Classroom Coordinator Reference


The Classroom Coordinator is the primary liaison between the PTA, the teacher and parents in the classroom. The needs and expectations of classroom teachers at Alden School vary. Some teachers will ask for assistance and others will seek very little help. The Classroom Coordinator must submit a Volunteer Registration Form and be eligible to volunteer.  

 

Classroom Coordinators communicate with their class with the Community page under My Forms. 

 

The Classroom Coordinator is responsible for the following tasks:

  • Use the online classroom community board for classroom communication. Please share classroom reminders and important information from the PTA newsletter to help get information out to all families. 
  • Assist with creating the class directory. (Click here for instructions.)
  • Plan classroom celebrations (as needed). (Click here for instructions.)
  • Provide your teacher with a list of eligible volunteers and create SignUpGenius for volunteers (as needed). (Click here for instructions.)
  • Share group gift information. (Click here for instructions.)
  • Support Alden PTA by becoming a member of Alden PTA.  


Please email your teacher to introduce yourself as Classroom Coordinator as soon as you are assigned. This is a good time to let your teacher know you are able to help with organizing volunteers, planning parties or helping in other ways with the class.

If your classroom has more than one coordinator, please reach out to the other coordinator(s) to decide how to divide the responsibilities. For example, one is responsible for message board communication, one is responsible for volunteers/directory and both help with planning classroom celebrations.

All Classroom Coordinators are set up with access to post on their Classroom Community Board on the PTA website. Please use the community board to introduce yourself to the families in your class at the beginning of the school year and share classroom information throughout the year. 

 

 

ONLINE Class Contact List (DIRECTORY)

Contact information is collected on the Alden PTA website's online directory. This contact information is used for Class Coordinators to share information and for Alden families to connect. It is accessible on the website under the Directory tab and is also accessible from the mobile app. A separate class list should NOT be emailed or stored on a personal device. 

Please note, contacts who have opted OUT of sharing contact information will still receive emails sent via the classroom message board but will not be listed in the directory. For this reason, Classroom Coordinators should always use the classroom message board for corresponding with your class instead of emailing directly. The “Publish Preferences” form in Membership Toolkit determines what (if any) contact information contacts want shared publicly. 

 

 

OPEN HOUSE 

  • At least one Classroom Coordinator should attend Open House.
  • Bring a class list from www.aldenpta.org to Open House.
  • Compare your class list to the students listed in the classroom (on the desks or cubbies in the hall) and make note of the students not in the directory. 
  • Typically there are 2-3 families in each class who are not on the class list. If possible, introduce yourself to these families at Open House and ask them to provide an email address. Send a reminder email with a link to www.aldenpta.org to register to receive classroom and PTA news.
  • The goal is to have all Alden Families in the directory but some may choose not to sign up and get their information from the PTA newsletter and the teacher. 


Checking the Class Contact List 

Access the class contact list with the Directory tab -> Classroom Contact List -> Select “Sort by” Students (sorting by Contacts shows siblings in other classrooms) -> Select Teacher. 

PRINT - Highlight the list of students with your mouse, right click on your mouse with the text highlighted and select print. Bring this copy to Open House to check your list of students. 

OR

MOBILE - Access the directory at www.aldenpta.org with your mobile device and screen print your class contact list to reference at Open House for the families who still need to register at the PTA website. 

 

Volunteers

At the beginning of the year, please ask your teacher if he/she will need help organizing volunteers. Some teachers offer lots of volunteer opportunities while others have limited opportunities. 

 

With each classroom volunteer event/field trip/party, the Classroom Coordinators must cross reference their list of eligible volunteers with those who have signed up. Please email volunteers@aldenpta.org if you need a list of eligible volunteers for your classroom. 

 

Please share the following steps with your families to sign up to volunteer. Signing up to volunteer is a TWO step process. Only parents/guardians who have submitted the Volunteer Registration Form AND have a current CORI on file will be eligible to volunteer for PTA events and/or classroom volunteer opportunities including FIELD TRIPS, PARTIES OR CLASSROOM EVENTS.

 

Important: EACH PARENT/GUARDIAN/VOLUNTEER NEEDS TO COMPLETE A FORM FOR EACH CLASSROOM indicating your name and the classroom/teacher's name, so some parents/guardians may need to complete the form more than once. For example, if you have three students at Alden, this form will be completed three times.

 

Step 1 - Fill out the Alden School PTA Volunteer Registration form.

This forms includes:

  • An agreement for your CORI status to be checked
  • Sign-off that you have completed the Volunteer Orientation or link to the google doc to request this (this is done one a "lifetime" but needs to be acknowledged each year)
  • Sign-off on the Confidentiality Statement that you attest to reading and agreeing to. 

 

Step 2 - All volunteers must have an updated CORI form with the Duxbury Public Schools.

  • A cleared CORI is good for three years. If a parent/guardian completes the Volunteer Registration form and does not have an up to date CORI on file, they will be notified via email by the PTA. If you are unsure if your CORI is up to date or have other questions, please reach out to volunteers@aldenpta.org or Meg in the front office at mmcevoyduane@duxbury.k12.ma.us
  • CORI Forms can be printed on the Duxbury Public Schools website, or picked up at any main office in the district. You can complete them at home, but the form must be submitted in-person, along with a valid photo ID at any main office in the district.
  • CORI are valid across all Duxbury Public Schools but not across organizations (incl sports, scouts, etc)

 

Visiting the Classroom and Classroom Volunteers

  • If ALL families are invited to visit the classroom by the teacher, the visitors do NOT need to to fill out the Volunteer Registration Form or be eligible to volunteer.
  • If the teacher requests a few volunteers to help at a specific classroom event/activity, the volunteers need to submit the Volunteer Registration Form and be eligible to volunteer.

 

Class Gifts

CLASS GIFTS

The Classroom Coordinator organizes gifts from the class. Some families like to select their own holiday or year-end gift for the classroom teacher and/or aide, but most appreciate being part of a group gift. Request donations be sent in at least a week before you will be giving the gift to the teacher to give time for the collection. Money can be collected online (ex. PayPal or Venmo) or families can send in contributions via backpack in an envelope addressed to you depending on your preference. In your communication about class gifts, always include that donating to the class gift is voluntary and gifts will be presented to the teacher from the entire class.

 

IMPORTANT: Teachers are required to abide by state rules for public employees when accepting gifts. The Massachusetts State rule is that a public school teacher cannot accept personal gifts in excess of $50, unless the gift is provided by the class as an anonymous group, in which case the teacher can accept one or more personal gift(s) with a value of up to $150 each school year. See specifics on www.mass.gov HERE. 

 

Typically, Classroom Coordinators ask families to contribute a small amount of money ($5-$15) at the holidays and at the end of the school year to be used for a personal gift from “The Class”. Please consider giving a gift to the classroom aide(s), co-teacher(s) and ‘specials’ teachers (Art, Music, Library, Spanish and PE) from the money you collect at the holidays or end of year to thank them for all they do for the students.

 

If you are giving gifts twice during the year, please keep in mind that the total of the personal gifts (per person) must not exceed $150. For example, the amount could be split $100 at the holidays and $50 at the end of the year OR $75 at the holidays and $75 at the end of the year.

 

If you have excess money contributed after you have purchased the personal gifts for teachers, aide, specials, etc, you may use the excess funds to purchase a gift card for supplies, books or games for the classroom. These gifts do not count toward the $150 restriction, because they are considered gifts to the classroom not the teacher.

 

Please let the families in your class know what gift(s) were given so that everyone feels included. Also, please arrange to present the gift to the teacher in a way that allows the students to feel part of the process. 

 

 

AMAZON WISHLIST
Alden PTA has set up an Amazon Wish List for all staff members (some staff members linked to a wish list they set up on their own). Please encourage your families to donate to your classroom wish list and other staff member's wish lists throughout the year! All wish lists can be viewed on the Alden PTA website HERE. 

 

 

 

Special Events and Holidays

The Classroom Coordinator works with the teacher to help coordinate special activities around the holidays. Please connect with your teacher throughout the year especially around Fall Festival/Halloween, December holidays, Valentine’s Day, Field Day, and the end of the school year. 

 

Please note, teachers vary in how they plan special events and celebrate holidays. Some may not ask for volunteers, some may only ask for materials to be sent in (crafts, games, etc.) and some may not plan an event. Classroom Coordinators must follow the lead of the teacher and not plan anything beyond what the teacher has requested. Try to ensure that the volunteer opportunities are spread evenly across eligible volunteers that would like to help. 

 

The Classroom Coordinator(s) decide how to organize the event and volunteers. The following are a few options for organizing activities, crafts or games if requested by the teacher. 

  • PRE-MADE KITS: Request a small donation from each family for a Classroom Coordinator to purchase a pre-planned party kit. Volunteers can signup to attend the class and help with the crafts/activities OR the kit can be given directly to the teacher to do with the class. MyClassroomParty.com offers decorations, craft kits and free printables for lots of different themes. Very easy!
  • VOLUNTEER SIGN UP AND PLAN: Create a signup for volunteers to create an activity/craft/game, purchase materials and bring to the classroom to do with the class at the event.  
  • COORDINATORS PLAN: Coordinators pick out the activities/crafts/games to do at the event and ask families to donate the materials. Create a signup for volunteers to help with running the activities/crafts/games at the event. 

NO FOOD IS ALLOWED in the classroom to eat during an event/party, to use as a prize or to use as part of a craft or activity. If the party is during snack time, the students can eat a snack from home.

 

One Month Before a Classroom Event/Party: Contact your teacher to discuss plans for the event/celebration (ex. date, time, volunteers needed, crafts or activities). Remember that every teacher has different ideas, so all classroom events/parties will not be the same. The teacher decides if/when there is a classroom party at school and/or if volunteers are needed. 

 

Two-Three Weeks Before a Classroom Event/Party:  Use SignupGenius.com for volunteers and/or donations. If volunteers are needed in the classroom, ask the Volunteer Coordinator for a list of Eligible Volunteers. Please give families time to complete the Volunteer Form if they have not done so and give each eligible volunteer a chance to help out at least one event/party during the year.  

 

One Week Before the Event/Party: Send the teacher an email with the details of what is planned. For example, who is donating supplies, who will volunteer in the classroom, when supplies will be delivered to the school and/or who will be the point person at the event/party.

 

Please take photos at class events to be used in the Alden School Memory Book. Group photos work best. If you are not able to be in the classroom for the event, consider asking the teacher ahead of time to take a few pictures for you to include in the Memory Book. 

Community Board

Each classroom has its own Community Board for the Classroom Coordinator to post information. Individual contacts in the class are not able to post or comment on messages (only view). Emails are sent to all contacts in your class registered at www.aldenpta.org (even if they have opted OUT of the directory) so it is important to use the community board when communicating with your class. 

 
The community board functionality makes it easy to share information with all the contacts your class without using your personal email. Your classroom message board is accessed in the Alden PTA website under My Account -> Community - “Your Teacher”. 


The message board will display all message for the current school year. Messages are purged at the end of the school year.