1. Service-Learning Contact Information

2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet

A complete PDF version of Prince George's County's Service-Learning Implementation Plan is available below.

Implementation Plan


Prince George’s County Public Schools’ (PGCPS) students must engage in a minimum of 75 student service-learning (SSL) hours in order to successfully meet the service-learning graduation requirement.  To ensure that students are able to meet this requirement, service-learning has been infused into the science and social studies curricula for grades 5-10 for a total of 51 hours.   Social studies courses provide a total of 28 curriculum-infused hours and science courses provide a total of 23 curriculum-infused hours.  Additionally, students must complete 24 independent hours of service-learning.

 

For students to earn infused service-learning hours in their science and social studies classes, they must 1) actively engage in all service activities, 2) earn a letter grade of at least a D, and 3) complete the Student Service-Learning Verification Form.  Students must turn in the Student Service-Learning Verification Form to the curriculum teacher for review, approval, and signature.  The teacher will then submit the Student Service-Learning Verifications Forms to the school’s data entry specialist to be entered into the student’s file on the Student Information System database.

 

Both students and teachers assess the quality of infused service-learning projects.  The students and teachers are engaged in on-going assessment through reflective inquiry in the classroom and on-site.  In addition, students assess the summative meaning of a service-learning project through the completion of questions included on the Student Service-Learning Verification Form.  Through the review of the Student Service-Learning Verification Forms, teachers are able to gain an overall understanding of the quality of the individual student experiences as well as the group-effect of the experience on the class.

 

Student Service Learning Stars will be recognized quarterly on the school system’s public web site.  The Service-Learning Coordinator will work with the School-Based Service-Learning Coordinators to identify Student Service Learning Stars who engage in exemplary service.

  

Breakdown:
- Social Studies Grades 6 thorugh 10 = 28 infused hours

- Science Grades 5 through 9 = 23 infused hours

- Independent Service-Learning Project(s) = 24 hours

 

Students are expected to earn the following number of indepedent service-learning project hours by grade level for a total of 24 independent hours:

• Grade 6:    4 independent hours
• Grade 7:    4 independent hours
• Grade 8:    4 independent hours
• Grade 9:    6 independent hours
• Grade 10:  6 independent hours 

School-Based Service-Learning Coordinators approve community sites for independent service-learning hours in collaboration with the Prince George’s County Volunteer Center.  These sites are listed in the Student Service Opportunity Directory.  Most sites are non-profit, tax-exempt community-based organizations; however, for-profit nursing homes, hospitals, and licensed day-care facilities are also acceptable service sites.

 

Students who want to complete independent service-learning hours at a site that is not listed on the Student Service Opportunity Directory must complete the Site approval Form and submit it to their School-Based Service-Learning Coordinator for approval prior to starting any service activities at the site.  Sites submitted by students for approval must be non-profit, tax-exempt community-based organizations or for-profit nursing homes, hospitals, or licensed day-care facilities.

 

All independent service-learning hours must be verified on the Student Service-Learning Verification Form.  The form must be completed by the student and then given to the approved community site representative for review, approval, and signature.  Students will then submit their forms to the site-based service learning coordinator as soon as the hours have been earned.  The deadlines for submission of the Student Service-Learning Verification Form are as follows:

·         End of the first semester for service performed during the first semester.

·         End of the second semester for service performed during the second semester.

·         September 30 for service performed during the summer.

Any forms submitted after the stated deadlines are invalid and students will not be given credit for those hours.  Upon approval of the form, the site-based service learning coordinator will then submit the Student Service-Learning Verification Form to the school’s data entry specialist to be entered into the student’s file on the Student Information System database.

 

Both students and site-representatives assess the quality of independent service-learning projects.  It is expected that students will engage in reflection guided by Maryland’s Seven Best Practices of Service Learning.  The Student Service-Learning Verification Form, which is required at the completion of independent service-learning projects, asks students to assess the quality of their service-learning projects using the rubric mentioned above.  The review of the Student Service-Learning Verification Forms by the community site representative and the school-based student service-learning coordinator provides another level of quality assessment and assurance.

 

Reporting: The Division of Information and Technology will be responsible for including the number of completed student service hours on report cards for all students in grades 5-12.  Student report cards will show the independent service-learning hours earned and the corresponding grade for the respective social studies and/or science course.

 

Transfer Policy: Service-learning hours will be prorated for students entering PGCPS for the first time in Grade 8.  The SSL graduation requirement is linked to the grade of first enrollment into PGCPS:

·         Students entering in Grade 6 or 7 must complete 75 SSL hours before graduation.

·         Students who enroll in PGCPS for the first time during Grade 8 must complete 50 SSL hours before graduation.

·         Students who enroll in PGCPS for the first time during Grade 9 must complete 40 SSL hours before graduation.

·         Students who enroll in PGCPS for the first time during Grade 10 must complete 30 SSL hours before graduation.

·         Students who enroll in PGCPS for the first time during Grade 11 must complete 20 independent SSL hours before graduation.

·         Students who enroll in PGCPS for the first time during Grade 12 must complete 10 independent SSL hours before graduation.

 

3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)

I sponsor after-school environment awareness programs and work with students to create picture books for special education students. I also coordinate our school's recycling program and Buddy Program.

Carol Campbell, 1997, Stephen Decator Middle School (English), 301-449-4950 x259

Students work together and select stories that will be performed for Headstart and first grade children. They create manipulatives and follow-up activities that will assist the children in learning.

Sharon Hargro, 2001, Andrew Jackson Middle School, 301-817-0310 ext 223, shargro@pgcps.org

We conducted a school-wide clothes and food drive for items to be used in a pantry housed at our school. The project originated when two families in our school were burned out of their place of residence. So many clothing items and canned food were donated to help those two families that we decided to keep the overflow in a pantry to assist people who needed help in the future. My project initially helped families that lost everything in a fire. The project has extended to other students and their families as needs arise. The pantry is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Students studied the issue of homelessness, wrote personal expressions, and shared ideas about the effects of poverty and homelessness on individuals and families in the community. Students reflected by writing in journals in Language Art classes. We've had individual students in our building that live in a shelter. One student agreed to have an open discussion about his situation with other students. Students bring in items for the pantry and help distribute resources as needed. Donations were taken from the greater community as well as student donations. For the initial project, we could not plan ahead because of the immediate nature of the need. Subsequently, students viewed the video "Shelter Boy." Language Arts classes wrote essays on homelessness and poverty. Students learned about the issue of issue of homelessness and disasters and used writing skills to reflect on the projects.

We developed an international service club called The Leo Club at our school which is sponsored by the local Lions Club. The purpose of the club is to serve the community.

Best Practice 1: The Leo Club met and developed activities addressing the following community needs; homelessness with participation in the national Walkathon for Charlies' Place; hunger with participation in a school-wide canned food competition to provide holiday dinners for participants of a local food bank; foster care kids by a collection of donated suitcases and children's books for children who are served by the Department of Social Services; a cleaner environment when Leo Club members adopted a highway and cleaned it four times a year; assisted in times of crisis when we raised money to help victims in North Carolina during a recent hurricane and when we made patriotic ribbons and pins and collected money for the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund; assisted students who are mentally and physically challenged in our school by providing holiday parties and "adopt-a-friend" programs.

Best Practice 2: For each project that Leo Club does, the following objectives were met: accessing the specific need of the school or local community; providing either short or long term assistance to address the need; being responsible for specific duties to make a successful project; working together with people who are different from themselves to solve problems; and most importantly making a difference in the lives of others.

Best Practice 3: Our Leo Club meets twice a month, and at each meeting we discuss the activity, we write thank you notes, and decide if we will continue the project next year. The president of the Leo Club developed a PowerPoint presentation about Leo activities and presented at the Character Education Workshop at a local high school and at the Prince George's County Student Service-Learning Advisory Board.

Best Practice 4: Each Leo member has the opportunity to be the chairperson for an activity and have other Leos assist in the project. The chair is to write a proposal, have it approved by an administrator, and assign responsibilities to other Leos. Leo represents leadership, experience, and opportunity.

Best Practice 5: We have established partnerships with the Upper Marlboro Lions Club, Upper Marlboro Food Bank, American Red Cross, Department of Social Services, State Highway Administration, and Charlie’s Place at St. Margaret's Church, Washington D.C.

Best Practice 6: Every member of the Leo Club is assigned to a committee: publicity/recruitment, social, and service. Committees meet and report on any activity they feel the club needs to pursue. The club votes on the activities they would like to participate in, and the appropriate committee prepares a plan to successfully accomplish the activity.

Best Practice 7: I give the members background information about their task. An example would be to provide a guest speaker who could speak about the involvement of my members and how they would assist a particular group. The chairperson writes a proposal and presents it to the club at one of our meetings. The club revises and finally accepts the proposal. The chair then asks for volunteers for specific tasks. The entire club participates in the activity.

Nicole Jackson, 1999, DuVal High School (Counselor), 301-918-8611

The Student Government Association established a clean-up day in order to beautify the community. I coordinate the community effort that was developed by the students.

Fran Lewis-Steiner, 2000, Bladensburg High School (Earth Science), 301-985-1470, franhawaii@starpower.net

Service-learning, or rather the incentive to participate in service-learning, is an essential part of my Environmental Science curriculum. When I plan my lessons, I incorporate service-learning. To a degree only, because there is so much to be done, we have met the need to be aware of the many environmental problems created by the human population on the environment. We must first be aware before situations can be addressed or improved. One major focus of our projects has been the Anacostia River which is very much a part of our Bladensburg High School Community. Here we conduct water tests, observe the living conditions of the aquatic life, plant trees and pick up and sort trash found along the banks. Through service-learning we have been able to meet several curricular objectives. A few of them include: * to study and see ecosystems as models of nature that people might use to work toward environmental sustainability; * to witness first hand some of the causes and effects of various types of pollution; * to participate in recycling -- one of the laws of sustainability; * to better understand the water cycle, carbon cycle, food chains and webs, and various other patterns of nature. To prepare my students for projects I often use the quote, "If it is to be, it is up to me." To work on our environmental projects, we've established community partnerships with a variety of groups that do everything from provide information to pay for substitutes and set up field trips. Some of our partners are: the Anacostia Watershed Society, The Port town Community Development Corporation, The Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commissions - Neighborhood Revitalization Division, The Department of Environmental Education, and Bridging the Watershed - The National Parks Division. After each activity, with both my regular students and members of my environmental club, we reflect on the project. We talk and often write about the significance of what we have done, what effects it might have on our lives as individuals and as members of the population, and how might we improve on these actions in the future. In the classroom, an assessment is done through varying mediums such as observations, projects, and of course, a written exam. Making students award of situations and their causes seems to stir some sense of responsibility in many of my students. Some students seem to have already developed a role of responsibility in their lives. The two before mentioned groups will often, with some words of encouragement from me, use a little positive peer pressure to motivate many of the others.

I Clean, You Clean, We All Clean For Nice Streams!!!

Biology students from Parkdale High School in Riverdale, Maryland, spent one week removing trash and debris from a local tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.  Working together over several hot and humid days in June of 2007, the students managed to haul away about 1000 pounds of trash from a local stream.  In addition, to determine the overall health of the stream, students collected water quality data including; pH, temperature and salinity.  This hands-on activity was an extension of the ecology unit in the PGCPS Biology Curriculum.  This service-learning project, along with an associated field trip to the Bay, was funded by Johnson Controls, Inc. and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. 

 

Best Practice 1:  What recognized community need was met by your project (e.g. health, education, environmental or public safety need)?

Our service-learning project addressed health, educational, environmental and public safety needs within our community.  Parkdale High School is nestled in a small valley of 35 wooded acres in Riverdale, Maryland.  The community is close to many major roadways and facilities, including I-495, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Route 1 and the University of Maryland.  Since the area is heavily traveled, pollution is a chronic problem in the community.  Trash left on the roadways finds its way to local creeks and streams that are all part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Many students are not aware of the problem and the impact that their actions have on the Bay.  Therefore, there is a huge need to educate students and the community about local pollution that affects the Bay.  In addition, pollution has a negative impact on the environment and local stream ecology and can greatly disrupt community food webs.  Lastly, public safety is at risk when hazardous items are discarded and find their ways to local Bay tributaries. 

 

Best Practice 2:  How was the project connected to school curriculum (e.g. what course outcomes were met and/or how did the project reinforce or enhance student academic learning)?   

Our hands-on project served to reinforce and enhance learning in the classroom and was closely aligned with both the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum (VCS) and PGCPS Curriculum Framework Progress Guide for Biology.  Specifically, through the water quality data collection piece of our project, all Expectations of Goal 1 (below) from the VSC were reinforced.

 

Goal 1: The student will demonstrate ways of thinking and acting inherent in the practice of science.  The student will use the language and instruments of science to collect, organize, interpret, calculate, and communicate information. 

 

Additionally, the stream clean-up portion and pre- and post-lessons served to enhance students’ understanding of Expectation 3.5 (below) from Goal 3 of the VSC.  Specifically, the project taught students about stream ecology, food webs, and the impact that humans have on ecosystems.

 

Expectation 3.5:  The student will investigate the interdependence of diverse living organisms and their interactions with the components of the biosphere.

 

Best Practice 3:  How did you reflect on your experience throughout the project?

Throughout and after this project, the students reflected on their experiences through several activities.  First they participated in a class discussion where they shared their own reflections on the experience.  In addition, each student wrote a letter to both Johnsons Controls, Inc. and the Chesapeake Bay Trust expressing their gratitude for funding our service-learning project and associated Bay field trip, and to describe what they gained from the experiences.  Lastly, each student developed a summary of how much trash they collected and they listed individual large items that they found.  In this activity, they were also asked to specifically describe how their actions impact the health of the Bay.  Through our reflection activities, we determined that we had removed about 1000 pounds of trash, a computer monitor, siding from a house, a car bumper, a shopping cart, 5 tires, sporting equipment and various items of clothing.  Writing the letters to our funding partners also helped the students understand that they are part of a larger community of people that are working to save the environment and improve education.

 

Best Practice 4:  How did students take leadership roles and take responsibility for the success of the project? 

This project provided an excellent opportunity for students that don’t necessarily excel in the classroom to take on leadership roles.  Specifically, there were many students that helped coordinate the removal of large items (grocery cart, car bumper, etc.) by leading and directing small teams of students.  Meanwhile, other students actively worked to remove trash located in hard-to-reach spots and helped to lead those adventures.  Lastly, all students took responsibility for the success of the project and showed this through their dedication and commitment to cleaning the stream.  This was especially demonstrated by their lack of vanity as they stepped through mud to remove debris and hauled trash filled bags up a large hill with sweat pouring off their bodies.  

 

Best Practice 5:  What community partners did you work with on this project (e.g. non-profits, civic organizations, business that provided donations, etc.)?

In order to complete this project, I obtained financial support from two sources.  A major portion of our associated Bay field trip was paid for by a $6,000 grant from Johnson Controls, Inc.  The remaining amount, $3,400, was paid by a grant from Chesapeake Bay Trust, who also provided logistical support for our stream clean-up.

 

Best Practice 6:  How did you prepare and plan ahead for the project?  

This project required extensive preparation and planning.  In order to obtain funding for our associated Bay field trip, the wheels were turning almost a year before the field trip.  The Living Classrooms Shipboard Experience field trip provided the springboard for my students to dedicate themselves to the stream clean-up.  In order to properly execute the stream clean-up project and achieve our educational goals, we spent time in and out of the classroom preparing ourselves by learning about the Bay, ecological theory, and how to use the water quality testing equipment.  All the pre-project time served to develop a stronger commitment from the students and a greater desire to make the clean-up project successful.

 

Best Practice 7:  What knowledge and skills did students develop through this project? 

Students developed many skills through this project.  Specifically, they learned:

1)    How to become actively engaged in helping their community.

2)    How to work with other students from all different levels of classes (special-education, regular and honors).

3)    How to work together as a team with a common goal.

4)    How to encourage and support others as they struggled to remove items from the stream.

5)    How to let go of vanity in order to achieve a common goal.  The heat, mud and hard work were challenging but not one student stopped what they were doing because of it.

6)    How to take leadership roles to lead a team to success.

7)    How to gain a sense of pride through their achievements. 

8)    How to problem solve when your first solution doesn’t work.

9)    How to take water quality data using a hand-held computer, including; pH, salinity and temperature data. 

Students also enhanced their knowledge through this project.  Specifically, they learned:

1)    How pH, salinity and temperature data can be used as indicators for the health of a stream.

2)    The structure of a stream food web and the impact of pollution on stream ecology.

3)    How their actions impact the health of the Bay and the ecosystem.

4)    How easy it is to help the environment.

Overall, this project was extremely successful and students walked away with specific skills and knowledge that will not only help them academically, but will also serve to make them stronger leaders and more thoughtful members of their communities.

 “One person becomes a drop in the stream, then that stream becomes a river.  People together make a swell, then a tide, and that makes a difference.”  -Richard Hovannisian, UCLA professor of Armenian and Near Eastern history

Special thanks to Johnson Controls, Inc. and Chesapeake Bay Trust for funding this service-learning project and associated Bay field trip.  Johnson Controls, Inc. offers automotive experience, building efficiency and power solutions in support of their vision for a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world.  Chesapeake Bay Trust serves to promote public awareness and participation in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and its Maryland tributaries. 

My most memorable service-learning was directing my Advanced Placement Biology students to write gene therapy play. In previous years, my involvement with service-learning had been with the Joseph House Village in Salisbury, Maryland. The major project was gardening, raking and grounds keeping. We also cleaned and cleared to make a playground for children there and conducted a canned food drive for the those in need. Currently, we are collecting environmental data in the GLOBE Program. In addition, we tutor and will soon do after school work with pre-schoolers.

Margaret Strohecker, 2008, Berwyn Heights Elementary School (Science), Prince George’s County, Marg.strohecker@pgcps.org

Local and Global Water Quality

The Berwyn Heights Elementary School water quality project (2006-present) combines student creation and maintenance of three Chesapeake Bay Trust rain gardens, construction of a rain barrel in our courtyard, and water quality testing of Still Creek and the Chesapeake Bay (NorthBay).   Fifth and sixth grade students are currently partnering with a sister school in Italy to compare water test results, strategies and action plans to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and the Bay of Naples.

 

Best Practice 1:  What recognized community need was met by your project (e.g. health, education, environmental or public safety need)? 

When Berwyn Heights Elementary School was renovated and expanded six years ago, no plantings or landscaping was done on the cleared land.  Severe erosion and runoff was filling Chesapeake Bay storm drains with silt and debris.  Students did research on water quality and rain gardens.  They decided to take direct action at school and in the community to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  Over two years, students planted and maintained three rain gardens at school.  At Still Creek, students do water testing, living organism inventory and litter removal to improve water quality.

 

Best Practice 2:  How was the project connected to school curriculum (e.g. what course outcomes were met and/or how did the project reinforce or enhance student academic learning)?   

In science, students learned which personal and community behaviors cause environmental harm and which behaviors maintain or improve the environment.  In social studies, students learned how human modifications to the environment impact the watershed.  Research and writing objectives were met throughout the project.

 

Best Practice 3:  How did you reflect on your experience throughout the project?

Students made ongoing observations of the rain gardens, including observational drawings and journal entries on plant growth and organisms.  At the creek, students inventoried the types of litter collected and researched the years each type takes to decompose.  6th grade students wrote environmental action plans which connected their direct actions in the gardens and the creek with water quality improvement in the Chesapeake Bay. 

 

Best Practice 4:  How did students take leadership roles and take responsibility for the success of the project? 

Students made maps of the areas surrounding the Chesapeake Bay drains with ideas for where to plant large shrubs and small plants.  Through research and experiments, 4th grade students chose the most effective, but environmentally safe weed killing method.  Every class participated in planting, papering, mulching, weeding and/or replanting.  At Greenbelt Park, students remove litter from Still Creek, and do water quality monitoring, including water tests and inventory of creek life.  5^th grade students are researching and making rain barrel plans.

 

Best Practice 5:  What community partners did you work with on this project (e.g. non-profits, civic organizations, business that provided donations, etc.)?

Partners include Chesapeake Bay Trust, Beltsville Boy Scout Troop, Greenbelt National Park (National Park Service), Anacostia Watershed Society, and Recreational Equipment Incorporated.

 

Best Practice 6:  How did you prepare and plan ahead for the project?  

As stated above, students were involved in researching and mapping of the rain gardens.  Planning for safety and maintenance was necessary.   Tasks were divided into those that required adult or Boy Scout assistance (roto-tilling, tree replanting), those for intermediate students (wheelbarrow handling, digging large holes, large shrub planting), and those for primary students (hand trowel use, small holes for bulbs and plants, weeding, spreading).  A maintenance plan for weeding and watering was developed by 4th and 5th graders and has been modified each year as challenges arise.   Students are currently making plans for the rain barrel.

 

Best Practice 7:  What knowledge and skills did students develop through this project? 

Various community experts instructed students in special areas:  Anacostia Watershed Society representative (native plants and invasive plant removal), our REI partner (principals of “Leave No Trace” and consequences of littering in the watershed),  the School Counselor (student council Rain Garden research), a PTA landscaping expert (native plant selection, weed management and irrigation methods), the Science Coordinator and NPS Ranger (water quality testing and stream organism inventory), and the Arts Integration teacher (writing about local water quality problems).  In science classes, students learned how rain gardens benefit the watershed.

Sherry Unger, 1994, (see our memorial), Bladensburg High School (Leadership, Community Service, S.G.A)

2000: Our school has adopted a local homeless shelter. Students create kits each season and deliver them to the shelter. The various kits focus on themes such as: School Supplies, Personal Hygiene, Birthday Party, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Valentines Day. Best practices:

Students send quarterly letters to the shelter asking them what supplies are needed. Area women and their children who are homeless are permitted to remain at the shelter for eight weeks. These families are in need of basic items and extra supplies in order to celebrate holidays and birthdays in an austere setting while they seek permanent shelter.

Through the project, students develop their skills in the following areas: decision making communication, cooperative team work, budgeting, and program implementation.

Students reflect on their feelings about the project in journals and create picture displays for each of the projects each season.

Students learn to meet deadlines and adhere to commitments to package the kits and plan deliveries. As noted above, students are also the ones to contact the shelter and assess their needs.

Our school has established partnerships with local hotels, grocery, and hardware chains. They assist us with some of the supplies needed for the kits.

Students plan each year to create different kits for the shelter and to encourage and develop new community partnerships.

Students learn effective brainstorming techniques, how to cooperatively make decisions, and they conduct research on the issue of homelessness.

1998: Adoption of Shepherds Cove Homeless Shelter - baskets, holiday meals; service-learning opportunity resource center; service days at school.

1996: Service-learning projects include: hygiene & school kits for the homeless shelters and adoption schools in disaster areas, recycling, beautification, fundraising, rolling and collating penny drive for elementary school playground fund.

1995: Coordinate school-wide activities, assist with logging hours, developing programs for groups, maintain resource center for staff and students, provide on site service projects and develop SGA's service projects.

Mary Wade, 2008, Berwyn Heights Elementary School (Academic Development), Prince George’s County, Mary2.wade@pgcps.org

Adopt a Park

This ongoing project was the idea of our 5th grade GOLD (Generating Outstanding Leadership Development) students who were asked to select and implement an environmental project with a committee of six 4^th and 5^th grade students. They selected Pop’s Park because it is located within a block of the school, making it easy for the students to maintain and because it was a way of getting involved in the local government.  This service-learning project combines direct service when the students are cleaning and planting in the park, indirect service when the students have fundraisers to purchase plants and equipment to improve the park and create rain gardens there, and service through advocacy when the students collaborate with the city council and public works department concerning types of plants, access to water, and simple repairs to equipment. Visits are planned for the fall and the spring.

 

Best Practice 1:  What recognized community need was met by your project (e.g. health, education, environmental or public safety need)? 

This local park gets plenty of use and was in need of regular maintenance of the gardens and the equipment. The city government is committed to creating local rain gardens to protect the Anacostia River Watershed which leads to the Chesapeake Bay, and could see the need to develop the gardens at this park.

 

Best Practice 2:  How was the project connected to school curriculum (e.g. what course outcomes were met and/or how did the project reinforce or enhance student academic learning)?   

The students can achieve a variety of curriculum objectives through note taking, writing persuasive letters to local government, fundraising, creating a budget, identifying and describing the positive and negative impact of human activities on the environment, and by understanding the relationship of academics to the world of work and to life at home and in the community.

 

Best Practice 3:  How did you reflect on your experience throughout the project?

The students are responsible for maintaining a journal containing notes they take on field trips to the park, at committee meetings, and when completing research assignments. They refer to their notes when creating an action plan and presenting their plan to adults.

 

Best Practice 4:  How did students take leadership roles and take responsibility for the success of the project? 

The students worked in teams to record observations, create a “to do” list, help with the fundraiser, complete the work at the park and communicate with Public Works and the City Council.

 

Best Practice 5:  What community partners did you work with on this project (e.g. non-profits, civic organizations, business that provided donations, etc.)?

The students worked with Berwyn Heights Public Works, City Council, Prince George’s County Government and the school’s PTA.

 

Best Practice 6:  How did you prepare and plan ahead for the project?  

The GOLD committee met to plan the initial and subsequent field trips to the park during the school day. The students had seen a video on citizenship, during a regular classroom guidance lesson.  In the video, children adopted a local park in order to clean it up and provide the park with recycling bins.  The timing of the video influenced our GOLD student in her decision to adopt a park as her environmental project for the committee.  The committee decided to plan at least one trip each spring and each fall in order to maintain the grounds and plant additional plants as needed.

 

Best Practice 7:  What knowledge and skills did students develop through this project? 

The students will have opportunities to share their project with the Student Council at monthly meetings. They will write thank you letters to community partners and debate future environmental needs at a mock Town Council meeting in April of every year.