Get Involved

It is often said that “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” and that rings true at Westtown School. We are a welcoming and enthusiastic community made up of many different constituents and there are many ways for all to get involved.

Westtown Parents’ Council

As a parent/guardian and a vital part of the Westtown community, you become a member of Parents’ Council when your family enrolls at Westtown. Each division has its own Parents’ Council and leaders that collaborate on division-specific, as well as all-school events. We are always looking for grade clerks, council leaders, and volunteers for council events, so we welcome your energy and participation.

We look forward to getting to know you through the Parents’ Council, all-school events, and/or our parent education opportunities, such as our Parent Speaker Series.

This year our Parent Speaker Series included:

Coffee with the School Counselors
How to Talk to Your Kids About Gender & Identity
Parents Guide to Alcohol and Drug Use
Raising Sexually Healthy Kids for Lower, Middle and Upper School
Quakerism 101 for Parents

Volunteer Opportunities

We also have several all-school events that require volunteers. This is a great opportunity to meet families in all divisions of the school. No matter how much time you have to give, we have ways for you to get involved in our community.

Which Westtown School volunteers are required to have background checks?

Westtown School volunteers (age 18 and up) who are responsible for a child’s welfare or who have “direct volunteer contact” with children at Westtown— meaning the care, supervision, guidance, or control of children and routine interaction with children are required to have background checks. “Routine interaction” means “regular and repeated contact that is integral to a person’s volunteer responsibilities.”

Westtown visitors are not normally required to obtain background checks to the extent that they are not responsible for a child’s welfare or are visiting the school irregularly and not providing for the care, supervision, guidance, or control of children. Some examples of situations where such visitors normally would not be required to have background checks would include but are not limited to:

– Back-to-School nights

– Parent/teacher conferences

– School assemblies/concerts

– Halloween parades

– Working concession stands

– Parent guest readers

Some examples of persons needing background checks would include but are not limited to:

Regular classroom volunteer assistants
Recess and library volunteers
Volunteer coaches/club advisors
Host family members (age 18 and up)
Chaperones for field trips

Which background checks are needed?

Volunteers must obtain the following certifications:

Report of Criminal History from the Pennsylvania State Police; and
Child Abuse History Certification from the PA Department of Human Services; and
A fingerprint-based federal criminal history (Federal Bureau of Investigation) submitted through Identogo UNLESS:

- The position the volunteer is applying for is an unpaid position; AND
- The volunteer has been a resident of Pennsylvania for the entirety of the previous 10 years.

Volunteers who are not required to obtain the FBI certification (due to the two requirements above) must complete this form.

How often do I need to renew my certifications?

Volunteers are required to obtain certifications every 60 months.

Report of Criminal History from the Pennsylvania State Police
- Click on new record check (Volunteers Only)
- Add your information and click submit
- After your results are displayed: click on the “control #”
- Click on certification form
- Save this form and submit by email to Westtown’s HR office at virginia.knappenberger@westtown.edu
Child Abuse History Certification from the PA Department of Human Services
- If you do not have an account, click “CREATE INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT” and set one up; otherwise, click on “INDIVIDUAL LOGIN.” Be sure to keep a record of your username and password. You will need this information to access your online results. The “Keystone ID” is the username that you will create.
- After your account has been created, click on “INDIVIDUAL LOGIN” and then “ACCESS MY CLEARANCES” . Login and then follow the instructions to complete the application as a volunteer.
- Please email Westtown’s HR department a copy of your completed clearance at virginia.knappenberger@westtown.edu.
FBI Fingerprinting OR Disclosure Statement (if fingerprinting is not required)

*If the volunteer position is paid OR you have NOT been a resident of Pennsylvania for 10 years then you need to obtain FBI Fingerprinting through the following steps:

Go to: https://uenroll.identogo.com/
Register On-line to schedule your fingerprinting appointment
On the initial registration, enter the service code 1KG6TR
You will have the option to choose an IdentoGO location for your fingerprinting.
Print a copy of your registration form to take with you to the fingerprinting location.
Please provide Westtown’s HR with a copy of your IdentoGO receipt at virginia.knappenberger@westtown.edu and we will be able to access your fingerprint results.