Volunteering at Lowell makes a huge difference for kids, and there are many meaningful ways to give your time and talents. You can help a student learning to read, help make the school more beautiful, organize an event, and much much more.
Tell Us About Your Volunteer Interests
Please take a moment to let us know what you’re interested in! Detailed descriptions of positions are available below.
Paperwork for In-School Volunteering
Volunteers present in the school during school hours must have a current Seattle Public Schools volunteer registration for the 2018-2019 school year. These are available online here: 2018/19 SPS Volunteer Application. Alternately, paper versions of the application are available in the office at Lowell.
Note: applicants who lived outside of Washington State in the past three years and have not previously volunteered will be asked for $21 to cover the cost of screening, but there are no fees for all other applicants and even this fee can be waived if it is a financial difficulty. Please see Tammy in the office if this applies to you.
Details of Current Volunteering Needs
Lunch Line Volunteer – High Priority
M-F 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
A lunch line volunteer is needed from 11:00 – 12:30 every day to assist Ms. Mei in the lunch line. Your assistance will ensure that all our students receiving a school lunch have an easier time getting their lunch and enough time to eat (which we all know they need to have a good school day).
Class Communication Parent – High Priority
Flexible hours, no in-school participation required
Help organize and inform the parents of your child’s class. We want every Lowell family to stay connected and be heard by the PTSA, but we need organized and responsive parents to help get the word out about events and news, and channel questions and feedback to the Lowell PTSA. The expectation is that this might be an hour every other week and does not need to be in-person, but we would like volunteers who plan on being a class communication parent for the whole year to provide continuity.
Classroom assistants
Flexible hours during the school day
When assisting in the classroom, you can be present to help students as a part of lessons, help improve the learning environment, and aid the teacher in preparing for upcoming lessons. Classroom volunteers can be there as little or as much as works for you and the teacher, and gives you a direct connection with a classroom.
Reading, math, and science volunteers
Specific hours during the school day, depending on class and grade
Get to tutor students one-on-one with reading, math, or science. This is a position that requires regular availability – preferably weekly or more frequent – but rewards volunteers with enduring connections and the opportunity to see students learn, grow, and thrive. Requires some additional screening.
Special Ed reading assistant
Specific hours during the school day, depending on class and grade
Our special ed students also need one-on-one help with reading. This is a position that requires regular availability – preferably weekly or more frequent – but rewards volunteers with enduring connections and the opportunity to see students learn, grow, and thrive. Requires some additional screening.
Lunch & recess supervision
M-F 11:05 – 12:15
Want a chance to meet every student in the school and get to help them all to have a fun, safe time? Lunch & recess volunteers make a difference in the quality and the feeling of safety of lunch and recess times by providing additional safe, nurturing presences on the field and in the lunch rooms. Assist little ones with getting their milk cartons open and learning the right way to treat the lunch room. Help older ones sort out differences positively or deal with challenges appropriately in the context of the lunch room and the outdoor play spaces.
Special Ed lunch volunteers
M-F 11:05 – 12:15
Our special ed students are a fun and lively bunch who need a little extra help in the lunchroom. We are looking for energetic, patient, and kind folks who can help our special ed students out at lunch. It is a great opportunity to get to know students better and really brighten the day of a student with a relatively short commitment of time.
Office volunteers
Flexible hours during the school day
Make a difference with your office and professional skills! We need smart, competent individuals to ensure that the paperwork for activities both routine and special is handled properly. Facilitate things from school picture day to field trips and school communications.
Volunteer communications director or volunteer co-coordinator
Flexible hours, no in-school participation required
Help members of the Lowell school and neighborhood community discover and connect with opportunities to improve our school and the education of children at Lowell. We need a skilled communicator and organized individual who is smart and pragmatic to make a difference for the community by helping to harness and channel volunteer efforts to the roles that will best enrich our community as either a volunteer communications director or a volunteer co-coordinator.
PTSA board positions
We are recruiting additional board members from the Lowell community, including a staff-specific position and roles for parents or community member. Of especial need is increasing the representation of people of color on the board so that our PTSA better reflects the experiences and makeup of our school community. Come join the PTSA in helping to build and improve the support for the Lowell community. Board members are expected to make an effort to be at PTSA board meetings monthly and spend up to a few hours a week keeping up with communications and contributing.
PTSA Membership Coordinator
Our PTSA goal is to have every family at Lowell feel in touch with and represented by the Lowell PTSA. As a Membership Coordinator, you would help make that a reality by engaging with members of our community to help them to get involved and tailoring our activities (communications, events, meetings) to better engage a wider portion of the Lowell community. The PTSA Membership Coordinator is a board-level position, and is expected to make an effort to be at PTSA board meetings monthly and spend up to a few hours a week keeping up with communications and contributing.
Hall Art Volunteer
Flexible hours during the school day
Help keep the Lowell school environment beautiful, up-to-date, and informative by helping to plan and execute projects to make our school look great. We need creative and energetic folks with an eye for design to help our hallways, posters, seasonal decorations, and art around the school look their best and have the most up-to-date decorations and news.
Library volunteers
Flexible hours during the school day
Assist students cultivating their love of reading by helping keep our library organized and making sure students can find the books they’re looking for!
Before School Volunteers
M-F 8:25 – 9:00 AM
Before school volunteers help keep order on the playground from when it opens to allow students to play safely and have a great time in the morning, and parents to feel great about dropping their kids off before school.