Service-Learning and 21st Century Skills

Critical Points to Service-Learning Definition: A way of teaching and learning that connects positive and meaningful action in the community with academic learning, personal growth and civic responsibility. Service-Learning helps develop citizenship and good character while providing direct connections to the academic curriculum. Service-Learning experiences allow students to apply their social and emotional skills into action. With authentic SL, students are able to face and address situations that have an immediate impact on their neighbors and themselves. A commitment to SL requires the development of infrastructure within a school and a district to support and sustain teacher and student engagement and participation. SL in an urban context is intimate. It is about responding to issues in the immediate community with an eye toward building the common good. 1

Connection to the GCS Strategic Direction Prepare Students for the World: Build 21st-century schools that prepare students to compete in a global economy Invest in programs that provide students with the tools to perform 21st- century jobs Service-learning is an essential strategy in providing a rigorous and relevant curriculum which will prepare students to succeed in the 21st century. Using the skills and knowledge gained from the core curriculum in carrying out service-learning projects joins the vision for 21st century learning by calling upon students to look deeper, reach higher, and grow as individuals and contributing. 2

Prepare for a changing world Learn the importance of collaboration & teamwork Develop critical thinking skills and innovative ideas Become creative problem solvers Service-Learning Develop global awareness Benefits Connect with peers, mentors and community members while developing soft and hard skills

Introduction to the IPARD Process Investigate: Students identify community needs through discussion, research, or exploration. Plan: Students identify action steps and communicate with a nonprofit to learn more about the nonprofit organization s needs or identify a meaningful service project and develop a plan. Take Action: Students implement the plan that they developed as a team, learn through the action of serving. Reflect: At each stage, participants engage in some form of activity that allows them to think about the community need, their actions, their impact, what worked and did not work, the ways in which their work contributes to the common good, and/or similar types of analytic thinking. Demonstrate: Students apply knowledge, create a final project, fundraise, and share with peers and community. 4

3 STEP PROCESS 3 1 2 Student Submission Hour Verification Final Approval Students submit their hours in x2VOL, along with their reflection on the experience and what they learned. The verifier with the organization or project receives an email to verify the student did the hours they claim. Once verified, the SL Coach reviews the submission. The submission can be marked Denied, Pending, or Approved based on the submission parameters. Students include the person that oversaw their hours/experience for verification. Students should tell verifiers to be on the lookout for that email! 5

Service-Learning Recognitions Exemplary Award Diploma 100-199 Hours 200+ Hours These guidelines do not apply to OCS/Adaptive Students 6

Important Details SL Approval Forms must be submitted within the semester that service is started with the organization and should be submitted prior to beginning service. Hours must be submitted within the semester that they are completed. Hours completed from June-December must be entered into x2vol by end of December. Hours completed from January-May must be entered by the end of May. All hours should be closed out by June 6, 2025. 7