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​LMSD ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear LMSD Families,
First, I want to thank the nearly 400 parents and guardians who have already registered in LMSD's new online Raptor®  Volunteer Management System. This email is a remind to those of you who would like to volunteer in our schools during the upcoming year, but have not yet gone through the online registration process, to please do so. Here's why: 
As you likely know, starting in July 2016, Pennsylvania mandated that prior to working with students in schools, all volunteers must submit clearance documents. These documents include:
  1. Pa. Child Abuse History Certification
  2. Pa. Criminal History Background Check 
  3. FBI Criminal History Background Check or Disclosure Statement
Here in the Lower Merion School District, we are fortunate to have well over 2000 parent, guardian and community volunteers who enrich our students’ experiences by offering their time and expertise. Engaging and encouraging volunteers to interact within our schools is an important part of our “Spirit of Community” strategic plan pathway. However, keeping track of the required paperwork – especially since some of it will start expiring soon – has become challenging.
Included in our purchase of the Raptor® System, which our school security guards are/will be using, is a component that will help us manage the clearance paperwork and will enable you to update your information online. You will no longer need to visit the District Administration Building to turn in your clearance paperwork. And, once all of our volunteers are registered in the Raptor Volunteer Management System, HSAs and schools will be able to use it communicate with you regarding specific volunteer opportunities. Plus, the system will let you know when your clearances are about to expire.
The one downside to implementing this new system is that we cannot import our existing Volunteer data into it. Therefore, we are asking all parents/guardians who may volunteer next year to RE-REGISTER using the new Volunteer Management System. If your paperwork is already on file, you will not need to find and upload your documents, you will just need to verify your name and contact information. Once you have done that, we will verify that your clearances are in order and let you know via email that you are in the system as an approved volunteer. (If you do not have an email address, you can still bring your paperwork to the District Administration Office and register in person).
Click here to register as an LMSD volunteer for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond. For additional information on what you will need to complete the application, click here. 
We’ve also created a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Raptor Volunteer Management System.
If you have any additional questions, please call the Office of School and Community Relations at 610-645-1977 or email me at buckmaa@lmsd.org. And thank you for volunteering your time and expertise to support our students!
Yours truly,
Amy Buckman
Dir. School and Community Relations

(published August 1, 2019)


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merionhsa@gmail.com