Winter 1999, Vol. 7, No. 4
SEEKING AND FINDING FUNDING

This issue of Service-Learning Network explores the fundraising process as it applies to students and educators who want to secure financial aid for a school or community program.

Seeking Funding for School and Community Programs surveys the search for funders and the grant application process. Program Profiles from schools in California and Mississippi demonstrate how good design can build strong curricular links to service projects. An Interview with Jo Ann Burton, Director of Development at Constitutional Rights Foundation, offers perspectives from a successful fundraiser. Our Technology section reviews several useful fund-raising web sites, while Review Corner investigates a comprehensive fund-raising guide for educators, a book of project descriptions from Service-Learning 2000, and a new video on service-learning assessment. A list of service-learning Conferences and FYI, resources of interest to educators and others working with youth, rounds out this issue of Service- Learning Network.

By Charles Degelman
with Debra Ballinger and Vickie J. Burt

In 1999, nearly 45,000 active private and community foundations awarded nearly $16 billion to non-profit organizations around the world. In its National Guide to Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education, The Foundation Center, a leading resource for grant seekers, recorded $751 million in support for educational programs in 1999.

Although much of this money is allocated to major programs there is money available to fund a wide variety of smaller school- or community-based programs. For example, you may wish to purchase materials, tools, or transportation for a service-learning project. You may need funding to pay a salary for a part-time staff position at your school or at a local community center. Perhaps you want to publish and distribute a specialized curriculum or a set of lesson plans you have developed. Regardless of your needs or the scope of your program, a number of common denominators apply to nearly all fundraising efforts.

You Are Not Alone

Fundraising is not an isolated activity. It involves cooperation between teachers, administrators, and community members. It also depends upon partnerships between organizations that have money and people who need money. Many people look on fundraising as an adversarial process: They have the money—we don’t. We have to make them let go of their precious dollars.

In fact, funders and grant seekers need each other. Educators and students can identify school and community needs and devise ingenious methods to address them. Foundations, corporations, and other donors have the financial resources necessary to make a program work. The two groups often form productive collaborations, but you—the grant seeker—must take the initiative.

The search for funding is a step-by-step process: First, you must have a clear idea of the project or program you want to fund. Second, you must research potential funders. Third, you must contact and apply for financial support.

Designing a School or Community Program

Although you may modify your program plan later on, it is good idea to design your project before you begin your funding search. Get your ideas on paper. You will want to use them in your grant proposal.

Grant-givers look for programs that use a collaborative approach. While you are in the planning stage, look for partners—other schools, community agencies, local businesses, even individuals who could provide financial or in-kind support for your activities. For example, a service-learning project that can raise matching funds or in-kind donations proves to a funder that there is community “buy-in.” Partnering with another school on a program can provide additional funding leverage for both groups.

Searching for Funds

A number of resources are available for teachers and administrators seeking funding in education. The Foundation Center is a national, non-profit funding clearinghouse. It offers comprehensive information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects. Additionally, many public libraries keep grant seekers’ resource materials at the reference desk. Lists of funders and other grant-related resources can also be found on the Internet.

Many grant seekers overlook private-sector funding sources and individual donors. Local businesses, community foundations, and private donors often support school or community programs. Corporations with offices in your community make a good starting point. Some businesses allocate “charity giving” in their annual budgets.

Most philanthropic organizations and many corporations are prepared for requests for money. They have ready-made grant applications and guidelines describing what kinds of programs they are interested in funding. Don’t waste time with foundations or corporations that do not include your needs in their guidelines. Funders rarely make exceptions to their grant policies.

Once you have located a funding source that looks promising, you need to make an initial contact. A letter of inquiry can help you raise interest in a program. Identify yourselves: Who are you? Where is your school? How many students attend? From what communities? Describe the need you wish to address and how you plan to address it. Statistics are helpful in a letter of inquiry. How many people are impacted by the problem you are describing? How has the problem grown over time? If possible, explain why you are qualified to address this school or community need. Keep this initial inquiry brief and to the point.

In addition to a letter of inquiry, you and your students can prepare a presentation that describes the problem and your plans for addressing it. A presentation provides an ideal opportunity for students to research and analyze the problem you are planning to address. Pitch this proposal at community meetings, chamber of commerce gatherings, and before special interest groups. Target school alumni, retirees, and community activists.

Writing a Grant

Potential funders respond to initial contacts in a number of ways. Some will fund a project directly from a letter of inquiry. Others will ask you to expand upon your letter of inquiry. The majority of foundations and corporations who regularly fund programs will send you a grant application form. These forms are usually very clear about what—and how much—information they want from you. Try to give them exactly what they ask for—no more, no less.

Regardless of the form it takes, a typical grant proposal will usually include the following elements: an introductory overview of your proposal; a statement of need; a project description; and a budget. In addition, funders will ask for a mission statement, i.e., the rationale and goals of your program, a list of key personnel, and a description of any project partnerships.

Overview: Although it should be brief, the first page of your proposal is the most important. The overview provides a busy funding executive with a quick summary of your project proposal. It is designed to convince the reader that your project is worthy of financial support. Like a letter of inquiry, the overview should 1) describe the problem; 2) outline your planned solution—what will happen, where it will happen, who will benefit, and who will participate; and 3) list your funding needs—how much money are you asking for? How will it be used? This section should be no more than one page in length.

Needs Statement: Expand upon the need or problem that you described in your overview. Facts and figures go a long way here. Be careful not to make your school or community problem seem hopeless. Funders want to know that your funding request will affect positive change.

Project Description: This section is the most comprehensive element of your proposal and describes the nuts and bolts of your program. You will want to list your objectives as measurable outcomes of your project.

Outline your methods. Methods should describe how you plan to achieve your objectives. Describe your methods as a series of chronological steps that will implement your project plan. Include a timeline and how you will measure the project’s outcome.

Take time at this stage of the grant-writing process to review the project plan. Will you be able to live up to the objectives and methods you have outlined in your proposal? Also review the guidelines of the funding agency: Do your goals and methods fit within the agency’s guidelines?

The evaluation component of a grant proposal should describe the methods you will use to measure the project’s effectiveness. What are the conditions of the problem? How will you measure the change brought about by the project? Most important: What will students learn? How will they benefit? Be sure to include an evaluation component, even in the smallest request. Funders like to be able to weigh the effects of their contributions.

Conclude this section by briefly summarizing your project. Why do you want to implement it? Why is it important? How will the funding agency be helpful? Pay particular attention to the outcomes you hope to achieve. You may also want to outline follow-up activities that will demonstrate to funders that your program has a future in your school and community.

Budget: Budgets are extremely important in grant development. Most grant proposals have specific forms for budget descriptions. Follow the instructions and make sure that your figures are accurate. Some proposals ask for a budget narrative—a detailed, written description of items that are requested on the budget.

Fundraising Tips and Terms

Many funders ask for a mission statement, i.e., a brief description of the goals and rationale for your project or program. Be prepared to briefly describe the history and mission of your program or school and those of any community organizations you are partnering with. You should also be prepared to list key personnel and briefly describe why they are qualified to work on your program.

If you are given money, you will become a fiscal receiver. According to U.S. tax law, tax- deductible donations must be channeled through a non-profit organization. This non-profit organization becomes the fiscal receiver for a contribution or grant. Most educational institutions are, of course, non-profit organizations.

Many funders ask for supporting documents. These can include newspaper coverage of other projects, letters of thanks from recipients of previous efforts, authorization documents from your school’s administration, and proof of your school’s non-profit status. If it is relevant, try to include student work in your supporting documents—essays or illustrations about the problem you are addressing, student descriptions of project goals and objectives, or reflections on past projects. Student input goes a long way with funders.

Because grant deadlines are generally inflexible, it’s a good idea to establish a deadline calendar. A busy teaching schedule can allow a grant deadline to sneak up at an alarming rate. The funding process takes time. Be sure to allow plenty of time for preparation. Allow even more time to wait for a response. The funding process may take anywhere from three months to a year before the check is in your hand. Plan ahead!

Finally, keep in mind that the successful grant writer:

• Seeks help from other teachers and outside resource people.
• Links the objectives of the proposal to the guidelines of the funding agency.
• Forms partnerships. Foundations and corporations seldom fund a one-person show.
• Establishes the need for funding with statistics and facts.
• Provides a specific time line, measurable objectives, and a strong evaluation component.
• Demonstrates wholehearted belief in the program.

Preparing for the Future

You may not picture yourself as a grant writer. However, if you are successful, you will want to repeat the process. A proposal file is an effective way to gather grant-writing resources. You can recycle grant data into a new grant proposal with considerably less energy than you expended the first time around.

There is money available. It is up to you to reap the rewards by learning what to ask for, who to ask, and how to ask them.

Debra Ballinger is Deputy Director of the Industrial Areas Foundation West Coast Vision in San Francisco and is a fundraising consultant.

Vickie J. Burt, Ed. S., is assistant superintendent of Valdosta City Schools in Valdosta, Georgia, and author of Digging for Buried Treasure: Finding Funding for the Future in Service Learning.

PROFILES

Mississippi Students Fight Apathy
With Return to Voter Registration

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI—In 1997, an interdisciplinary team of sixth-grade teachers and students at Brinkley Middle School decided to integrate their curriculum around the theme of peace. Led by Co-NECT coordinator Lynn Moss, they organized themselves into an Institute for the Study of World Peace. The idea of a Peace Institute had originated with Los Angeles educator Ron Klemp.

The goal of Brinkley’s Peace Institute was threefold: 1) to sensitize students to behavior that would promote peace at school and in the community; 2) to develop a core curriculum focusing on events that have influenced the status of peace; 3) to give students an opportunity to help others and themselves through community service.

First, students identified a need. They determined that critical issues such as health care, crime, school violence, education, and employment can only be addressed by a voting citizenry. They also determined that voter apathy has gradually undermined the ability of their community to elect representatives to address these critical issues.

The Voter Registration Project set about to increase student understanding of the importance of voting and to raise community interest in civic participation. Student objectives were to 1) research the history of voter registration and civil rights activism in Mississippi, particularly in relation to their own community; 2) identify the causes and effects of present-day voter apathy; 3) explore issues critical to Jackson’s voters; and 4) create and deliver voter registration presentations to schools, churches, and community centers.

With goals and objectives firmly in place, the Voter Registration Project set to work. A team of 74 sixth-grade students consulted with county and state officials to gather statistics on voter registration, past and present. Congressman Bennie Thompson and other outside resource people talked to students about voter registration. The education staff of a local natural science museum spoke on the connection between voting and the environment.

Language arts students read and discussed Mildred Taylor’s Mississippi Bridge. Written in 1990, Taylor’s novel provides young readers with a vivid picture of the segregation that plagued the South during the Depression of the 1930s. Language arts classes also wrote journals and researched the lives of local civil rights activists.

Social studies classes researched the history and non-violent tactics of the civil rights movement. They organized their own protests creating buttons, signs, and other props that might have been used during voter registration drives in the 1960s. They searched the local media for current voter issues and political stories.

Math students explored Jackson neighborhoods to gather, organize, and evaluate data for a statistical study about voter registration. They used their study to analyze contemporary city elections.

Science classes focused on voter issues that would impact the environment. Students were required to participate in the Brinkley Middle School science fair. The local science museum facilitated a role-play activity in which students had to decide whether or not to build a dam on a local waterway. Museum staff also briefed the class on upcoming environmental legislation.

Teachers and students created a rubric to evaluate voter registration presentations. Students performed their presentations before local elementary and middle-school students, state and district administrators, and parents. During the summer students also presented their Voter Registration Project to the Mid South Middle-School Conference.

A survey conducted after Brinkley students completed their Voter Registration Project found that they had become more aware of issues that are critical to the well-being of their neighborhoods. In addition, integrating social studies, language arts, math, and science around themes of peace and voter registration validated research data indicating that students want and need to experience multidisciplinary connections in their course work.

The project also confirmed that students benefit when course work has real-world connections. The Brinkley Voter Registration project enabled students to network with state and local policy makers. In short, a substantial group of Brinkley Middle School students began to see that they could become part of the system and make it work for them.

The Brinkley Middle School Voter Registration Project was the recipient of a 1999 Robinson Mini-Grant, administered by Constitutional Rights Foundation.

For more information, contact Lynn Moss, Brinkley Middle School, 3535 Albermarle Rd., Jackson, MS 39213. (601) 987-3573; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

California Students Promote
Harmony Through A Mural Project

LOS ANGELES—For years, Alfredo Tarin, principal of Mulholland Middle School in the San Fernando Valley had been searching for ways to promote harmony within his diverse student body. In 1998, he conceived of a plan that would use visual arts to explore harmony in nature and society. In the process, the diverse student body at Mulholland Middle School could work together to plan and implement a visual arts project.

Assistant Principal Jan Fries Martinez suggested they apply service-learning principles to the project. First, students could explore their own thoughts about diversity and harmony. Math and science skills could be applied to the search for harmony and diversity in nature. Students could identify methods to translate the themes of diversity and harmony into visual terms. Language arts standards could be applied to reflection activities and outreach to the larger community.

While art students began to design the mural in cooperative-learning groups, other students began mural project partnerships with other schools. Language arts students gave mural presentations at community events and wrote to local officials, providing an opportunity for community members to express their thoughts about diversity and harmony.

At first, students were unsure about their ability to execute such a sophisticated project. In addition, the diversity of age and ethnicity provided little common ground. But with the help of local ceramics master Harry Burman and art teacher, Kittie Sheehan, the mural began to take shape. It would grow to feature large, three-dimensional ceramic walls. The walls would bear images of harmony and diversity in nature, while messages of diversity and harmony in society would be etched into black clay, creating a visual effect similar to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.

Mulholland students worked in teams to translate the broad topics of diversity and harmony into artistic concepts. Students focused their attention on the diversity and harmony that exists in ecological zones. They experimented with visual arts techniques. Other students began to collect messages illustrating harmony and diversity in society. In addition, all participants wrote reflective essays and poems about their experience.

As the project evolved, students created mural exhibits that were displayed at a local literacy festival and at the school’s open house. A second grant was secured to help students produce a video that will stimulate dialogue about diversity and harmony.

Today, if you walk into the classroom where the mural is being assembled, one encounters an eight-foot long ceramic humpback whale, complete with barnacles and fins. Nearby a ceramic seal lounges on a ceramic rock. A tide-pool with sea anemones, starfish, sand dollars, and shellfish is coming to life in another corner of the room. By spring 2000, the mural and the wall of messages will be completed and installed on school grounds.

For more information, contact Matt Oppenheim, Service-Learning Coordinator, Mulholland Middle School 17120 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406. (818) 996-2478; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

INTERVIEW WITH
Jo Ann Burton

Director of Development, Constitutional Rights Foundation

Network: Jo Ann, you are in charge of development for Constitutional Rights Foundation. Do you have any advice you could give to teachers and administrators who are trying to raise money for a service-learning project?

JB: Begin by looking closely at the reason that you are asking for money. Why do you need funding? Research your need, develop a case for project support. Then, try to match the funder to your program. It’s useless to send blind proposals to every foundation and corporation across the nation. When you do that, your grant proposal goes from your desk to the post office, to the prospective funder’s desk, and then right into the trash.

Network: Do you think that smaller projects are the way to go?

JB: I think so. Smaller projects can be supported by local corporations and foundations. These organizations are made up of men and women who live in your community.

Network: Where do you begin?

JB: You begin by exploring your community for potential funders. Look for community foundations. Community foundations often administer funds for individuals or families who do not want to start a foundation of their own. Because they administer a broad spectrum of philanthropy, community foundations can support a broad spectrum of projects.

Network: And with corporations?

JB: I would call their public relations department. At some point, you begin to deal, not with IBM, but with an individual—Miss Jones, the program officer. You talk with Miss Jones personally and let her know that you have a project. I would tell Miss Jones that I teach at a school in the community. I would say, “Look out of your window. Can you see the school? We’re trying to make a difference in these kids’ lives. I have an incredible project. You are our neighbors. Would you help us?” Of course, it would be wonderful if you could find someone who will say, “I’ll give you $10,000,” but that may not be likely, so you’re going to find ten people who will give you $1,000, or twenty people who will give you $500.

Then you ask Miss Jones, “Would it be possible to write a letter of inquiry to your corporation?” Now you’ve made a personal contact. That way, your letter of inquiry goes directly to Miss Jones. Now you can begin the letter by saying, “How very nice it was to speak with you and I hope at some later time we might meet, and I might be able to invite you to the school to see the kind of things that we are doing.”

Network: And the letter of inquiry: What should it contain?

JB: It should be very brief, no more than a page and a half. It should state your need, how you plan to address that need, and what you want for support. Name a specific amount of money. And it would be ideal if you could say, “I would like you to join the John Marx Company, which has just given us $2,000.”

Network: Would that be considered a partnership?

JB: Corporate funders don’t like to give on their own. You can approach your first funder by saying that you came to them because they are on the cutting edge; that they are people who are willing to take a risk; that you need people with vision. But basically, most corporate donors like to know that other organizations find your project worthwhile.

JB: Also, when you’re dealing with corporations, remind them that students are people who are going to grow up to be members of the community. That they will be working in corporate offices and buying products. You are trying to educate them, but to do that, you need help. You invite them to join you in a partnership to educate children to be more effective—and productive—citizens.

Network: So now, someone calls you back and says, “We read your letter of inquiry and we might be interested in funding you.” What happens next?

JB: Foundations generally have strict proposal forms and you must make everything fit. It’s much harder to be passionate on a form than in a letter. A corporation often simply asks you to expand on your letter of inquiry. That’s an easier thing to do. But you have to be careful because it can’t be a short novel. It has to be to the point.

Network: What about the budget?

JB: Even before you send a letter of inquiry, you will want to know what your project is going to cost. They will ask: “How much do you need for the whole project? Where will the rest of the money come from?” They’ll also want to know about the personnel who will be running the project.

Network: What other kinds of support would be valuable to your funding efforts? What other kinds of documents?

JB: Letters of support from parents. If it’s a new program, talk about past efforts, enclose newspaper articles or any descriptions of projects that you’ve completed. When you draft your proposal, get feedback from your colleagues. Make sure that you’re making your pitch as clearly and concisely as possible. Remember, when you are writing a proposal, you are competing with other schools, universities, hospitals, environmental groups.

Network: Do you think fundraising would make a good student project?

JB: You have to be prepared for people who are going to say, “No. We can’t do that. We won’t do that.” It’s a tough role for a student. It’s a tough role for a non-student. If you thought about it, you would never write a proposal. You’d say “I couldn’t possibly do that.” But you can. And it’s worth it. But it all comes down to the passion. It really does. . . and the ability to ask for what you want and what your students need.

TECHNOLOGY

On-Line Access to
Funding Information

The Foundation Center offers useful resources for finding funding and writing grants. Grant-seeking info includes web site links to private foundations, corporate funders, public charities, and community foundations. There is also an Online Library featuring an Electronic Reference Desk, Grant-seeking Orientation, and a Proposal Writing Course. The Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing takes the reader through each step of the proposal process from preparation to follow-through. The Foundation Center also publishes the National Guide to Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education (See REVIEW CORNER, page 10.) and provides a wealth of online fund-raising tips and resources.

SchoolGrants features a grant opportunities section, education news from Washington, D.C., links to state/federal agencies, foundation funding opportunities, an electronic guide to fundraising publications, grant-writing resources, financial aid and scholarship information, a list of national organizations of interest to educators, school safety links, technology information, and even a connection to popular Internet search engines. SchoolGrants also moderates “Message Board,” a Q&A forum and an electronic newsletter.

TeachNet is the web site for IMPACT II—The Teachers Network, a national non-profit organization that supports U.S. classroom teachers. A Grants and Resources section features directories to math, science, social studies/humanities grants. Also included are announcements of professional development opportunities, fellowship and scholarship offers, “Free Stuff,” and a brief guide on How to Write a Proposal.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) includes a Funding Opportunities section on its web site. This location lists discretionary grant opportunities, including links to downloadable grant application guidelines and forms. The Federal Register invites applications for grants and lists guidelines. A Forecast section lists estimated government education grants. What Should I Know offers a non-technical summary of the ED’s grant process, who may apply, and contact information. A budget section provides an overview of the Federal role in education, and a resource section supplies links to other relevant ED web pages: Bilingual Education Funding Opportunities, Special Education Programs, School Reform Demonstration Programs, Safe & Drug-Free Schools Programs, and more.

FYI

National Service-Learning
Study Released

In 1999, the National Center for Education Statistics conducted the first nationwide service- learning study in America’s schools. Results show that one-third of all K–12 public schools now have service-learning in their curriculum. Students participate in community service at 64 percent of the nation’s schools. Secondary schools display the best statistics, with 50 percent showing curricular links to service and 83 percent involved with community service. This study offers useful information for grant-seekers. In addition to survey results, this comprehensive study offers service-learning background, useful definitions, implementation tips, types of support available for teachers, a service-learning rationale, and funding resources. Download this 18-page study at or call (877) 4ED-PUBS to order copies.

Learn and Serve America Exchange

The Learn and Serve America Exchange, coordinated by the National Youth Leadership Council, offers peer-based training and technical assistance to service-learning programs in schools and community organizations nationwide. Mentors are available to answer questions by phone or e-mail. The Exchange is organized into five regional centers (Atlantic, North Central, Pacific, Southern, and Southwest) that coordinate, co-sponsor, and gather information about regional service-learning events. Additional services include an online newsletter and a toll-free number for service-learning questions. Contact the Learn and Serve America Exchange at (877) LSA-EXCH.

President’s Student Service Challenge

The President’s Student Service Challenge was launched in December 1998 to support young people who are making positive contributions to their communities. The Challenge, sponsored by the Corporation for National Service, consists of two parts: the President’s Student Service Awards and the President’s Student Service Scholarships. The Awards recognize youth ages 5 to 25 that complete at least 100 hours of service to their community within a 12-month period. College scholarships are available for one student from every high school nationwide. Each high school may select one qualified junior or senior to receive a $1,000 scholarship for outstanding service to the community. The Corporation for National Service provides a matching $500 grant for every $500 raised by the participating community. For more information call (302) 622-9107 (Awards); (888) 275-5018 (Scholarships).

Twenty-First Century
Community-Learning Centers (CLC)

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, this program enables schools to stay open longer, providing students with a safe haven after school hours. Community-Learning Centers provide students with a place to do homework, receive tutoring, participate in recreational activities, and more. Currently, 1600 public schools in 468 communities participate in CLC-sponsored programs, many in partnership with local businesses and other public and non-profit agencies. Two CLC publications are available on the Internet. “Safe and Smart: Making After-School Hours Work for Kids” reports on the effectiveness of after-school programs. “Keeping Schools Open as Community Learning Centers” provides examples of successful after-school programs. For more information, contact (877)-4-ED-PUBS or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Communities in Schools (CIS)

For more than 25 years, Communities in Schools, Inc. has helped educators establish partnerships between their schools and community resources. Boasting a nationwide network of more than 141 local and 17 state offices, CIS helps schools connect with private, government, and nonprofit resources. CIS’ goal is to provide students with adult relationships and a safe learning environment, training in marketable skills, and a chance to “give back to peers and community.” For more information, visit the CIS web site at www.cisnet.org or call 800-CIS-4KIDS.

REVIEW CORNER

The National Guide to Funding for
Elementary and Secondary Education

New Fifth Edition

Edited by Gina-Marie Cantarella

The Foundation Center, New York, NY. 1999. 81/2" X 11". 1024 pp

ISBN: 0-87954-880-0

Designed for fund-raisers seeking grant dollars for K–12 educators and projects, this volume provides access to 3,300 major foundations and grants sources. According to The Foundation Center, all entries in this volume “have already stated or demonstrated their commitment to elementary and secondary education!” The nearly 9,000 grants listed represent over $750 million in support for programs in vocational, bilingual and special education, curriculum development, and programs for gifted and minority students.

A series of indexes help the grant writer navigate this comprehensive 1000-page guide. Funders are listed by geographic area, type of support, subject field and names of key grant-giving personnel. An index category called “community development” may be of special interest to teachers involved in civic participation.

The Guide is organized by state to narrow a grant-writer’s search by region. Typical entries include a reference number for indexing, addresses and a contact person for an initial approach. Next, each entry includes a brief description of the funding agency—the areas it has funded, what types of grants it distributes, specific limitations to its guidelines. In addition the guide supplies application information, the amount and number of grants paid out each year, and more.

For more information, contact The Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003-3076. (800) 424-9836; fax: (212) 807-3690.

Struggling to Learn Better

Portraits of Three High School Service Learning Programs

Service Learning 2000 Center, Palo Alto, CA. 1995. 8 ½" X 11". 36 pp.

This study provides detailed accounts of service-learning programs and the methods teachers and administrators use to implement these programs in three Bay Area schools. Struggling to Learn Better uses an approach called portraiture. This descriptive technique, introduced by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot in The Good High School: Portraits of Character and Culture (New York, Basic Books, Inc., 1983.) uses multiple perspectives to paint a picture of a school or community program.

The staff selected three high schools with service programs to be subjects of written portraits. Schools were chosen by evaluating the nature of their service activities, make-up of the school/student population, origins of the service-learning program, and the extent to which service was integrated into the school curriculum. Sites were chosen that had the potential to represent a diversity of service-learning approaches.

Portrait writers interviewed students, teachers, administrators, and service recipients on site. They observed the planning and implementation of service projects and collected samples of student work. As the writers observed each service program, themes began to emerge that revealed fundamental characteristics of each program. These themes form the personality of each service-learning program and are elaborated in Struggling to Learn Better. Because of “scheduling challenges and time limitations,” the portraits in Struggling to Learn Better feature student reflection more frequently than “descriptions of their activities in action.”

For more information, contact Don Hill at Service Learning 2000 Center, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301. (650) 322-7271; FAX: (650) 328-8024.

Assessing Learning Through Service

Video (30 min.) w/study guide (20 pp)

Produced by the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning

Funded by The Corporation for National Service

“I know my students are learning when they serve in the community, but how do I show it?”

In order to answer this question, the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning went in search of programs that are successful in assessing students’ service-learning experiences. To evaluate these programs, they applied recently implemented performance-oriented standards developed by the Minnesota Department of Education. These standards refer to service learning and call for authentic assessment in real-life situations.

Highlighted in this 30-minute video are three service-learning programs and their assessment methods. Because it takes a focused look at all aspects of the process in easy-to-understand language, this video is ideal for newcomers to service-learning assessment.

Assessing Learning Through Service is divided into four segments.

Segment One gives an overview of service learning, and discusses the challenges and benefits of using performance-based assessment methods with service-learning programs.

Segments Two, Three, and Four are profiles of the programs and their assessment methods and tools. The assessment tools, including project portfolios, project rubrics, and reflective journals, are thoroughly explained through narration, visual images, and interviews with teachers, students, administrators, and parents.

This video should prove very helpful to teachers new to performance-based assessment. The interviews and explanations of the assessment tools will encourage teachers not to be overwhelmed by the process but rather to see it as an excellent way to guide and motivate students. The accompanying study guide includes copies of the tools shown in the video, and suggestions for using the video in a presentation to other teachers.

Videocasette copies of Assessing Learning Through Service are available free of charge. For more information, contact Marlys Bucher of the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning, 1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville, MN 55113-4266. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Haley J. Fromholz, President; Marjorie S. Steinberg, President-Elect; Todd Clark, Executive Director; Marshall Croddy, Director of Program and Materials Development; Kathleen Kirby, Senior Consultant; Charles Degelman, Editor; Julie Glaser, Program Manager; Andrew Costly, Production Manager.