WHY IT IS.

            Benefits of Service-Learning for:

Educators

• Validates teaching experience and enhances learning
• Heightens classroom teacher relationships
• Establishes relationships with organizations and businesses to support classrooms
• Decreases drop-out rate and increases students’ chances of graduation.
• Promotes exploration of various career paths.
• Enhances problem-solving skills, ability to work as a team and plan activities
• Helps improve higher thinking skills
• Helps develop leadership skills.
• Hands-on learning provides practical career, knowledge and skills.
• Improves academic grades.
• Enhances core curriculum.
• Helps achieve student learning objectives.
• Improves school attendance.
• Highly effective Character Education Program.        
• Supports the Civic Mission of Education
• Research based

Youth

• Makes curriculum relevant to students
• Instills civic values
• Promotes community responsibility
• Cultivates multicultural awareness
• Develops critical thinking and problem solving skills
• Fosters social and personal development
• Utilizes youth defined talents and skills
• Equalizer in youth leadership tasks and development
• Promotes life-long service
• Exposes new career opportunities
• Develops mutual respect between youth and adults
• Increases college and career readiness
• Values youth voice and ideas
• Establishes teamwork, consensus and collaboration skills
• Creates opportunities to travel near or far

Community

• Builds opportunities for increasing volunteers
• Revitalizes community awareness of agency’s mission
• Provides valuable services to meet agency’s needs     
• Connects community agencies as partners in student learning
• Meets a real community need.
• Increases civic knowledge in democracy and global affairs.
• Develops stronger ties to schools, community and society.
• Develops social responsibility.
• Empowers youth to take an active role in their communities.
• Increases capacity to meet mission
• Develops skilled workers
• Increases pro-social behavior.

HOW TO DO IT.

            Seven Elements of High Quality Service Learning

• Integrated Learning- The service project’s knowledge, skill or value goals are clearly articulated and arise from the broader classroom or school goals. The service forms the academic learning content, and the academic learning content informs the service. Life skills learned outside the classroom are integrated back into classroom learning

• High Quality Service- The service responds to a need that is recognized by the community. The service is age-appropriate, well-organized, and designed to achieve significant benefits for the students and the community.

• Collaboration- Collaboration occurs among as many partners as feasible: students, parents, community-based organization staff, school administrators, teachers, and recipients of service. All partners benefit from the project and contribute to its planning.

• Student Voice- Students participate actively in choosing and planning the service project; planning and implementing the reflection sessions, evaluation, and celebration; and taking on roles and tasks that are appropriate for their age.

• Civic Responsibility- The project promotes students’ responsibility to care for others and to contribute to the community. By participating in the service learning project, students understand how they can impact their community.

• Reflection- Reflection establishes connections between students’ service experiences and the academic curriculum.

• Evaluation- All the partners, especially students, are involved in evaluating the service learning project. The evaluation seeks to measure progress toward the learning and service goals of the project.