Getting Our Students Out Into the Community

Today I participated in an event called Aces in the Community. The high school that I am placed at participates in this event on an annual basis. How it works is, one day out of every school year, the entire school takes part in community service of one kind or another. This service can be indirect, where students are not having direct contact with members of the community, such as making care packages to be distributed via a third party. The students can also engage in a direct method of community service, that is having direct contact with other members of the community. Our class, for instance went to an elementary school to help in whatever way individual teachers deemed necessary. Since our students came in direct contact with the community members they were serving, they are considered to have done direct community service.               

                Upon first hearing about Aces in the Community, I thought it was an amazing idea. I wish I was given the opportunity to voluntarily participate in community service when I was growing up.  It would have been extremely helpful to have a school help organize such an event because usually an individual, even if they wanted to help out, would not know where to start and who to contact. In preparation for Aces in the Community, however, students were able to suggest events, and, as a group, we came together to make it happen. I cannot say enough about the impact that doing Aces in the Community had on both my students and me.

I was surprised to learn that this high school is the only school in the district that participates in such an event. The benefits for the student body would be immeasurable if all high schools participated in at least one day of community service. There are many positive effects community service on our students, some of which I’ve listed below:

• Students in over half of the high quality service-learning schools studied showed moderate to strong positive gains on student achievement tests in language arts and/or reading, engagement in school, sense of educational accomplishment and homework completion (Weiler, et. al., 1998).
• Service-learning participation was associated with higher scores on the state test of basic skills (Anderson, et. al., 1991) and higher grades (Shumer, 1994; Shaffer, 1993; Dean and Murdock, 1992; O’Bannon, 1999).
• Eighty-three percent of schools with service-learning programs reported that grade point averages of participating service-learning students improved 76 percent of the time (Follman, 1999).

If there are obvious benefits in incorporating such programs, I have to wonder why we have not, as a district, encouraged more of our schools to participate in community service. Participating in such an event can make giving back to the community a fun and productive routine or learned behavior. High school students who participated in service-learning and service are more likely to be engaged in a community organization and to vote 15 years after their participation in the program than those who did not participate (Youniss, et. al., 1997; Yates and Youniss, 1998). Programs like Aces in the Community should be deeply considered. There are positive results for our students and the community members that they serve, regardless of whether that service is direct or indirect.

It cannot simply be an issue of the number of students enrolled in the other schools because this school has the largest enrollment in the district. Still, they manage to get all of their students involved in one way or another. The students enjoyed the work they did in the community. I spoke to several students, some who were in my class and some who were not. Students participated in everything from picking up trash to washing planes on the base. Every student I spoke with had positive comments about their experiences. I’m sure students in other schools would appreciate and learn from the opportunity as well. . .

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.black/benefits_of_participation_in_service