Getting Involved at STEM

Volunteering and Giving

Create your Volunteer account now, and choose your areas of interest. We will let you know when an opportunity becomes available. Volunteering and giving to STEM is vital to the success of our school.  Our school has a charter that requests a commitment of 30 volunteer hours per family (15 hours per single-parent family).

To make volunteering easy and seamless, please refer to the Volunteering Basics section that will allow you to set up your volunteer account and keep track of your hours.  We are extremely grateful for the time and energy donated by STEM parents each year.

Volunteering Basics

Thank you to our volunteers at STEM School Highlands Ranch! Everyone who volunteers makes a huge difference to our school’s and your children’s success. NEW for the 2023-24 School year! All volunteers must complete a background check before participating in any STEM volunteer activities. We’ve partnered with Raptor Technologies to assist us with our Volunteer Coordination and Management.

In order to become a volunteer, a Volunteer Application must be submitted through Raptor’s system using the button to the right. All volunteers will then be asked to complete a criminal background check through Raptor’s system. Approved volunteers will receive a notification and be able to access their account where they can sign up for events and also log hours for events that might not have a sign-up form.

Can't Volunteer In-Person?

Monetary Donations and Volunteer Hours
Every $20 of donated items translates to one volunteer hour. However, the law states that you cannot deduct the value of your time. The IRS does not allow a charitable deduction for volunteering your services. By IRS definition, charitable contributions represent gifts given without reciprocity. Our donation policy is that every $20 donated equates to one hour of volunteer time.

Volunteer Hours Donations – NEW!

Many families have asked if they can just make a donation to cover their volunteer hours. We are finally able to accommodate that request. If you’d rather make a monetary donation to go toward your volunteer hours, click the button below and select Volunteer Hours Donation. Please remember that if you select this option you cannot claim this donation on your taxes at the end of the year.

Donations Needed

Middle School Decoration and Concessions Donations

The Middle School Dance is coming up on Friday, April 5, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Middle School Student government is looking for decoration and concessions donations to help make the dance a success! Please click the button below to sign up to donate. Please drop off all items at the Secondary Front Office.

Front Office Tissue Donation

Our Front Offices are running low on tissues. If you’d like to donate, please click the button below to sign-up. Please drop off tissues to either front office.

Keystone Field Trip Donation

Please consider donating to help support students who are in need of financial assistance in order to go on the annual Keystone Field Trip.

Newspaper Donations for Art Class

Mr. Smith is in need of old newspapers for an art project in one of his classes. Please click the button below to sign up. Drop off all newspapers at the Secondary Front Office, labeled Art Class.

Art Spray Bottle Donations

Mr. Joe Smith’s Secondary Art class is in need of donations of spray bottles. Click the button below to sign up.

Enrichment Club Snack Donations

Please consider donating snacks to two of our Enrichment Clubs that meet after school each week. The clubs are Magic: The Gathering Club, which meets on Tuesdays, and Star Wars Club, which meets on Fridays. Click the button below to sign-up for a snack donation.

Front Office Donations

Our Elementary and Secondary Front Offices are always in need of donated items. Click the button below to see what we need and to order through Amazon. If you don’t want to purchase off Amazon, please drop the donated items off at the Secondary Front Office to give to Mona Loptien.

CyberPatriot Snack Donations

The CyberPatriot afterschool club is in need of snack donations for students to have during their weekly club meetings. Click the button below to sign-up to bring a snack. Please drop off all donations to the Secondary Front Office, labeled CyberPatriot.

Health Room and Front Office Donations

Both our Health Room and Front Offices are always in need of donated items. Click the button below to see what we need and to order through Amazon. Please bring the items to either the Elementary or Secondary Front Office with a label for what it is for.

Driveline Volunteers

Opportunities to volunteer at STEM will be posted in the Raptor Volunteer Portal. Click the button below to log into the Portal to see all of the opportunities that you can sign up form. Areas to volunteer for include:

  • Vision and Hearing Screening Volunteers
  • Elementary Driveline
  • Secondary Driveline
  • Elementary, Middle and High School Lunchrooms
  • Athletic Events
  • and More!

Volunteer with Career Discovery

Did you know that you can get volunteer hours by sharing your expertise with our students in the classroom? We have opportunities throughout the school year to serve as an expert panelist, support our Problem-Based Learning instruction, or work with our students in a mentorship capacity. You could also be a guest speaker on Zoom or in-person. If you’re interested in volunteering for any of these opportunities, click the Career Discovery Interest Form below.

Student Support Team Wishlists

Board of Directors (BOD)

STEM School Highlands Ranch is a self-governed charter school authorized by DCSD. Our Board of Directors set the school’s policies.

School Accountability Committee (SAC)

The School Accountability Committee (SAC) is comprised of parents, teachers and community members who would like to be involved in the planning and evaluation of the school’s instructional program and quality improvement processes.

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

PTO’s mission is to work in partnership with the school to foster a strong sense of community, provide enhancement activities for student, staff and families and to help increase the educational, social and emotional experience for all.