St. Mary's

2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet

Student's are introduced to service-learning in elementary school with school-based projects. Students do a service-learning activity each year in middle school, either in one subject or as an interdisciplinary activity. In high school service-learning is infused into grade 9 United States History and grade 10 Government. An independent study option allows students to receive credit for additional service beyond the graduation requirement. A local advisory committee has been established, which produces service-learning pamphlets, curriculum guides, and a website.

Breakdown:
Middle School (45 hours)
Grade 9 & 10 Social Studies (30 hours)

Reporting: Service-learning will appear on report cards.

Transfer Policy: Students who transfer into the system during high school and have not satisfied their national, state, and local government requirement will take the 10th grade government class. Students who have satisfied their national, state, and local government requirement will do the independent study option under the aegis of the sponsoring teacher. If that student is a first semester senior, the minimum number of hours of service-learning required is 20. If a student transfers in as a second semester senior, the requirement is 10 hours.

3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)

Donna Allison, 1999, Margaret Brent Middle School (Language Arts), 301-884-4635

Students were involved in creating and publishing children's books. The students then took their books to local feeder schools and read to the elementary students. In addition, the books were donated to the elementary schools.

Meet a recognized need in the community: The students served as mentors and teachers to the elementary students. They helped elementary students who were having difficulties in reading by reading to them and donating books.
Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning: Students were involved in the process of writing, creating, and publishing children's books.
Reflect throughout service learning experience: Students kept journal responses of their writing process, improvements, and questions.
Develop student responsibility: Students were responsible for meeting with the elementary students and took leadership roles and initiative to help them to meet appropriate reading goals.
Establish community partnership: Community partnerships were established with the local feeder schools. There were constant interactions among the administrators, teachers, and students. A partnership was also created with the Student Treasures, a local children's publishing company.
Plan ahead for the project: Students learned the various characteristics of children's books. They learned how to include appropriate characters, settings, themes, and moral lessons in children's books. Coordinating the project with the local feeder school also took planning.
Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: Students learned skills of writing, leadership, listening, and speaking.

Kay Cross, 2005, Spring Ridge Middle School (Social Studies), St. Mary’s County, 301-863-4031, mscrosssrms@yahoo.com

Best Practice 1: Meet a recognized need in the community
I am the advisor of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). In 2004, my members wanted to focus their student service-learning projects on our school community. Our school was going through a transition period. At the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year, we had hired 22 new teachers, three new assistant principals, and one new principal. My students felt that it was particularly important for the students in our school to take pride in their school in the midst of all this change. The NJHS members decided to start “Operation Instilling School Pride.” One of the projects they selected was to paint all the bathrooms in the school with different themes chosen by the school community. The bathroom facelift had multi-purposes: to cover the graffiti in the bathroom, to have the bathrooms reflect the personality of our student body, and to instill pride in our school community.
Best Practice 2: Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning
I decided to take my social studies themes outside of my classroom setting and work them into the NJHS projects. In our social studies curriculum, two of the themes we focus on are “Peoples of the Nation and World” and “Political Science.” Both of these themes focus on equipping our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become responsible citizens and fit well with the planned project.
In the “Operation Instilling School Pride” project, the students were applying what they learned through the social studies curriculum by working with diverse populations, analyzing data, and making decisions that reflected all points of view. They were practicing their citizenship skills in the school community. The members were treating the school like a small United States and polling the students and teachers about the bathroom facelifts. From the surveys, informal interviews, and voting, the students were practicing the skills needed to become informed citizens that respect all cultures’ points of view.
Best Practice 3: Reflect throughout the service-learning experience
Each week we would have a meeting to discuss the design of the particular bathroom being made-over. The students would take into consideration the location of the bathroom, the age group that used that set of bathrooms, and the informal surveys done of the students and teachers in the particular hall. Once all the information had been gathered, listed, and discussed, the students would vote on the design for those particular bathrooms.
The week after a set of bathrooms was complete, the members would survey the students that used those bathrooms to get their feedback on the results. The surveys were done orally and in questionnaire form. The members would meet after school and debrief about the bathroom makeovers and discuss how the facelift was improving the pride of the school.
Best Practice 4: Develop student responsibility
Student responsibility was developed in numerous ways. The NJHS members were the ones that developed the idea for “Operation Instilling School Pride.” As the advisor, I guided them through the decision making process, but ultimately left all decision to the NJHS members. In order for this service-learning project to be successful, the members had to take on the responsibilities of:

Obtaining permission to paint the bathrooms;
Surveying the student body;
Analyzing the surveys;
Developing themes for each bathroom;
Designing each bathroom makeover;
Determining the appropriate colors and stencils to use;
Getting a list of colors to the advisor by a deadline so paint could be purchased;
Painting the bathrooms;
And making sure the team was doing all jobs determined by members.

I was there through every step to make sure the members kept the goal in mind. If they hit a bump in the road, I would navigate them through the rough spot. Then the students would continue to work on the project.

Best Practice 5: Establish community partnerships
A school is usually the first formal experience young people have functioning in a community. Through the school community students learn how to effectively communicate with one another and work together. Our students need to learn the skills required for effectively developing partnerships in life. In order for the service-learning project to be successful, the students realized that they needed to develop partnerships with:

Each other;
The tudent body;
Teachers and staff;
And parents.
That is why surveying the community and soliciting constant feedback was such an important part of this project.

Best Practice 6: Plan ahead for service-learning
Every year I have a meeting with my NJHS members to see what projects they want to accomplish that school year. We develop a list and a theme. We picked school pride as our theme in 2003-04. All projects were designed around that theme and the Maryland’s Best Practices for Service-Learning. The members’ wish for 2003-04 was for the student body to show pride in the school. The NJHS believed that if the student body showed pride in their school, then the outside community would, in turn, have pride in the school.

Best Practice 7: Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service
Service-learning projects should result in both academic and personal growth. The students must be able to learn and grow as people from the project. The lessons they learn should be life lessons that will make them productive citizens in our society. When I prepare my students for service-learning, I ask them to look into their hearts. I ask them to think about the community around them. What can you do to make this community even better than it is? What mark do you want to leave on the community? I want the students to find a personal connection to the projects that are implemented. I have found that if they make a personal connection, the experience becomes more fulfilling for the members.

Christopher Davies, 1995, Great Mills High School, 301-863-4001, ccccdavies@yahoo.com

1998: Great Mills High School has community partnerships with Historic St. Mary's City and Point Lookout State Park in Southern Maryland. Our projects combine Chesapeake Bay Environmental issues and community historical preservation. Students have "adopted a swamp" along the St. Mary's River and are "building bridges" through protected wetlands. Students incorporate grant writing skills into their service-learning experience. Mr. Davies class is recognized as a Maryland State Model Service-Learning Program -- adopted a wetlands. Please contact us for more information.

Denise Eichel, 2001, Principal, Leonardtown Elementary School, d_eichel@yahoo.com

Over 100 5th grade students participated in a project that provided friendship and social interaction for the veterans living at the Charlotte Hall Veteran's Home. The students visited the veterans and invited them to events at our school, made cards, listened and learned the wealth of knowledge the veterans were able to share.

Meet a recognized community need: The veteran's home is just 2 miles from our school. The students were aware that many veterans who reside at the home are lonely, depressed and rarely visited. They felt that since these men and women are members of our community, members who provided a service for our country, that it was our responsibility to help with their need for friendship.

Achieve curricular objectives: The students were required to write letters to the veterans. Biography is a genre that the students are required to study, therefore, they read a biography to each of the veterans. Students met many math objectives while completing a task in which they planned the Valentine Social.

Reflect through the service-learning experience: The students were encouraged to reflect on the project through class discussions, journal writing, creation of a PowerPoint presentation and displays, and newsletter articles.

Develop student responsibility: The students developed responsibility by choosing the activities we carried out and by organizing the Valentine Social.

Establish community partnerships: The principal and myself contacted the veteran's home to plan a meeting with the events coordinator.

Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: Students learned about the veteran's home and the residents.

Hannah Mossman, hannahdm@aol.com (moved out of state)

The nursing center in the next town needed help connecting residents to youth in an effort to brighten the resident's days. In response to this need, our 3rd grade team selected our best 30 workers to prepare and present a play at the nursing center. The play, the "Princess and the Penguin," culminated the students' integrated study of weather and animals. This project also required students to use their writing, researching, and public speaking skills.

Meet a recognized community need: Our project was designed to reduce the isolation many senior citizens feel from others, especially young people. Students visited the nursing center on a Thursday morning, set up, performed and socialized with the elderly. Students shared hugs and hand shakes while the elderly commended them on their performances.

Achieve curricular objectives: The students read for all purposes and used writing to express their thoughts on the project.

Reflect through the service-learning experience: The students discussed what they thought about the project with each other and shared their thoughts with the residents. The students prompted the senior citizens with statements such as "if this... then...".

Develop student responsibility: The student developed responsibility through studying and learning their lines and gestures at home. They created and designed their own costumes and props.

Establish community partnerships: We established community partnerships through the parents who volunteered to help with stage set up and transportation of the props. The nursing center activity director assisted with organizing the project and soliciting businesses for props. We also work with Petsmart, Denny Morgan, a retired drama and music teacher, and Crabhrochen.

Plan ahead for service-learning: We contacted the nursing center for suggestions of businesses to solicit for donations. We ordered scripts during the previous summer before school to give the student sufficient time to prepare.

Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: To equip the students with the skills and knowledge they needed, we studied techniques for learning lines, and for staging movement and gestures with a theatrical consultant. The students reviewed the steps involved for service-learning, preparation, action and reflection, in teams and read the outcomes we were covering, so that they could see the connection.

Kathryn Raley, 2003, Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School, 301-472-4500

2nd grade students at Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School completed a service-learning project performance task called, "Houses That Help," which raised $980.00 to purchase Christmas gifts for children in the community who were less fortunate. Best practices:

Providing children who are less fortunate with gifts for Christmas was a real need in our community. It also taught children that not everyone is as fortunate as they are and reinforced the gift of giving to others.
Participating in the auction by making Gingerbread Houses and purchasing gifts strengthened the students math skills. Other objectives were met by the students reading and writing letters.
Through this experience students felt what it is like to help individuals from our community that are in need. One second grader made the comment one day that he learned Christmas was not about getting but about giving.
From the intended recipient children's' description, our 2nd and 5th graders were able to select the type of gifts they thought those particular children would want for Christmas. They then purchased the gifts with the money raised and wrapped them.
The community partners in this project were the children and families who received the gifts.
The students followed a set of instructions to develop a Gingerbread House with their fifth grade book buddies. After completing the task of developing Gingerbread Houses, we auctioned them off at our Gingerbread Auction. The auction raised $980.00, which was used to purchase Christmas Gifts for children in need in the community
Students were given a brief description of the eight children that they would be helping and discussed poverty issues.

Sherie Robey, 1996, Chopticon High School (special education, civics, U.S. History, study skills), 301-475-5655, lightbeacon2@yahoo.com

1998: My students work with adult daycare centers in St. Mary's County as part of the replication site model "Serving Seniors". My students also are making personal hygiene bags for the men's' and women's' shelters. In addition to those projects, we are helping any others who's lives have been affected by economic and disaster hardships.

1996: My students are serving by assisting at the local nursing home, with bingo, crafts and developing friendships with the elderly.

1. Service-Learning Contact Information

2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet

3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)