Competency 4: Community Relations

Related Task: 3.1 Ability to utilize staff and community involvement in

developing goals and objectives for a school or school system.
Narrative Description of Task: 3.1.1 Define a role and work with a
committee of citizens and/or staff to investigate and identify alternative
solutions to a particular problem.
Narrative Description:
Work with Parent Advisory Committee to come up with a volunteer
hour policy. As tuition based school, Bishop Kelley relies on participation in
fundraisers in order to keep tuition rates lower than other private Catholic
schools. The same 10% of families do the vast majority of the volunteer
work. Along with the Parent advisory committee, I will write and implement
a new policy that requires volunteer hours or families will need to pay an
additional amount of tuition.
Smart Goal: By March 2015, in conjunction with Parent Advisory Committee
will devise a new volunteer policy.
Specific:

Actively participate in Parent Advisory Meetings to develop volunteer hour

policy for the 2015/16 school year.

Measurable:

Attend Parent Advisory Meeting on the second Tuesday of every month at

7:00 PM.

Attainable:

The policy will be put into place before April 2015/16 registration.

Relevant:

Policy needs to be put into place in order to spread out fundraising

responsibility.

Timely:

By March 2015, the policy will be published in Bishop Kelley Catholic School
handbook.

Description and Rationale of Project:

In order for a school to run smoothly, an administrator needs to work in
conjunction with the school board. As a private Catholic School, Bishop

Kelley does not have the traditional school board that can be found in a
public school system. There is however, a Parent Advisory Board. The Parent
Advisory Board is made up of the principal, parents and PTG (Parent Teacher
Guild) president. Like the name states, the Parent Advisory Board advises
the principal on matters of importance to the running of the school. It gives
the community a voice in the atmosphere, rules, goals, and general welfare
of the school. It is good to share leadership opportunities. According to
Sharon D. Kruse it is good to Expand leadership opportunities. While it may
seem counterintuitive, asking staff, teachers and parents to take on
leadership rolesdoing more work rather than lesscan have positive
results. (Kruse) For this reason as well as the importance to give the
community a voice, it is important to work with Parent Advisory and other
parent groups to build a successful learning community.
In order to keep tuition rates affordable for more people to offer their
children a Catholic Education, Bishop Kelley Catholic School relies on a vast
amount of fundraisers. Most Catholic schools have a volunteer policy that
states the amount of volunteer hours each family must do for the school. In
the past, Bishop Kelley has not had such a policy. It has relied on those who
would readily volunteer. As more families have become duel income to make
ends meet, the amount of volunteers has been dwindling. Families also have
their children in more after school and weekend activities such as sports and
clubs that cut into the amount of free time. The few families that volunteer
get frustrated that they are doing all the work, and everyone is reaping the
benefits of lower tuition.
According to Child Trends Data Bank in 2012, 42% of families
volunteered or served on a school committee. (Parent Involvement in
Schools. Sept. 2013) In Bishop Kelley, the number is less. The average
number of people at the monthly PTG meetings is 4 which include the
administrator. There are currently 112 families at Bishop Kelley Catholic
school. Many of the parents who are among those who volunteer voiced their
concern about the lack of participation. For instance, during our major

fundraisers such as our annual Lenten Fish frys there needs to be about 45
people per week to help. Reminders are sent out to attain volunteers, and
calls are made to families to elicit volunteers.
With these concerns in mind, I knew that the school needed to do
something to divide the amount of work between all Bishop Kelley families.
Therefore, as the administrator, I brought the concerns to Bishop Kelley
Catholic Schools Parent Advisory. The group decided to look into the policies
of other Catholic Schools. I contacted a few principals of other Catholic
Schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit. During our January Parent Advisory
meeting, the group looked at the various policies and discussed areas that
would be pertinent to Bishop Kelley. The PTG president agreed to type up a
draft and sent it to the group. During the February meeting, the Parent
Advisory Board reviewed what had been written and discussed changes to
the policy. It was agreed upon that the introduction and conclusion of the
policy needed to be rewritten to better reflect the family like environment of
the school. Ideas for the changes were discussed and tabled. Each member
had agreed to work on the introduction and conclusion. The group will email
drafts to each other and make changes as necessary. The policy will need to
be finalized by the March meeting and ready to go out in registration packets
in April.
Reflections:
Catholic education has changed over the past twenty-one years of my
experience. The amount of two income families has increased dramatically
resulting in less parental involvement in schools. I have also noticed that
families are much busier with sports and activities. Both of these reasons
have had a dramatic impact on the amount of time that parents have to
volunteer. For this reason, the policy will have an option to pay a fee instead
of doing volunteer hours.
It is never easy to institute change, but there is a tremendous amount
of support especially among those who are regular volunteers.

BISHOP KELLEY CATHOLIC

SCHOOL
RAIDER HOURS POLICY

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT HOURS

Background
Starting in the 2015-2016 school year, Bishop Kelley Catholic School will
institute a mandatory parent participation program called Raider Hours. The
program requires that all families work at fundraising and\or service
activities sponsored by the school. Each family is required to complete a preset number of hours.
The purpose of Raider Hours is to benefit the entire BKCS family by keeping
tuition costs as low as possible while also enhancing the education of our
children. Family involvement in school activities shows our children by way
of example that our faith and school are important to us. Parents and
families who are actively involved with their childs school have been shown
to develop closer relationships with their children, and have a greater
understanding of the schools goals and policies toward the student.
Research has shown that parental involvement fosters a better relationship
between families, students and teachers.
There are a variety of dates, times, and events available to all families to
facilitate completion of their hours obligation regardless of their schedules.
Required Number of Hours
Each family with a student(s) in K-8 will be required to complete 15 Hours.
Preschooler families are not required to participate in the program.
The School Administration and/or Parent Advisory reserves the right
to modify these requirements each school year.
Buy out Option
We strongly encourage each family to fulfill its obligation by completing the
required number of hours. However, families that prefer to provide a check
in lieu of donating their time may do so by submitting a check in the amount
of $300.00 by May 1 of the school calendar year.
Tracking of Hours
Hours must be completed within the 12 month cycle beginning May 2 and
ending April 30 of the following year. Hours earned after May 1 will be
applied to the next school year. If the 15 Hours have not been met by May 1,

a $300 fee will be added to the tuition and all rules will apply. Hours earned
over and above the families required amount may not be carried forward into
the next year. Parents can register for hours through the eligible events with
the school administration, PTG or by other means as allowed. Proof of
attendance via a sign in sheet or by other means may be required in order to
receive credit. Failure to register may result in no credit given for time
worked. All credit will be tracked through the Raider Hours program as
established by the school administration. Parents are responsible to review
their Raider Hours account as provided quarterly to ensure accuracy. They
should advise the Raider Hours program with any discrepancies or errors in
writing. Extra credits hours will not be carried forward to the next school
year.
Registering for an event
Volunteer opportunities will be provided by the School Administration and
PTG. The School Administration and the PTG President (and/or Committee
Chair or Co-Chair) will keep track of the credit hours and report the same to
the Raider Hours program.
Donation of Hours
A family that exceeds the number of hours needed may not donate hours to
another family.
Hour Assignment
Hours will be assigned to function/duties based on their level of responsibility
and involvement required, not necessarily the amount of time worked.
Assignment of hours will be the responsibility of the Parent Advisory. Hours
will be given to events that meet any of the following criteria:
1. The event directly raises funds
a. Parent Teacher Guild events for fundraising and social events
2. The event is cost avoidance in nature
a. Parent Educational Volunteer: ex Library Aide, Art Docent, Book
Fair, Classroom Assistance, Coach, etc.
3. Events at the discretion of Parent Advisory.
Some activities even though they have parent involvement, may not earn
hours. Hours will not be given for lunch duty, field trips or class parties as
these activities do not meet the legibility criteria.

Hours will only be earned from the approved list created by the School
Administration and/or Parent Advisory.
Participation in activities not listed may not be awarded credit. New
functions or activities not listed must be submitted to the School
Administration and/or Parent Advisory for approval.

Waiver of hours
Families may request a waiver of hours through school administration. Any
family requesting a waiver must indicate in writing the nature of their
hardship. These cases will be handled on a case by case basis and will be
decided by the school administration and/or Parent Advisory. Families should
be aware that in order to qualify as a hardship case there must be a rare and
significant event within that school year which impedes your ability to
complete your hours. Situations that will not be considered hardship cases:
divorced or single parent families, full time employment of parents, or not
enough time left in the school year to complete hours.
Definition of family
In order to be as flexible as possible, the definition of family (who can earn
hours under your family name) is defined as any family member who is
willing to work for you. The family member must be noted as working for
your family and meet any volunteer requests as mandated by the School
Administration and/or the Archdiocese including but not limited to the ICHAT
Background Check and attending a Protecting Gods Children Workshop.
Conclusion
Thank you for your participation in Raider Hours. Fundraising benefits every
student at Bishop Kelley Catholic School by keeping tuition low while
providing superior educational opportunities. Families at BCKS are benefited
not only from their students achievements but also from the fellowship and
community that cultivates lifelong bonds between families who share
Catholic values.

Opportunities to fulfill your Raider Hours for the 2015-2016 School

Year
1. Golf Outing
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Co-Chair 1 person/15 hours
c. Assist with food 3 people/6 hours each
d. Hole in One 2 people/6 hours each
e. Extras 2 people/6 hours each
2. Walk A Thon
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Food Chair 1 person/15 hours
c. T-Shirt Chair 1 person/6 hours
d. Pledge Chair 1 person/6 hours
e. Reward Chair 1 person/6 hours
f. Food Assistance 6 people/3 hours
g. Snack Assistance 4 people/3 hours
h. Crossing Guards 2 people/3 hours
i. Bike Riders 2 people/3 hours
3. Mega Raffle/Auction
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Donation Chair 1 person/15 hours
c. Food Chair 1 person/15 hours
d. Volunteers at event 15 people in 3 hour shifts/3 hours each
4. Fish Fry
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Co-Chair 1 person/15 hours
c. Scheduling Chair 1 person/15 hours
d. 45 people per week for 6 weeks - 3 hours per shift
5. Carnival
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. 15 people in 3 hour shifts/3 hours
6. Thanksgiving Luncheon
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Setup/Serve/Cleanup - 3 hours
7. Trunk or Treat
a. Chair 1 person/5 hours
8. Donuts with Dad
a. Chair 1 person/5 hours
b. Setup/Serve/Cleanup/3 hours
9. Muffins with Mom
a. Chair 1 person/5 hours
b. Setup/Serve/Cleanup/3 hours
10.
Teacher Appreciation
a. Chair 1 person/6 hours
b. 18 parents in 2 hour shift for classrooms/2 hours

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

Rosary making
a. Chair 1 person/6 hours
Gingerbread housing
a. Chair 1 person/6 hours
Coaching
a. Coach and Assistant Coach 15 hours each
PTG President/15 hours
PTG Vice President/15 hours
PTG Secretary/15 hours
PTG Treasurer/15 hours
Market Day
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
b. Assisting at delivery/2 people for 9 months/2 hours each week
Box Tops
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
Scrip
a. Chair 1 person/15 hours
Library 1 hour per time
Teacher helper (not including parties) 1 hour per time
Book Fair 2 events per year/ 1 hour per time
School Sign - 1 hour per time
Kindergarten Graduation
a. Chair 1 person/6 hours
b. Assistants 2 people/2 hours
8th Grade Graduation
a. Chair 1 person/6 hours
b. Assistants 4 people/3 hours

Works Cited
Kruse D. Sharon, 5 Ways To Build A Culture Of Collaboration With Staff,
Teachers And Parents.
http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=12512
Parental Involvement in Schools. Adelaide: Education Dept. of South
Australia, 1981. Web.