You can make a difference
Volunteering
As part of each family’s commitment to our school, we ask that you contribute your time and expertise by volunteering on campus, at an event, or from home. Our volunteer opportunities are family events and we do our best to make them fun for everyone!
Family Volunteers have a vital role in our small public charter school, ensuring that special events and enrichment programs happen. Every family at Desert Sky is already a member of the Family Volunteers, and every household is asked to contribute a minimum of 20 hours (10 hours for single-parent households) of volunteer time per school year. Extended family members are welcome to help you achieve this—the more the merrier!
Family Volunteer Teams
If you can dedicate time consistently throughout the year, please share your talents on one of our Family Volunteer Teams. (More opportunities are suggested below.)
Friends of Desert Sky (FODS)
Plan and host special events, solicit sponsors and donations for fundraisers, research and apply for grants, organize Teacher Appreciation Week, write thank you cards, design flyers and social media graphics. Learn more here.
Room Parents
Support teachers with planning and organization of classroom events, purchase supplies for class projects (reimbursable), coordinate other parent volunteers for class projects, and coordinate teacher gifts.
Garden Committee
Help with watering, planting, and maintaining the edible and pollinator gardens; lead or assist students in hands-on gardening activities. Opportunities are available during the school year and throughout summer. See our garden here.
Campus Beautification
Participate in campus cleanup efforts, maintain landscaping, or help with small repairs and building projects. If you enjoy working outside, carpentry, painting, or taking things apart and fixing them, this is the team for you.
More Volunteer Opportunities
Not sure how you can help? We have lots of ways you can support the school. Sign up to volunteer, complete a simple online background check, and we’ll place you where your talents are most needed.
Events and Fundraising
Events are the cornerstone of the Desert Sky community, and we encourage families to spread the word and get involved in a way that feels good to them.
Decorating, setup, or cleanup crew
Purchasing supplies (reimbursable)
Picking up and transporting items to/from events
Hosting an activity at an event
Working a shift at an event booth
Baking treats for fundraisers
Posting flyers on community bulletin boards
Doing community outreach to find local businesses to sponsor events or donate items/services
Writing thank you cards
Campus Cleanup
If you have time after school or on weekends and like to work with your hands or be outside, we’re always in need of volunteers for groundskeeping and “handyman”-type projects around campus.
Picking up pinecones and raking pine needles
Pruning branches
Cutting log rounds
Splitting fire wood
Spreading wood chips in the gardens, playground, or log course
Weed whacking and mowing
Adjusting irrigation
Cleaning gutters
Making minor building repairs
Light carpentry
Hauling yard debris to the landfill (reimbursable)
Time and Talents
Do you have a skill, talent, or hobby that would be a good complement to the experiential nature of Montessori? We’re always looking for diverse learning opportunities and welcome families and community members to share their talents with students.
Here are a few examples of presentations and activities we’ve hosted:
Hand skills (sewing, knitting, weaving, woodworking, book-making, etc.)
Outdoor skills (gardening, cob oven cooking, medicinal plants, forest botany and wildlife knowledge, snow science, etc.)
Crafts (for fundraising or community events)
Music and instruments
Dance, games, and other physical activities
Geology Day
Reptile Day
Hatching baby chicks from eggs
Sharing your career
Sharing your culture/heritage
In addition to in-class activities, Desert Sky loves people who love computers and understand how they work. We always need:
Computer specialists (to help troubleshoot classroom devices on an as-needed basis)
Office and business tool experts (who are familiar with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Jotform, Airtable, Mailchimp, Canva, Zapier, Facebook Ads, etc.)
Social media support (FB and IG)
Website maintenance (Squarespace)
Classroom Support
Our classroom volunteers lighten the load and spread the love at Desert Sky! If you can lend a hand in or out of the classroom, please contact your child’s classroom guides.
At Home
Laundry
Laminating, cutting, or other classroom assignments
Purchasing supplies for special projects (reimbursable)
Repairing books or furniture
Picking up and delivering meals to faculty and staff during conference days, professional development days, or Teacher Appreciation Week
In School
Providing one-on-one student support in reading, writing, or math (great for parents with teaching backgrounds or experience working with kids)
Helping with managerial tasks, cleaning and organizing, or restocking supplies
Chaperoning field trips
Being an ambassador at an open house or parent orientation
Did you know…
Many companies will pay their employees while they volunteer? Volunteer Time Off (VTO) allows employees to volunteer for a worthy cause while being paid for their time outside of the office.
Contact your employer to find out if paid volunteer time is one of the company perks!
Volunteering FAQ
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Desert Sky families are asked to contribute 20 hours of volunteer time per year, which we recognize is a hefty ask. However, volunteerism is vital to the sustainability of our school. Not only does it build a strong community, it helps our families build stronger ties to other families and creates a more supportive and enriching learning environment for children.
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Yes. Family engagement in a child’s school and education is one of the primary predictors of a child’s educational success and crucial to their social-emotional development. Raising kids is hard, and coming together as a group is key to forming the relationships that support our families and our school.
There are many ways you can volunteer: before school, during the school day, after school, and on weekends. We also have a number of volunteering opportunities you can do from home. However you choose to participate, your dedication to Desert Sky is much appreciated.
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You’d be surprised at how many of us have felt the same way! We’ve all been the “new kid” at Desert Sky, so we know it can be intimidating to join a new group. Our Family Volunteers come together because we want to build community, and we want you to be a part of that. Parents are always welcome at Friends of Desert Sky (FODS) meetings and we’re thrilled to guide new volunteers and show you the ropes.
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Yes! Any time you (and/or your student) donate hours to Desert Sky, you are volunteering. We encourage families to try to volunteer in more than one way, however, so they can get to know the school and meet other families.
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Under state law, any volunteer who will have direct, unsupervised contact with students must pass a criminal background check prior to volunteering. This includes volunteer positions such as classroom helpers and chaperones on field trips, but does not include, for example, volunteers working in the garden after school hours or setup/cleanup crews at events.
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We are always looking for fun ways to engage our families! If you have an idea for an event and can help make it happen, email fods@dsmontessori.org or attend a Friends of Desert Sky (FODS) meeting.
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No, the school does not track volunteer hours. We ask that families do their best to monitor their own family participation and more importantly, enjoy the tasks they sign up for. Our hope is that you get just as much out of your volunteer time as our school does. ❤️