Interested in volunteering at The Grayson School?
Volunteer support is essential to our being able to achieve our vision. We value you and sincerely appreciate your willingness to help build our school and enhance the environment for our students. We encourage you to share your time, interests, and talents in a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
Volunteering at a school
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has policies that mandate that all volunteers in schools obtain and submit the clearances below. Volunteers are defined as someone who supervises, guides, is in control of, and/or has routine interaction with children. This includes parents of students who are regularly scheduled to assist in the school day during school hours and/or after-care, on field trips or school sponsored events, or who have regular direct contact with children and/or who will be responsible for students at school events will need to obtain these clearances.
In order to volunteer at Grayson, in accordance with state policies, clearances must be obtained prior to spending time at Grayson while school is in session.
Those who visit the school with limited contact with children, such as an event or celebration, and will be participating in activities where students will be supervised by professionals and/or authorized school staff, will not require clearances.
Getting your clearances
Fees associated with Pennsylvania State Policy and Department of Human Services clearances are waived for all volunteer positions. If you have not been a consistent resident in the state of PA for ten consecutive years, an FBI clearance is required. You are responsible for obtaining this clearance (the approximate cost is $30). Once your updated clearances are on file, you will not need to re-submit clearances for each volunteer opportunity and are valid for 5 years from the date of issue.
You can initiate the process online using the links below. We recommend that you also file online. If you choose to process your clearances via mail, allow 2 months for results.
Three documents are required for Volunteer Clearances
1) Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification
Child Abuse History Clearances should be completed online for the quickest results. From this link you will be directed to the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Portal where you can either create an account or log in.
2) Pennsylvania Criminal History Background Check
Online results for a Criminal History Background Check are available immediately. From the main page, click “New Record Check (Volunteers Only)” to begin. You will need the following information:
Volunteer Organization Name: The Grayson School
Volunteer Organization Telephone Number: 484-428-3241
Once you have completed all information, click “certification form” in order to print the correct form.
3) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Background Check OR The Grayson School Volunteer Affirmation Form
If you HAVE lived in Pennsylvania for at least the last 10 consecutive years,
the FBI Criminal Background Check is not required. If a Volunteer has been a resident of Pennsylvania for the entirety of the previous ten-year period and swears or affirms by properly executing The Grayson School Volunteer Affirmation that he or she is not disqualified from service and has not been convicted of a prohibited offense listed in existing law or a similar offense in another jurisdiction.
If you HAVE NOT lived in Pennsylvania for at least the last 10 consecutive years,
you must complete an FBI Criminal background check. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services utilizes Cogent Systems to process fingerprint-based FBI criminal background checks.
This is a two-step process including online registration and fingerprinting taken digitally. Please be sure to choose the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) when registering. You are responsible for the cost of this clearance ( approximately $30), which includes a mailed (unofficial) copy of the results to your home.
Once you have registered, proceed to an approved fingerprinting site to be digitally fingerprinted. You can search by county for approved locations. Ensure that your Registration Number beginning with “PAE” is provided to the school so that we can also access the official record.
Submitting Clearances to The Grayson School
Once obtained, original clearance documents can be submitted to the school by mail or in person.
Please submit all 3 documents at the same time to: The Grayson School, 211 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087, ATTN: Volunteer Coordinator
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at 484-428-3241.
Please note
We are required to have copies on file, but we are legally not allowed to release them to anyone, and they are kept confidential. All volunteers must alert us within 72 hours if arrested for or convicted of an offense that would constitute grounds for denying participation in a program, activity or service, or is named as a perpetrator in a founded or indicated report.