Proposed Change to Community Service Policy

Summation of Current Concerns:

1. The mission of Animo Venice Charter High School is that we prepare students for college, leadership and life.
1. Students feel that AV curriculum needs to do more to prepare them for “leadership” and “life” since classes and projects often do not have enough real-world application.
2. Many students are not fulfilling their community service requirement of 40 hours before they graduate, because they don’t know where/how to engage in community service.

Date of Last Meeting: 5/8/09

Proposal:

• Animo Venice will offer a community service elective in which students will research, advertise and enact community service opportunities (Ms. Erickson has expressed interest in teaching this class).
• Students in the class will come up with a menu of community service options and presentations of these options for the student body
• Teachers will purposefully connect their curriculum to these community service opportunities
• Set an expectation that teachers make at lease two connections between their curriculum and community service opportunities next year.
• Take time over the summer to brainstorm community service options so teachers have time to incorporate into curriculum.
• Time will be given in PD over the summer and throughout the year to plan a service learning project in each grade level and to connect community service options to curriculum
• Set an expectation that there be a service learning project in each grade level
• Develop a “Pathway to Leadership” in which we vertical team service learning in 9^th through 12^th grade
• Plan an all-day community service field trip for ninth graders
• In 10^th grade, students have input in their community service field trip
• In 11^th grade students are given more autonomy and, in 12^th grade, students enact their own service learning (waging a “resistance” to a social injustice).

Benefits:

We will move purposefully toward our mission. Students will be empowered to go out into their communities to serve and to lead. Students will connect their learning to the “real world”. Students will have the opportunity to explore career interests. Students will fulfill their community service requirement and be more likely to graduate.

Possible Concerns:

• Apportioning responsibility:
• Logistics of summer brainstorm session
• Coordinating of elective and community service field trips
• Time for grade level meetings to coordinate service learning projects and curriculum
• introduction of grade level meetings?
• Setting expectations for staff (who and how?)

Other Questions:

Any and all suggestions, questions, or comments on this proposal can be directed to Alyce Prentice or Karlo Silbiger (aprentice@animo.org, ksilbiger@animo.org).