1. Service-Learning Contact Information

2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet

Students participate in service-learning projects in grades 6, 7, and 8, earning 20 hours per grade.  Students also earn the additional 15 hours through the 9^th grade team.

Breakdown:
Service-learning is infused in grades 6, 7, and 8 through interdisciplinary units. Service-learning is also infused through the 9th grade team.

Transfer Policy:  We occasionally have a student enter high school in Somerset County whose school career has been outside the state previously. So that there is consistency, the following schedule is established for Somerset County:

Freshmen         75 hours of service-learning           Sophomore       35 hours of service-learning        Juniors             25 hours of service-learning  Seniors            15 hours of service-learning  

Please note that the above schedule applies ONLY to out-of-state enrollees. Students who have been in state prior to grade nine must complete the 75 hours.

Reporting: Tracking of service-learning hours is on PDS cards that follow students from school to school.

3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)

9th grade Government students learned about and provided service to clients of a Christian Shelter in Salisbury, Maryland. The students were also engaged in a directed writing exercise and discussion on what service-learning meant to them.

Meet a recognized community need: Our students addressed the issue of poverty. Students always visited the shelter around Easter, so students were asked to collect candy and fill Easter bags for youth who attend the shelter daily as part of an after-school program. Our students were also asked to write notes of encouragement to attach to each bag.

Achieve curricular objectives: Our curriculum includes a service-learning component in government.

Reflect through the service-learning experience: Students were required to put their reflection comments on a service-learning form. We also discussed our project as a class the next day.

Develop student responsibility: Each student has an assignment to complete for the shelter coordinator once we arrived at the shelter.

Establish community partnerships: I discussed our service-learning project goals with the coordinator of the Christian Shelter. This is our 4th year working with the Christian Shelter, as well as the Salvation Army.

Plan ahead for service-learning: I plan our service-learning project at the beginning of each semester. Then I discuss plans with our school coordinator and proceed with plans.

Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: First we viewed the video, "The Courage to Care, the Strength to Serve." Then we engaged in several writing assignments and class discussions.

Kathy Crockett, 1995, The Academy @ Washington High School, 410-651-0480, kcrockett@somerset.k12.md.us  (left system)

For the past 2 years, my involvement with service-learning has been with the Joseph House Village in Salisbury, MD. Our service-learning group has tackled numerous projects, such as: clearing an area for a playground, and conducting a canned food drive. To ease the burden of the shelter employees and residents the students assist through housecleaning, painting and landscaping projects.

Karen S. Curtis, 2001, The Academy @ Washington High School, 410-651-0480, kcurtis@somerset.k12.md.us (left system)

In 2005, our students in The Academy were engaged in a multifaceted service-learning project entitled, “Helping Those in Need”. The 8^th and 9^th grade students embraced the idea of completing a broad spectrum of mini service projects that impacted the lives of many people in need.

Some efforts completed early in the year were:

§         Disaster Relief- In preparation for this project, students completed lesson plans from FEMA and learned statistics about those displaced by recent natural disasters. Needs were discussed, and brainstorming was done that led to ways we could help. Health kits were created and sent to Biloxi, Mississippi. Cards were made and sent to children in shelters in El Paso, Texas.

§         Harvest for the Hungry- Lessons were taught informing students of the causes of hunger and statistics of hunger in America. Stereotypes and misconceptions were discussed. A canned food drive was conducted, with the collected food being given to a local shelter.

§         Relay for Life- Preparation involved lessons about cancer and statistics about cancer on the Eastern Shore. Speakers from the Cancer Society and Coastal Hospice addressed student questions and concerns. Students decorated terra cotta pots and planted flowers that were sold to raise money for Relay for Life.

Additional projects filled our school year, along with shelter and local nursing home visits.

A team of 6th grade students raised money for a local homeless shelter through a walk/jump/shoot-a-thon. We presented the money to a shelter representative at a celebration luncheon attended by the top fundraisers. In the spring, we divided the students among our 3 or 4 local shelters and they helped the shelters with various tasks (i.e. plant flowers, scrub and clean, wash laundry, paint, do yard work, etc.).

Meet a recognized community need: Our project addressed a community need in our local shelters of a lack of funding. Our project on homelessness enabled the students to help the shelter financially and by donating their time.

Achieve curricular objectives: The homeless project was coordinated with an offshoot of our immigration unit. Students studied historical stories about underprivileged immigrants who've entered this country.

Reflect through the service-learning experience: The students engaged in reflection on the bus ride home by answering questions such as, "What did you do?", "How do you feel?", "What else can we do to make a difference?" Upon arrival at the school, students wrote a journal entry about their experiences and feelings.

Develop student responsibility: Students developed responsibility by raising money for the walk/jump/hoop-a-thon. They also brought in materials to donate to shelters or to take with them to use during our work/clean-up sessions.

Establish community partnerships: Through phone calls, we contacted agencies like Samaritan Shelter, Christian Shelter, Village of Hope, Seton Center and the Salvation Army.

Plan ahead for service-learning: When we left our work session, we let our shelters know we "would return." We called at Christmas and took gifts. We called 1- month prior to our spring visit and asked the shelters to start thinking about what they would like our students to do when we next visited.

Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: We started with the "Baby Story" which reviews the various types of service-learning (direct, indirect and advocacy) because our 6th graders were unfamiliar with service-learning. We then showed them the "Shelter Boy" video and/or had them read "Fly Away Home" and did a completely integrated lesson around the theme of homelessness. We also did the Pretzel Activity which explores distribution of wealth issues and draw pictures reflecting our misconceptions about homelessness. We then visited the shelters and prepared for our one-day blow out of Have-a-Heart-for-the-Homeless. We raised $2400.00 this year. Then we went to the shelters and worked willingly.