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Service Hours Policy
Parent Involvement
PUCS was built on the principle that involved parents make a school stronger while encouraging students to take their education seriously. An additional benefit is that working towards a common goal brings people together.
We ask each family to contribute 24 service hours to the school each year. Please consider where you could best invest your time and talents at PUCS. Parents often help with field trips, administrative tasks, and summer cleaning projects. Your family will typically receive a credit for the Service Hours Fee of $10 per hour (up to 24 hours) after All-School Camp and the Great PUCS Serve-a-Thon.
In order to adequately meet the needs of the school, we have developed a more formalized system of parent volunteerism.
All school families are required to complete 24 hours of service to the school per year. Parents keep track of the service hours on a tracking card located in the school office. You can fill out your card when at the school or email in service hours to the office@pucs.org (Please note that final tallies of hours have due dates)
In order to incentivize the service requirement, parents will receive a tuition credit for the hours they have worked – up to a maximum of $30 in the Summer, $210 in the Fall and Spring to correspond with the following required hours:
3 hours are to be completed during the Summer Work Days – Hours due to office by Sept 15th
21 hours are to be completed during the Fall & Spring school year – Hours due to office by April 30th
We understand that work and family schedules can be very demanding, making it difficult for some parents to serve during the school day. Some parents have enlisted a close relative (grandparent or aunt/uncle) to serve in their place at the school. We also realize that some parents, particularly those new to PUCS, may be unaware of the specific areas of need within the school. For this reason we will provide notice of the various available opportunities in the PUCS Post and at the Parent Association Meetings. Some of the opportunities can take place from home or during the evening or weekends.
Any parent who is willing to invest the considerable amount of time and energy required by serving on the board or as chair of one of the committees (including Parent Association Coordinators) will automatically have satisfied their requirements.
When serving at the school, these guidelines are to be followed:
All parent drivers, overnight chaperones, or volunteers for any PUCS event must have an act 33 Clearance (PA Child Abuse History) and an Act 151 Clearance (Criminal History Investigation).
To apply for the PA Child Abuse History for Volunteers: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home
To apply for the Criminal History Record for Volunteers: https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jspon file in our office.
All parents who drive on field trips must have a copy of their current license and car insurance policy in our office files. This must be done every new school year.
All volunteers and visitors must report to the office to ensure the safety of the students.
Parents or guardians who will visit classrooms (class observation) must call the school office in advance and arrange an appropriate time for the visit.
Parents who wish to meet with a teacher may make an appointment by calling or emailing the teacher directly.