1 of 27

Magnolia Elementary School

​

Volunteer Training

9/25/2025

2 of 27

Today’s Agenda

  • Introductions
  • Purpose of volunteers at MES
  • Ways to be involved
  • MES Firms and volunteer protocol
  • Positive discipline training
  • Neurodiversity and special education
  • Next steps for volunteering

3 of 27

Why is it important to

have volunteers?

  • Community-building
  • MES staff support
  • MES student support

4 of 27

In-School Volunteer Opportunities

All in-school volunteers are coordinated by MES staff and must be SPS verified through the front office

​

  • Parent/Caregiver Safety Patrol
  • Morning Office Greeters
  • Lunch Supervision
  • Health Screening / Picture Day
  • Classroom Volunteer
  • Field Trips

​

5 of 27

PTA Volunteer Opportunities

PTA volunteer opportunities do not require SPS verification and community members are encouraged to get involved!

Sign up on the PTA Volunteer Portal �

  • After-School Program
  • Fall Festival
  • Lights Celebration & Dance
  • Cultural Celebration
  • Movie Night
  • Move-a-Thon
  • Spring Silent Auction

​

6 of 27

MES School-Wide Firms

Magnolia School-Wide Firms.docx

What are firms?�Why do we have them?�How do we use them with staff and students?

7 of 27

  Recess Firms

8 of 27

  Lunchroom Firms

9 of 27

Active Supervision

  • Walk around without a specific pattern or predictable route or routine and scan with your eyes, unless you have an agreed upon area you are stationed at. 
  • Make positive contacts with students while walking around, saying “hi”, “what’s up”, “looking good”, “I like that shirt”, “how was your weekend”, etc. 
  • Reinforce good behaviors by making positive remarks to students about it, for example “I like how you are walking down the hall, good job” or “that was very nice of you to pick up that person’s books for them, great job!” 
  • Correct unwanted behaviors by approaching the student in a non-threatening and non-imposing manner. State the firm they are breaking, get their acknowledgement that they are breaking the rule, and ask them to correct it. 
  • Do not engage in power struggles. 
  • Make interactions with students brief and to the point and keep moving and scanning. 

10 of 27

What do I do when I arrive?

  • Sign-in to the volunteer log in the office or with the event coordinator
  • Take a volunteer badge
  • Take an orange vest
  • Report to duty location
  • Refer to staff outside if you have a question or need to send a student to the nurse or how to respond to a behavior/ conflict

11 of 27

12 of 27

13 of 27

14 of 27

15 of 27

16 of 27

17 of 27

18 of 27

19 of 27

20 of 27

Understanding Neurodiversity

  • What is Neurodiversity?

​

  • Why, as volunteers, is it important for us to consider neurodiversity when we engage and interact with our students?

21 of 27

What is Neurodiversity?

  • The term neurodiversity is a combination of ‘neurological’ and ‘diversity’.

​

  • Neurodiversity simply means that as human beings, all of our brains are different and unique.

​

  • These natural variations in the human brain lead to differences in learning and how we perceive and experience the world. This is a natural part of human diversity.

22 of 27

Neurodivergent and Neurotypical

  • Neurodivergent is a term to describe an individual whose brain processes, learns and/or behaves differently from what is considered “typical” by today’s societal standards.

​

  • Forms of neurodivergence include ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia, Epilepsy, Tourette’s, learning differences and more.

​

  • Neurotypical is a term to describe an individual whose cognitive processes and development align with what is considered the “norm” or typical by today’s societal standards.

23 of 27

Understanding Neurodiversity

Let’s watch this short video explaining neurodiversity…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsfml3yVh1g

​

Credit: Differing Minds, A UK non-profit that provides workplace training in neurodiversity to many organizations including schools.

​

​

​

​

​

Questions? Comments?

24 of 27

Why is it important to consider and understand Neurodiversity?

It’s important to create meaningful connections with ALL of our students, regardless of the way they communicate, learn or think.

​

Let’s challenge some of our assumptions of what communication looks like:

  • Some children are unable to respond to a question, comment or instruction due to differences in receptive language and/or verbal language.
  • For example, you might not get a verbal or non-verbal acknowledgement from a child if you point out a firm they are breaking.
  • We shouldn’t assume the child is ignoring us or not listening.
  • The child may not have taken your comment in or the child may have taken it in but doesn’t respond as you might expect.

25 of 27

Challenging our assumptions about communication

  • Some children are uncomfortable with eye contact.
  • Some are unable to control the volume of their voice.
  • Some need to move or wiggle their body while seated or can’t stay seated for too long.
  • Some do not like compliments.

​

Questions? Comments?

26 of 27

Next steps to get started

In school:

  • Check with Maria to make sure your SPS verified status is up-to-date
  • Look for announcements from your room parents and in the school newsletter for opportunities

With the PTA:

  • Check the volunteer portal for the latest opportunities and to sign up

27 of 27

Thank you for joining us!

​