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The Busy Parents' Guide For Fulfilling Volunteer Requirements At Your Child's Catholic Middle School

29 March 2016 by Herminia Washington

You like the idea of sending your child to a Catholic middle school for better academics compared to a public-school education. The National Center for Education Statistics found that a higher percentage of eighth graders in private schools scored at the basic, proficient and advanced levels in national tests. Academics, as well as the values taught in private Catholic middle schools, may have you convinced that such a school would be a good fit for your child and your family.

But you may be concerned about the volunteer hours that will be expected of you. Perhaps you and your spouse both work, and you don't have a lot of extra hours to devote to volunteering. What kind of volunteer requirements should you expect from a typical Catholic school?

First, while each school may be different, most expect a set number of hours per child, per school year to help with school activities. This helps keep tuition lower and gives families a feeling of connection to the school. Here are some questions you can ask about alternative ways to fulfill your requirements.

1. Is it possible to pay to reduce the number of hours required? Paying more may not be an option for your family, but if you are especially busy, it may sometimes be possible to pay a slightly higher tuition rate in exchange for fewer or no required volunteer hours. Another option at some schools is to pay another parent to take on your hours; the schools that allow this will often have a list of parents willing to trade time for money.
2. Can grandparents or other family members volunteer? If you can't put in the time, perhaps Grandma or Grandpa are willing to do so. This usually is not a problem for most schools. Just make sure that if you also plan to put in some time that it will be all right for multiple people to fulfill the volunteer requirement for one student.
3. Are there jobs that can be done from home? Because there is often a wide variety of volunteer options, there may be some tasks that can be completed from home in the evenings, like addressing envelopes, collating packets, writing copy or designing materials for fundraising efforts or inputting data. Depending on your specific skill set, you may be able to take on work that you can do when it's most convenient for you.
4. Are there opportunities to volunteer in the evening? Some volunteer jobs involve meeting as a committee with other, equally busy parents or helping with an after-hours function like a play or concert.
5. Can you donate supplies instead of serving hours? Especially for events, it may be possible for you to donate items to be auctioned, materials for decorating or many other needed supplies. Some schools have a formula for how many dollars' worth of donations equal one volunteer hour.

If your schedule or circumstances absolutely prevent you from volunteering, talk to your Catholic middle school administrators and explain your situation. They may be able to come up with other ways for you to help the school.

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