Administrative Procedures

Administrative Procedure 235

Student Volunteerism

Background:

Volunteerism enhances the well-being of self and others while providing meaningful service to the individual, organization and community. Volunteerism can assist students in building pathways to the workforce; it is another form of applied learning and work exposure that supports career decision making while providing a context for learning.

Subject to the Education Act, Saskatchewan Employment Act, Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, and Occupational Health and Safety Act, the LPSD authorizes a volunteerism secondary level credit for community service activities that may take place in a variety of settings, including businesses, not-for-profit organizations, public sector institutions (including hospitals and long-term care facilities) and informal settings.

Definitions:

Community Service Activities - refers to organized activities led by businesses, not-for-profit organizations, public sector institutions (including schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and childcare facilities), and informal settings that contribute to the health of the community and broader society.

Volunteer - refers to someone who gives their time in support of helping others with no expectation of gain or material benefit in return. Volunteerism refers to the act of volunteering through community service activities.

Procedures:

To ensure that students qualify for a volunteerism credit the following conditions shall be met:
1. The student must be enrolled as a grade 10-12 student in a regular 24 credit program in an LPSD school. This policy is not applicable to the Adult 12 program requirements.
2. The student must submit a personalized learning plan to the school administration, using the Volunteerism Student Plan (Form 613-1) that is signed by student and parent/guardian. Ineligible Volunteerism Activities (Form 613-2) cannot be part of the student’s learning plan.
3. A minimum of 100 volunteer hours must be undertaken and completed outside of the regular school program hours for one or more community service activities using Volunteerism Student Log (Form 613-3)
The Principal shall:
1. Establish procedures to communicate to parents/guardians and students the availability, the administrative procedure or policy requirements for credit attainment for volunteerism.
2. Approve the student volunteerism plan.
3. Ensure a Standing Granted (SG) final mark is recorded for students who successfully complete a Volunteerism 30 credit using Form 8.1 Secondary Level Non-Academic Course – New Mark Addition and accompanying it with a copy of the student’s completed Volunteerism 30 Plan and Student Log templates.
4. Establish procedures to retain a copy of the volunteerism plan and log and supporting documentation on file for a minimum of five years.

References:

The Education Act, 1995 Sections 4(1), (1.1)(c), 4.02 and 149(1)
The Saskatchewan Employment Act, 2013
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, Section 14 (1)
Sask Ministry of Education Volunteerism Policy, 2023
Credit to NESD