Volunteer Opportunities

Your involvement at Palms helps your own children and the children of other parents too.

Every parent should plan to volunteer their help in some way during the school year.

Friends of Palms/PTSA meetings offer a great chance to learn about the volunteer opportunities at Palms as you decide how and where you would like to get involved.

To volunteer you can:

• Speak up at a Friends of Palms/PTSA meeting
• Fill out the online Volunteer Form
• Send email to [email protected]

2023-24 Volunteer Coordinator: open position - please volunteer

Current Openings

See the Volunteer Form for descriptions of committee positions, events, and ongoing volunteer activities. To volunteer, submit the form or contact Friends of Palms.

Positions are now open for the 2023-2024 school year, including leadership, board, committee chair, and coordinator positions:

• Friends of Palms officers
• PTSA officers
• Beautification Chair
• Book Fair Chair
• Family Annual Donation Chair
• Grant Writing Chair
• Grocery Store and Box Tops Programs Chair
• Reflections Art Program Chair
• Translators
• Visitors Days and Elementary School Tours Chair
• Website Reporters
• Westside Saver Card Coordinator

Multiple volunteers will be needed for these events or ongoing programs, once on-campus education resumes:

• Beautification
• Book Fair
• Drop-Off Lanes (see below)
• Supervision (see below)
• Parents to accompany tours on Visitors Days (see below)
• Translators for flyers or for Visitors Days (see below)

Volunteering for the Morning Drop-Off Lanes

The morning Drop-Off Lanes on Woodbine Street and Palms Blvd. keep the process organized and improves safety for students arriving at school.

We need parents willing to help 7:30-8:00am one morning a week. Participating parents will receive LAUSD training.

To volunteer contact Friends of Palms.

2023-2024 Drop-Off Lanes Coordinator: open position - please volunteer

Volunteering for Supervision

You can help the Palms staff supervise students at these times:

• Before school (Mon to Fri, 7:15-8:15am)
• Break (Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, 10:15-10:36am)
• Break (Tue, 9:46-10:06am)
• Lunch (Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, 12:30-1:06pm
• Lunch (Tue, 11:30-12:06pm)
• After school (Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, 2:45-3:30pm
• After school (Tue, 1:15-1:45pm)

Helping supervise students gives parents a chance to enjoy the campus atmosphere and see the students during one of their daily routines. You will help keep everyone safe, and demonstrate parent involvement in your child's school.

How it works:

• Parents come to campus whichever day(s) of the week they have available, at the times shown above.
• Parents are teamed with an administrator to supervise a particular area (outside, the central quad, cafeteria, etc.)
• Supervision takes place every school day, even on rainy days.
• It's helpful if you are consistent about the days and times that you supervise from week to week. Bu we are still glad to have your help even if it's not every week.
• It's helpful if you keep our Supervision Chair up-to-date about your availability.

The sign-up process, which you must do each school year:

1. A Volunteer Application form is required. LAUSD will issue you a volunteer badge, valid for that school year. In some cases, a TB test or fingerprinting may be required. A TB test is valid for up to 4 years.
2. Once LAUSD processes your application, you'll receive a volunteer badge. Wear it when you are on campus; you no longer need a yellow "Visitor" sticker each day, but you still must record your visit in the Visitor Log.

2023-2024 Supervision Chair: open position - please volunteer

Volunteering for Visitor Days

On Palms Visitors Days, prospective Palms families, typically 4th or 5th grade parents, take a 75 to 90-minute tour of Palms, led by a student from Leadership and accompanied by parent volunteers. We can almost always use more parent volunteers.

It's fun and easy. You don't have to know all about Palms. You already know the answers to the types of questions that other parents typical ask.

Examples:

• Why did your family choose Palms?
• What elementary school did your child attend?
• Has your child had an easy time with the transition, making new friends?
• What elective did your child choose?
• Is there a lot of homework? Is your child able to handle it?

We especially welcome 6th grade parents as volunteers since they made the middle school transition themselves only a year ago.

If you can translate to/from a language other than English, you can be especially helpful to families on the tours.

You are welcome to contact the Visitor Days chair for information about being a Visitors Day parent volunteer (read how to contact Friends of Palms), but no registration is required. Just show up in the Auditorium at 8:30 to 8:45 on any Visitors Day to join one of the tours at 9:00am.

2023-2024 Visitors Days Chair: open position - please volunteer

Volunteer Appreciation

Palms welcomes all volunteers: parents, students, and community members. Some volunteers participate on councils and committees. Some are members of the Friends of Palms Board. Some are chairpersons for specific programs and events. And some just help wherever they can.

If you will be volunteering regularly on campus, submit an LAUSD Volunteer Application. If you have questions about volunteer opportunities or an idea for a volunteer project, email [email protected].

We look forward to working with you soon!