class Parties

  • Visitors are limited to 2 adults per student and they must be on the student’s contact list.
  • Please refrain from bringing siblings to class parties.
  • Outside food should be store bought/pre-packaged.
  • Student birthdays will be recognized within the classroom. Please do not send food items, flowers, or balloons due to the possibility of student/staff allergies.

Volunteers
Keeping our students, faculty, and staff safe is a top priority. Pelham City Schools currently requires the successful completion of a criminal background check for those serving as a volunteer, chaperone, or other sponsor for K-12 activities as outlined below:

  • School Volunteers
  • Parents and others who participate in any activities to assist or chaperone students. Activities would include field trips and any other activities designated by the principal. Field Day participants who assist with activities require a background check.
  • Any other activities that require the supervision and care of students.

A background check is NOT REQUIRED for participation at - 

  • open lunch sessions
  • scheduled class parties
  • athletic events or other extra-curricular events
  • scheduled school-wide events or performances
  • scheduled meetings and/or parent-teacher conferences
  • meetings of parent-teacher organization(s)
  • other exempted activities identified by the superintendent (or designee) 

Background Check Details

  • Pelham City Schools contracts with a third-party company called ESS to conduct the background check for volunteers in our schools. ESS provides a secure, online system for processing the requests.
  • Volunteers are required to pay for the background check. The cost is $15. The fee is paid directly to the third party company that administers the background check. Pelham City Schools does not profit from the costs related to the screening.
  • Once you have successfully completed a background check, it will be valid for the current school year (August-May).
  • Click on the Background Check Application link to access the forms in English or Spanish.