Volunteer Opportunities
Outside of the core academic curriculum, much of what enriches our children's education and sense of community is due to family involvement. Whether through financial contributions or time, all of our activities and programs depend on the generosity of families. Volunteering is a way to put your love for your children and community into action. We want to help you get involved in a way that excites you, and fits your schedule and interests.
If you are interested, but think you might not have the time or resources, contact us! There are many ways you can contribute, and every contribution (large or small) makes an impact. There is an opportunity suited for every willing participant. Some require an ongoing commitment, while many others do not require a significant investment of time. We want to help you find the right fit!
Contact the board at board@jsispta.org or fill out our Volunteer Interest Form.
USE YOUR SKILLS
Share your skills and stay involved throughout the school year!
Board Members
Join this group of parents and help lead our PTSA! Be it as part of the executive board, or as an appointed director, your contribution will make a big difference. Click here to see all the Board positions.
“Students First” Campaign
SFC is the most important fundraiser of the year run by the PTSA to fund any additional staff, support or needs identified at our school that is not funded by the district. You'll work with a team of volunteers to promote the campaign through various channels (signs, collection boxes, digital content), help address questions, and collect donations. The campaign happens October - January.
Room Representatives
Room Reps are the essential link that connects every family to JSIS. Help build a strong classroom community and encourage volunteerism and participation in school events by facilitating communication between parents, teachers, and the PTA via emails and online groups (Whatsapp and FB), as well as creating social opportunities for your class families to connect with each other.
Online Directory
Our online directory is the glue that keeps us connected! The Directory Team maintains it updated by helping new families register for the online directory and reminding returning families to update their contact information.
Staff Appreciation
Coordinate with the PTSA and Principal to set up a monthly gifting program for our teachers and 2-5 staff members assigned to each classroom. Send out birthday reminders, and communicate with parents via Room Reps.
Parent Race and Equity (R&E) Task Force
The JSIS Parent Race Equity Task Force was founded by parents in 2018 in response to racism and anti-Blackness incidents between students. We committed then to supporting and stewarding the demands made by JSIS Parents of Black Students, and contributing to a vision of a school culture that prioritizes anti-racism. The Task Force gathers educational resources, ideas for action items, conversation starters with kids, and self-care for BIPOC among others in their Anti-Racism Pledge, and Year of Purpose Fliers. This is an important lifelong process that benefits from everyone’s voices.
Education Intern Exchange
Support our Principal with the logistics of our teaching intern program, including recruiting host families, and acting as a resource to interns and host families for a mutually beneficial experience. Recruit host families, complete home visits and paperwork, and manage communications.
After School Activities (ASA)
Enrich the lives of our students by curating a diverse range of afterschool activities while working with an established team of parent volunteers. Program activities, manage the registration website, and coordinate calendars and communications with vendors, JSIS staff, and families. This work happens in August, and December before the sign up period.
Logo Wear
Show your school flair and spirit by selecting colors and styles for our bi-annual LogoWear sale. Online orders happen in the fall and spring, and involve connecting with our vendor, reviewing and approving merchandise and pricing, distributing the info/link via school communication channels and organizing the delivery of purchases.
Target Language Support
Use your Spanish/Japanese language skills to translate various communications for flyers, eNews and other content with the PTSA. Principal Sarah and/or your student’s teachers will sometimes have additional opportunities. In the past, volunteers have cataloged classroom books, participated in small group learning, recorded "read-aloud" books in software programs like RAZ-Kids, and read out loud in the classrooms.
Friday Coffee Cart
Parents love to gather and chat over a coffee, kids love a special Friday treat, and teachers and staff enjoy this unique perk, too! Leverage your barista skills, engage with your community, and raise funds for PTSA events and school programs as a bonus. This cart has raised more than $3,000 in the past! Time commitment is around 5 hours a week for setting up, running, and cleaning up the cart on Fridays. Mornings are at the upper playground, and afternoons are at the lower playground.
Lost & Found Coordinator
Help our Lost and Found stay in a manageable state throughout the year. Sort lost items, return those that are labeled to the corresponding grade, and keep unlabeled items in bins and on hangers. You can share photos of them in our social media as needed so parents can take a look. This easy job can be done once or twice a month in an hour or two.
Webmaster
Keep our website relevant, engaging, and up to date! Time commitment is around 1-4 hours a month.
RUN AN EVENT
These are at the heart of our community! As part of an event committee, you'll be provided with everything you need to have a successful event.
Monster Mash
Parent volunteers coordinate a night of activities, music, and food, plus a 5th grade Haunted House and book sale! Time commitment is around 2-3 hours a week leading up to the event in October.
Japan Night
Chair one of our community's marquee events! Parent volunteers coordinate a night of Japanese activities, performances, and food for all to enjoy. Volunteers work together to plan, set-up, run the programs, and clean up. Time commitment is 2-3 hrs a week leading up to the event (usually March).
La Fiesta
Chair one of our community's main cultural events of the year! Meet and work with a group of parent volunteers to coordinate a night of activities in Spanish, performances, and food for all to enjoy. Time commitment is 2-3 hrs a week leading up to the event (usually May).
Move-a-Thon/Field Day
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Happy Children! Put the Move-A-Thon motto into action by coordinating a fun day of physical activities for the whole family. Work includes marketing, communications, soliciting business donations and event production. Suggested time commitment is 2-3 hrs a week leading up to the event.
John Stanford Day
At this small but meaningful event, we learn about John Stanford's legacy, and all the things that make our wonderful school what it is! Time commitment is about 2-3 hours total for administrative tasks and marketing, and 2 hours the day of the event.
Heritage Night (Fall Social)
New and current JSIS families gather to enjoy an evening together and connect! This event showcases the different heritages that make up our school. The lead volunteer is responsible for event set up and marketing as well as clean-up. Time commitment is about 2-3 hours total for administrative tasks and marketing, and 3 hours for set-up and clean-up the day of the event.
Ice Skating Day (Winter Social)
Organize the annual JSIS Ice Skating Social at the Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion or the Kraken Community Facility. Responsibilities include making reservations with the rink, marketing the event via school communication channels, and collecting admission fees and paying the vendor. Time commitment is about 2-4 hours for set up and communications, and 2 hours the day of to coordinate the event.
School Tours and Preview Sessions
Participate in school tours, middle school preview sessions, and kindergarten preview sessions. School tours are held on the "day between semesters," when school is closed at the end of January. Volunteer for one or more sessions and speak to prospective families about your own student’s and family's experience at JSIS. These tours/sessions happen in January and May, and last about 90 minutes.
Reflections Art Contest
For over 50 years, the National PTA Reflections arts program has celebrated student creativity through a juried awards process. Each year has a new theme. Follow their step-by-step calendar checklist of event production and lead this at our school! The contest happens in September - February, and the time commitment is around 1-3 hours a week.
Giving Tree
Through the Giving Tree program, our community offers support to families from JSIS and Beacon Hill International School who need a little extra help during the holiday season by fulfilling wishes for clothes, toys, and books. Financial donations to the Giving Tree Fund are used to buy presents for unfilled wishes and prepaid grocery gift cards. This volunteer is responsible for gathering wishes, driving donations, and distributing donated items and funds. Time commitment is around 10-15 hours total in Nov/Dec.
CREATE SOMETHING NEW
Have something in mind that you don't see here? Contacts us! You can shape our community. These are some example of roles that parents have created at times in the past:
Parent Education Series
Identify key topics and presenters for parent education courses throughout the school year. Set up and facilitate the session. Sessions happen once every other month (4-6 total in the year), generally on midweek evenings. Recordings are published on our website following the event. Time commitment is around 3-6 hours per month. This could be combined with PTSA General Meetings.
Grounds Team
This is the perfect opportunity if you enjoy gardening. Throw "gardening parties" to weed, plant, and spruce up our school grounds to keep JSIS looking sharp!
STEM Learning
Identify STEM learning opportunities for all grade levels! Some ideas and possibilities include Science assemblies, science materials for classroom and home use, and the Science Fair.
Green Team
Srta. Maria Matamala, mbmatamala@seattleschools.org
Help support projects that empower JSIS students, teachers, and staff to become environmental stewards at school, at home, and in the world. The Green Team is a student leadership group with a mission to integrate environmental sustainability into all activities at JSIS by practicing waste reduction, resource conservation, and other "green" activities. JSIS mission to raise responsible global citizens involves addressing climate change as a global issue for the future of our planet. Time commitment varies, but is around 10-15 hours total.
Screening Process
All volunteers need to submit the SPS Volunteer Application annually.
Please note that the ASM video training needs to be completed only once ever, not annually.
Interest Form
If you are ready to participate, fill out the contact form below. We will be in touch with you soon!