Fingerprinting for school volunteers gets easier

What happened

After parents complained it took a trip to Springfield or Westfield to get fingerprinted, the district dropped the fingerprinting requirement for most school volunteers and arranged local fingerprinting at a Greenfield hotel for the people who still need it, such as field-trip chaperones.

Why it matters to families

The old process was keeping willing parent volunteers out of classrooms. PTOs at Federal Street and Newton schools had asked the district directly to fix it, and research shows parent involvement helps students.

The evidence

The July 6 Community Engagement Subcommittee minutes record a PTO parent's thanks for 'the elimination of the need for fingerprinting for volunteers, unless attending a field trip,' and confirm that local fingerprinting is now available at the Hampton Inn Suites in Greenfield.

The source