Community-School Partnerships

Service-learning in U.S. public schools began to mature in the 1990s when several legislative initiatives were adopted to support increased student involvement in their communities. Different from community service projects, service-learning endeavors to connect students' service experiences to their school work and require the formation of partnerships among schools and other community organizations. Partnerships can entail several different levels of involvement, from simple networking, to in-depth collaboration. Educators should take care to carefully plan, implement, and evaluate partnerships to ensure their efficacy.

Keywords After-School Programs; Civic Responsibility; Community-Based Organizations; Community-School Partnership; Community Service; Service Learning; Social Responsibility; Volunteer

Service Learning > Community-School Partnerships

Overview

As early as the 1890s, Educator John Dewey advocated that students would be educated more efficiently and be faithful and active citizens of the community if they performed frequent community service that was incorporated into their school studies. Although proposed over a century ago, the concept of service learning was not a serious focus for educators until the 1990s (Skinner & Chapman, 1999). Several initiatives were adopted in the 1990's to support increased student involvement in their communities and, by the end of the century, incorporating United States students in the tasks and volunteer work of community service projects to prepare them for responsible citizenship was Goal 3 of the National Education Goals for the Year 2000 (Kleiner & Chapman, 1999).

Like community service - in which students perform tasks to benefit others in their communities - service-learning is community service in an extreme form, connecting students' service experiences to their school work. The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse defines service-learning as "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities" (Learn & Serve America, "Service," n.d., ¶ 1).

In the opening to a report by the National Commission on Service-Learning, Chairperson John Glenn referred to an ancient saying to articulate the concept of service-learning - "I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I understand." In addition, he suggested that service-learning can add a fourth "R" - which stands for "responsibility" - to the traditional three R's of education (National Committee on Service Learning, 2002, p. i).

According to Skinner and Chapman (1999), the 1999 National Student Service-Learning and Community Service Survey used the following descriptions and examples to distinguish between service-learning and community service for the survey participants:

Community Service

Student community service projects are not based on curriculums, but are “recognized by and/or arranged through the school, may be mandatory or voluntary, generally do not include learning objectives or organized reflection, and may be conducted by school-sponsored clubs such as Girls/Boys Clubs, National Honor Society, etc. Examples of community service activities include cleaning up a local park, visiting the elderly, or collecting and distributing food to those in need” (Skinner & Chapman, 1999, p. 3).

Service-Learning

Student service-learning is curriculum-based community service that combines school education with public and societal activities. The service is connected to a curriculum, has concise and clear learning objectives, and ventures to fix actual problems and correct real deficiencies within the community. It facilitates learning as students take part in systematized reflection or critical assessment through discussions, oral presentations, and writing assignments in the classroom. “For example, a service-learning project is one in which a middle school science class decides to help preserve the natural habitat of animals living at a local lake. Through classroom studies, the students learn about the environment, keep the area around the lake clean, post signs providing information to the public, and study soil and water composition as well as the impact of industrial development on wildlife. Throughout the project, students write about their experiences in journals and participate in class discussions about the project and its effect on their lives and the local community” (Skinner & Chapman, 1999, p. 3).

Results of this 1999 survey reported that “64% of all public schools, including 83% of public high schools, had students participating in community service activities recognized by and/or arranged through the school; 32% of all public schools organized service-learning as part of their curriculum, including nearly half of all high schools; and that most schools with service-learning programs cited strengthening relationships among students, the school, and the community as key reasons for practicing service-learning” (Skinner & Chapman, 1999, p. 10).

To support service-learning projects in communities throughout the U.S., the National and Community Service Act of 1990 established the Learn and Serve America Program to fund projects that enable students to contribute to society and build upon their academic skills while creating a sense of purpose, duty, and desire to help.

What is a Community-School Partnership?

A community-school partnership is a fundamental requirement for service-learning projects to be mutually beneficial for students who provide services and community members or organizations who receive services. It is not a simple task to create collaboration among schools and community agencies. These entities usually have their own objectives, schedules, and operating procedures that often are constrained by licensing and code requirements as well as insurance policies.

Learn and Serve America lists recommended steps for establishing school-community partnerships. It also summarizes the benefits of service-learning partnerships as the ability to:

• Accomplish work together that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish alone;

• Build a shared sense of commitment and responsibility throughout the community;

• Ensure that everyone who is touched by the service is represented in the leadership, planning and implementation;

• Avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts among agencies;

• Offer opportunities for people to learn from each other and share resources;

• Contribute to rebuilding healthy, caring communities (Learn and Serve America, "Building," ¶ 4).

Professional development for classroom teachers is also a requirement for a school's service-learning mission to be effective. Teachers for specific projects often assume the role of coordinator and need to take on responsibilities that may not be part of their usual contracted duties. The most common types of support for teachers include service-learning training or conferences outside of the school, financial support for service-learning project costs, and mini-grants for curriculum development for service-learning programs (Skinner & Chapman, 1999).

In addition to Learn and Serve America, several organizations provide information and resources for those interested in beginning or enhancing service-learning programs (Sitter, 2006).

Applications

In the last decade, the growth of service-learning has resulted from actions from congress and presidents that were able to provide more funding. “In increasing numbers, schools have provided service-learning opportunities for students that connect their curriculum studies to service activities such as tutoring younger children, adopting a river, creating a museum exhibit, or conducting oral histories with senior citizens. In these and similar instructional activities, youth have simultaneously learned to serve and served to learn, becoming both better students and better citizens” (National Committee on Service Learning, 2002, p. 4).

The 2002 report by the National Committee on Service-Learning cites several studies indicating that service-learning:

• Reverses student disengagement from schooling by increasing their motivation to participate in school activities focused on identifying actual community needs;

• Reinforces the standards-based reform movement by providing a real-life context for learning;

• Promotes the public purposes of education by preparing students for citizenship;

• Builds on the growing willingness of students to become involved in service to their communities while adding an academic component to such service; and

• Contributes to young people's personal development by increasing their sense of responsibility and to their career development by building workplace skills (NCLS, 2002, p. 9).

Students gain self-confidence, competence, and empathy for others through service-learning. Also, by problem-solving and working collaboratively with peers and community members, they build employment skills necessary for today's workforce (Brown, 1998).

A crucial benefit of service-learning is a stronger relationship between schools and other organizations that also serve communities. Community members who act as partners and helpers in service-learning projects and those who receive service, all often reevaluate their opinions of American youth and see them as necessary and desirable additions to the community and not as troublemaking delinquents.

Community-School Partnership Levels

According to Sitter (2006), there are four progressive levels of forming community-school partnerships for service-learning programs:

• Networking

• Coordination

• Cooperation

• Collaboration

School staff members are generally familiar with these terms as they apply to relationships within their school. Partners outside the school can be expected to have similar experiences. An example of networking with a community partner or potential partner is simply receiving information from the agency and making it available in the school. Coordinating involves informing each other of schedules to avoid conflicts of scheduled events. Cooperation, the next level, might involve planning together and sharing the cost or work of a particular project. Collaboration, the highest level, involves working together on a special event or project that would be fully planned together from the beginning. The first step to forming any level of partnership that will develop into opportunities for learning is to establish communication and find a focus of mutual interest and benefit (Sitter, 2006).

Collaboration is a very difficult form of partnership – perhaps the most difficult of all – and it presents complications between companies that may not know anything about the other. If a school is unfamiliar with the work of a community-based organization, it is probably best to begin an alliance through networking and gradual cooperation, which are in themselves subtler means of creating effective partnerships.

Building Effective Service-Learning Programs through Community-School Partnerships

“Effective partnerships between agencies, schools, colleges or universities, businesses, government, and residents for the benefit of the community are a vital part of service-learning” (Learn & Serve, n.d., ¶1). Through cooperation, service providers can connect with large populations, communicate effectively to bypass possible duplicated efforts, utilize resources more efficiently, and help youth develop healthily and productively.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (2002) states that "creating an effective service project or service-learning program requires careful planning" (¶ 1). It recommends the following steps to help in the process on its website, http://nationalserviceresources.org. While all steps should be considered, they may not need to be followed in the order presented:

Step 1: Assess the Needs & Resources of Your Community & School

In selecting a project, consult with community members, civic groups, businesses, government officials, school personnel, and students to determine both the needs of the community and the available resources, including partnership opportunities. Find out who else is doing (or has done) something similar.

Step 2: Form Community Partnerships

Most successful service projects require forming partnerships. You can build on existing relationships and connections, or you can develop new ones with potential partners identified in Step 1. Be realistic about your resources, needs, and limitations, and make sure your goals are of mutual interest to all of your partners. Also be concrete about the roles and responsibilities of each partner organization.

Step 3: Set Specific Educational Goals & Curriculum

Determine what you expect students to learn. Service and service-learning projects organized by community-based organizations or after-school programs should set specific educational goals. Establish what content objectives or standards will be addressed, and incorporate your service and learning objectives into lesson plans. Devise ways to measure and assess whether those goals are being met, including reflection and assessment activities. When evaluating student performance, assess their effort and mastery of the subject.

Step 4: Select a Project & Begin Preliminary Planning

Pick a project and determine how all partners can work together to achieve the desired goals. Try to determine your human, financial, physical, and intellectual needs and whether you need additional partners to provide the required resources. Be sure to identify people in your school or organization who can coordinate the project and maintain continuity from year to year.

Step 5: Plan Your Project in Detail

Set up a timeline, create a budget, and assign tasks. Think about how to include your partners in this process. As with any project, thorough planning, including the creation of schedules, benchmarks, budgets, evaluation and assessment tools, and documentation, can identify and correct many potential problems.

Step 6: Acquire Necessary Funding & Resources

If additional funds, goods, or services are needed, consider seeking assistance from local businesses, national corporations, parents, faith-based organizations, civic groups, and other community organizations or sources of federal, state, and local funds.

Step 7: Implement & Manage Project

Put your plan into action. Continually assess your project to determine what is working and what could be improved. Involve project partners in evaluating and improving your project.

Step 8: Organize Reflection Activities

Make sure students are thinking about their service experience on a regular basis (e.g. through journals or classroom assignments) and organize activities that allow students to analyze their service and see how their ideas, knowledge and perceptions are changing. Use such reflections to help assess and improve the project.

Step 9: Assess & Evaluate Your Service Program

Ensure that your evaluation assesses the outcomes of the service project for the youth, the community, and the organizations involved. Documentation and evaluation of the project will create a legacy for the individuals and organizations that participated in and benefited from your service activities. It will also point the way to the next project for your classroom, and may foster activities in other classrooms.

Step 10: Celebrate Achievements

Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done. Recognition of students can help build habits of service and lead to a lifetime of community involvement. Don't forget to recognize key community partners as well. Recognition may include: displays in school or online, celebratory events such as ribbon cuttings or groundbreakings, visits by local officials, and participation in national recognition programs (Taken from Corporation for National and Community Service, Resource Center, 2002).

Service-learning can be an effective strategy in changing both the way students learn and in the way they become involved in their community. By bringing together school and community, service-learning helps students extend their learning into the world around them, at the same time as it invites the community into the learning process. The emerging research is already showing benefits as more motivated and engaged youth add new energy and commitment to their community. The organizations and agencies that act as community partners are equal stakeholders to in the success of the service-learning experience (Abravanel, 2003, “Action”).

Viewpoints

The Future of School-Based Service-Learning

In its "Call to Action" section, the report by the National Commission on Service Learning (2002) presents four recommendations for a future vision of school-based service-learning. A "recommendation in action" vignette accompanies each as a concrete example of the vision:

Recommendation 1: Reclaim the Public Purpose of Education

Recommendation in Action

Several Spanish-language students at the high-school level discovered that service-learning held much meaning and purpose for students their age and the communities in which they were members. The instructor revealed that the youth would utilize their knowledge of the Spanish language to interact with the “real world” through various service-learning projects. “Students brainstormed ideas, conducted research at the local library, and interviewed three community leaders. The city librarian told them about a weekly library tutoring program for immigrants wanting to become citizens. The students and teacher rallied around this idea and contacted the citizenship program coordinator. For the rest of the year, students spent two hours each week as bilingual tutors to Spanish speaking adults studying for their U.S. citizenship exams” (National Commission on Service Learning, 2002, p. 39). By practicing Spanish skills both within and outside of the school, students were able to find different ways to gather information and were forced to communicate what they knew with the outside world. They also acquainted themselves with the meaning of American citizenship and the obligations, rights, and duties inherent in such status.

Recommendation 2: Increase Policy, Program, & Financial Supports for Service-Learning in K-12 Education

Recommendation in Action

One school community in specific received generous funding from a private organization, and they used the grant to fuse service-learning with the standard educational curriculum already in place. This grant sparked interest in the community and ignited a following of supporters who believed that service-learning should be applicable in all schools for every student to participate in. Since then, funding has expanded from the anonymous grant to school budgeting, community partnerships, and even the state. “Each school has a service-learning coordinator, teachers have access to mini-grants and a district bus, and professional development is ongoing. The town's commitment can be seen in the school board and administrative priorities, job descriptions, and budget” (National Commission on Service Learning, 2002, p. 41).

Recommendation 3: Develop a Comprehensive System of Professional Development Regarding Service-Learning

Recommendation in Action

One third grade instructor decided to experiment with a couple of service-learning projects. However, he was concerned that he could be doing more to aid students and facilitate their learning capacity and involvement in the community. He attended several introductory workshops, which proved to be highly useful, but found that a deeper understanding was required. He discussed the matter with his fellow teachers, and he surfed the web in hopes of crossing paths with useful information and advice from other instructors. At the local department of education, he discovered a vast amount of resources. “He finds several websites that provide specific examples of service-learning integrated into English language arts and social studies, with related readings and the e-mail addresses of the teachers who developed them. He joins an online inquiry group with other teachers who share lesson plans, ideas, and resources. The Department of Education staff point him to upcoming regional institutes for deepening service-learning practice and link him with several local people who have extensive classroom and professional development experience” (National Commission on Service Learning, 2002, p. 45). Fortunately, he found the perfect consultant, one who would fit perfectly with the school district and provide an endless source of service-learning experience and knowledge. The school pulled together with the state and were able to fund the cost for the consultant, who later trained teachers to be able to lead other instructors in broadening their service-learning knowledge.

Recommendation 4: Provide Leadership Roles for Youth in All Aspects of Service-Learning

Recommendation in Action

In another example, a middle school teacher posed a question to her students regarding the community and what concerns they may have with it. She asked them if students has any way of helping the community, and if so, in what way could they extend their service? The students gathered together a substantial list. The students then joined their teacher in a stroll around their school neighborhood to see what they could discover about their society. The instructor had the students list the adequacies and deficiencies within the community. “During the course of the walk, a group of students notices, and records information about, a nearby empty lot. When they return to class, one of the students suggests that the class can do something useful with the lot. This produces nods, energy, and "great idea!" comments from her peers” (National Commission on Service Learning, 2002, p. 45). Already, the “service” involved in this service-learning exercise had begun, and it would only flourish from there. The teacher then plotted ways to link the community service to other educational subjects, including math, science, history, and language. The students were active participants from the start of the project and now view it as not an assignment, but a realistic and necessary idea that they created, led, and partnered in.

Terms & Concepts

After-School Programs: These are programs that provide safe, structured activities that take place in school buildings following the scheduled school hours. The programs provide activities to students that benefit their learned skills and improve academic skills.

Civic Responsibility: This term refers to working toward bettering the community by becoming involved in public service activities, volunteerism, and ways to make life better for all community members.

Community-Based Organizations: These are organizations other than schools that also provide service to communities; examples are libraries, hospitals, elder service councils, town governments, and child care organizations.

Community-School Partnership: This term refers to community organizations and schools working together to plan and implement projects that benefit the members of the partnership and the entire community.

Community Service: This term refers to tasks a person does for the benefit of his/her community.

Service Learning: This term describes a method of teaching and learning that uses community service to instill upon students the importance of civic responsibility, a strong community, and how to reflect upon one’s own influence within society.

Social Responsibility: This term describes an ethic theory that an entity (whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual) has a duty to the society in which it operates.

Volunteer: This term refers to someone who performs tasks to benefit others primarily because they choose to do so; a volunteer does not receive compensation for the services provided.

Bibliography

Abravanel, S. (2003). Building community through service-learning: The role of the community partner. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.servicelearning.duq.edu/documents/Role%20of%20Community%20Partner.pdf

Brown, B. (1998). Service learning: More than community service. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/service.htm

Community school partnerships are achieving results. (2012). American Teacher, 96, 7. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=72887906&site=ehost-live

Corporation for National and Community Service, (2002). Designing a service-learning program in ten steps. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://nationalserviceresources.org/epicenter/practices/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=801

Garrett, K. (2012). Community schools: It takes a village. Education Digest, 78, 14-20. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=82981847&site=ehost-live

Kleiner, B. & Chapman, C. (1999). Service-learning and community service among 6th- through 12th grade students in the United States: 1996 and 1999. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000028

Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC). (n.d.). Building effective partnerships in service-learning. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_sheets/k-12_facts/partnerships/

Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC). (n.d.).

Service learning is. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/service-learning_is/index.php

National Committee on Service Learning (2002). Executive summary: Learning in deed. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.learningindeed.org/slcommission/report.html

Officer, S. H., Grim, J., Medina, M. A., Bringle, R. G., & Foreman, A. (2013). Strengthening community schools through university partnerships. Peabody Journal of Education (0161956X), 88, 564-577. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=91667914&site=ehost-live

Sitter, C. (2006). Learning by serving. Knowledge Quest, 34 , 23-26. Retrieved September 28, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=21639401&site=ehost-live

Skinner, R. & Chapman, C. (1999). Service-learning and community service in k-12 public schools. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=1999043

Suggested Reading

Eyler, J., & Giles. D, (1999). Where's the Learning in Service-Learning?. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

National Commission on Service Learning (2002). Learning in deed: The power of service-learning for American schools. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.wkkf.org/pubs/PhilVol/Pub3679.pdf

Rizzo, M. & Brown, J. (2006). Building character through community service: Strategies to implement the missing element in education. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

U.S. Department of Education, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Points of Light Foundation (2002). Students in Service to America: A Guidebook for Engaging Students in a Lifelong Habit of Service. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org/download/guidebook.pdf