Program Data 101 - From Data Center to Academy Assessment to Action Planning–...
2009 naf institute_service_learning
1. 2009 Institute for Staff Development Students Today, Leaders Tomorrow How to Develop and Maintain a Successful Service Learning Program
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Notas del editor
Engages students in the educational process and enriches their lives. Using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Apply academic skills and knowledge to address real-life needs in their own communities
Service learning requirements in schools and universities is growing rapidly. Many universities require community service courses for graduation. Students who do community service gain an edge over other students when it comes to college admissions and scholarships. This is something that is emphasized within our school culture.
All students are required to perform service learning activities in our school: All students go out on in the community to develop their own service internships. All students do service in school grounds by assisting with school events. Open houses, high school student recruitment fairs, etc. Seniors may be exempted from community service if they take college courses. Most seniors do both. Students are required to do 100 hours per year. Through our school design, on Wednesdays, they leave school at 1:00 p.m. to help the community. Therefore, community service is infused into the school day. Moreover, students are required to do 3-4 hours per week, or make them up on weekends, vacations or summer. Community service is a required elective necessary for graduation from our school. Students must submit weekly attendance reports signed by their supervisors, and a reflection journal relating their service experiences.
Community Service has evolved in our school and taken dimensions that we did not envision when we first began the program: Students support the community by engaging in projects that have a positive impact in the community. Cite example of students who have worked very closely with the YMCA in writing and presenting a bill before the New York State Legislature. Service learning is a two-way street. Through our involvement with Citigroup, Citi has given back to our school community by establishing a mentoring program to support our “middle of the road” students. Students meet with volunteers four hours every month. These volunteers serve as big brothers and big sisters and provide guidance with college and career planning, homework, SAT Preparation, etc. They attend baseball games together and attend school events in representation of their parents. Insert pictures.
Through our working relationship with Citigroup, our students have supported Citigroup volunteers in community service projects, such as cleaning parks, serving food to the homeless, doing Read Alouds at a local elementary school. Also, volunteers support our school by developing financial literacy workshops for our parents. Through our interaction with the PTA, we sponsored through Blood Drives, that resulted in scholarships for our students. Through our interaction with the Filipino American Human Services, we raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis Walk. Later on, the Filipino Human Services wrote a grant for an Arts Program. We received funding for Ballroom Dancing and Hip Hop Dancing classes in our school. Through our corporate involvement, volunteers from Citigroup come to our classroom to teach banking programs, the Stockmarket Game and prepare our students for Business Plan Competitions. Also, our students participate in job shadowing opportunities, through one-to-one mentoring at Citigroup. Insert pictures.
A student perspective on this slide is very important.
Through the various service learning opportunities in which our students participate, our students develop reading, writing, arithmetic and critical thinking skills, as they are given tasks that require decision making. Through their interactions with adults, they develop social and public speaking skills. Through Service Learning, we have been able to build a bridge between high school and college, as we are concentrating in assisting students search and develop internships in career areas of interest to them. Students who are interested in the field of law do service at the District Attorney’s office, students who are interested in visual arts volunteer at museums, etc. (Ms. Fahim can provide other specific examples). The gap between academic and career goals is reduced as students make the right connections and develop an understanding of the requirements to succeed in a particular career (Christopher can talk about his experiences). Insert pictures.
Ms. Fahim’s input on this slide is very important. As our service learning program grows, so do the opportunities. Our students open doors for other students in our school, through the positive work that they do in the community. Sites such as elementary schools, request a larger number of students to work in their schools due to the positive impact that our students are making in their communities. Other sites, provide paid summer internships to our students as a means of rewarding them for a job well done. Parents are engaged through workshops and correspondence sent home that presents an overview of Service-Learning for he student and the community. Through this workshop or correspondence, we encourage parents to engage in conversations about the needs in the community. Most times, parents engage with students in the search of adequate community service sites. We feel that we are meeting the needs of the community that we serve. Our students are making a difference during these difficult economic times. They are providing much needed assistance in schools, hospitals, and other organizations that are short-staffed due to budget cuts. When students are engaged, they become more productive. This is the result of the fact that they feel that they are making a difference, their opinions are heard, the job that they do is acknowledged and their success is celebrated. More than meeting a school requirement, they feel realized and see themselves growing personally and academically. Many students feel that these opportunities open their eyes to the outside world, and are better equipped to make better decisions about their future life.
Students are actively engaged in a meaningful service that has a positive impact in their community while also fulfilling stated academic goals. For instance, in our school students are encouraged to give back to their community by helping the elementary schools that they attended or the community-based organizations that serve the community needs. When students are empowered to find their own site, they are given the opportunity to choose and they are more likely to succeed. In our school, we maximize student participation with the least effort and manpower. We do not have the personnel to reach out to the vast community soliciting service opportunities for our students. When students are able to think, discuss and write about their experience, they are able to assess their progress, make personal changes, and take effective steps to succeed. In our school, this is done through the Advisory Program. Through on-going projects students can reflect on the knowledge that they have gained, the skills that they have acquired, personal growth and connections to the community. Students engage in a number of service learning activities where they apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned in school, e.g. teaching reading, math, writing to elementary school children, providing support to ESL, Special Education, and mainstream students with low reading and math levels, teaching sports and arts (art, music, dance), assisting community-based organizations with clerical tasks involving computers and finance, working with the elderly and disabled at senior citizen centers and hospitals.
Learning is meaningful when students are able to apply the knowledge that they have acquired in the classroom and are able to apply it in the real life. These connections with the real world make a world of difference. There is experiential learning when the student takes initiative, assumes responsibility for a task and makes decisions through problem and critical thinking. Working as a team, students learn the importance of setting goals, leading, communicating ideas, listening to other people’s ideas, differing at times while getting along. By caring for others, students learn the value of respect for others and for themselves. This in turn, reverberates in a student with a higher self-esteem, especially when he is recognized and valued for what s/he does.
Every program must have a purpose, and the main purpose of a service learning program, is to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility and strengthen the school community and the communities served. Develop specific achievable goals. Goals that require the application of concepts, content and skills from the academic disciplines. Always keep in mind making connections between learning and the real world through constant reflection. Develop assessments that can serve the purpose of enhance student learning, and to document how students have met content and skills standards. Provide adequate staffing to monitor student performance (teachers and staff who can call sites on a regular basis), keep accurate records, review weekly reports. Supervision is required to ascertain that students are in a safe environment, are reporting to their sites on a regular basis. ….Describe Mr. Frank’s role. Thank and recognize volunteers and sponsoring organizations. We have done this through an Annual Luncheon thanking them. This opens doors for more service learning opportunities in the future. Insert pictures—Volunteer Luncheon.
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