General Silver Cord Guidelines
Students are eligible to earn silver cord hours for service occurring between the first day of summer before their sophomore year and May 10th of their senior year.
Students who have volunteered 150 hours by May 10th of their senior year will have the distinct honor of wearing a silver cord during their graduation ceremony.
Silver cord hours cannot include meals, breaks, sleeping, recreation, or travel.
Silver cord hours cannot be approved by a student.
Silver cord hours cannot be approved by a parent, unless the parent is employed or directly affiliated with the organization and also approves hours for other volunteers in the same activity.
A student cannot earn hours during his/her scheduled school day, even if the student is excused from class.
A student CAN earn hours during a scheduled open period.
If you are volunteering at the same location for multiple dates, you MUST take a picture of the documentation of hours form and upload it within "Innerview"
If you turn in your hours late, they will NOT be counted. Please make sure you submit them on time- there are no excuses.
All hours will be available to view on the platform INNERVIEW.
I will update hours on Infinite Campus from Innerview at the end of each semester.
Second semester hours are due by the last day of school for sophomores and juniors.
Second semester hours for seniors will be due by Friday May 8th, 2026- this is to allow Mrs. Jensen time to make certificates to hand out at Senior Awards night.
There are no paper forms anymore- all hours are recorded online using the platform Innerview.
Volunteering within the Community Guidelines
At least 20 out of the 50 required hours must come from volunteering within the community
Students can contact organizations on the pre-approved list, places Mrs. Jensen emails out, or they can submit a pre-approval form for activities not on the list.
Students cannot complete volunteer hours for family members/relatives
Volunteering at JHS Guidelines
You are only allowed to earn a maximum of five hours per volunteer event at Johnston High School (example: volunteering at SHOWZAM= you are only allowed to earn 5 hours for silver cord for the entire weekend)- you can volunteer more, but those hours will not go towards your 50 hours for that school year, they will be included in an extra category
If you volunteer within JCSD (for example, coaching Middle School Mock Trial, Show Choir, swimming, serving as a team manager, or other district activities), you may only count up to 30 hours from these in-district activities toward your Silver Cord total.
This 30-hour cap applies to:
Middle School Mock Trial coaching
Middle School Show Choir coaching
Middle School swimming coaching
Team managers (previously capped at 20 hours, now updated to 30 for consistency)
Any other volunteering done within JCSD
Important Notes
You are welcome to volunteer more than 30 hours within the district—those hours just won't count toward your Silver Cord total beyond the 30-hour limit.
I will be tracking in-district hours separately on another document to help you monitor your progress.
Managing a TEAM/Coaching a Middle School Sport
The guidelines below for being a manager/coach
- hours only count during the game time- do not include bus ride/eating/etc...
- if at practice only counts if you are actually helping out- sitting on the sidelines will not count- if the coach does not have anything for you to do, then those hours will not count.
- will need to keep track on a documentation of hours sheet and those hours must be emailed to me at the conclusion of the event along with a signature of the coach
- up to 30 hours earned for this opportunity.