Winter 2002, Vol. 9, No. 2
Service Learning and Special Education

This issue of Service-Learning NETWORK takes a look at schools and community groups that are applying service learning to special populations. Cynthia McCauley describes an innovative program at Bay County High in Florida where special-education and mainstream students work in cooperative-learning groups to address community needs. Oregon teacher Bev Jackson writes about an effective program that uses service learning as a key teaching methodology to keep at-risk students in school. Cynthia Belliveau and Sarah John of the Pennsylvania Student Service Alliance discuss the importance and feasibility of creating strong service-learning partnerships and collaboratives in their special-education initiatives. Cathleen Micheaels describes the newly opened East Bay Conservation Corps Charter School (EBCC) in Oakland, a pioneering school and research institute with a mission to incorporate service learning and citizenship education throughout its curriculum. Review Corner features three useful publications, each with its own unique perspective on service learning. FYI offers an array of resources in the fields of special education and charter schools. A list of upcoming special-education and service-learning conferences and a mini-catalog of CRF’s service-learning publications completes the issue.

Service Learning and Special Education
Turning the Tables

Service-learning practitioners traditionally facilitate projects in mainstream school settings. Here, regular students explore the core disciplines and develop citizenship skills while they help society by addressing school or community problems. Students in a middle-school language arts class tutor younger students with reading problems. A high school science class raises awareness about a polluted stream. A high school government class holds a community forum on curfews and makes policy recommendations to local legislators.

Because service learning is a relatively new teaching strategy, school and community practitioners are just beginning to explore its boundaries. Rather than simply helping immigrant groups adjust to mainstream society, some school populations are using service learning to gain valuable knowledge and skills from immigrant cultures. Rather than simply aiding the elderly through service projects, students, teachers, and senior citizens are combining forces as equals to address community problems.

Service-learning practitioners are making similar discoveries in the field of special education. They are discovering that similar to mainstream students, special-needs students can address school and community problems without regard for their disabilities. Rather than being spoon-fed education in isolated settings, special-needs students are collaborating with mainstream students as service providers. The following Program Profiles offer proof that in an expanded service-learning environment, students with special needs can learn while contributing to society, often working side-by-side with their mainstream peers.

PROGRAM PROFILES

At-Risk: Building a Future Through Service-Learning

by Beverly Jackson

When Marcus enrolled at Crook County High School he was a teacher’s nightmare—an angry teenager with little interest in staying in school. He came to high school with a record of arrests and frequent behavior referrals, abysmal attendance records, and third-grade reading skills. In class, he feigned stupidity in order to stay below his teachers’ radar. Six years later, Marcus has obtained a GED, holds a responsible position in a major aircraft manufacturing plant, has never missed a day of work, and has been tapped for supervisory promotion. Marcus is just one of the many success stories emanating from the Rotational Work Program (RWP), a unique service-learning opportunity for at-risk students.

The RWP was established in 1996 at Crook County High School in Prineville Oregon. Initially, eight students were selected to participate in the program. Participants included several developmentally delayed and adjudicated students; others had behavioral problems; and none were experiencing success in the conventional educational system. One student had been diagnosed as autistic. All eight students were enrolled in special-education programs and required individual education plans. Three previously expelled students were reinstated to participate in the program. The RWP evolved as an experimental model employing service learning as the predominant strategy for keeping these students in school.

Some educators question the efficacy of removing students from classrooms, especially students risking academic failure. The results collected from the RWP contradict that perspective. Six years after its inception, all but one of the students from the initial program are responsible, productive citizens. As part of their RWP team, they developed a sense of pride and self-confidence. Socially, they learned to use appropriate language, respect others, and honor commitments. They learned they could be successful and make a difference to themselves, their school, and community. Most important, they learned the value of education.

The RWP was designed to engage students in alternative learning environments. Learning objectives were linked to the Oregon state standards and integrated into local service projects. Eight local natural-resource agencies partnered with the school district to provide service opportunities for work program students. Students rotated between the agencies as projects were completed and new ones developed. Frequently, the students were involved in project development.

Under the supervision of an adult team leader, RWP students spent three hours each morning immersed in out-of-school, hands-on service experiences. They built trails and fences in local parks and wilderness areas. Following a flood, they cleaned houses for the elderly and disabled. They restored wetland habitats, planted flowers to beautify the community, built “quail hotels,” and tested local water quality. They organized a tutorial program to help elementary special-education students with reading and math. Two RWP students were motivated to raise the level of their reading skills in order to participate in the tutorial program. At noon, the RWP students would return to school for lunch, reflection, and afternoon classes.

Each service experience reinforced the value of serving others and helped to instill a sense of self-worth in the RWP students. Working on natural-resource projects taught the importance of stewardship and respect for public lands. Learning focused on developing positive attitudes and strong work ethics, building transferable skills like teamwork, conflict management, anger management, and following orders. “No quitters allowed” emerged as a team mantra. Steadily, participation in the work projects helped them learn job skills and the value of good citizenship.

Crook County High School, a demonstration site for the W. K. Kellogg Learning In Deed initiative, continues to support the RWP, now in its seventh year. In 1999, it was selected as an award-winning program by the Northwest Regional Symposium for Service-Learning. It survives because it works. Its strength is evident in the success stories of the students who have learned that good citizenship and good education are inextricably linked. Once again, service learning has proven its ability to resonate with students struggling to succeed in school and in life.

For more information, contact Crook County special-education teacher Billie Estridge at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Great Leveler: Service Learning and Disabilities

by Sarah John and Cynthia Belliveau, Ph.D.

Since 1987, the Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance (PSLA) has been developing a service-learning network across Pennsylvania. Collaboration is a core component of the PSLA effort. They have formed partnerships with local colleges, K–12 schools, community agencies, students, teachers and others interested in creating a supportive service environment. When the Corporation for National and Community Service announced a new Disability Outreach Grant program, PSLA recognized a unique opportunity for individuals with disabilities to benefit from providing—rather than simply receiving—community service. They applied for funding and in 1991 received their own Disability Outreach Grant.

Changing public attitudes about people with disabilities is a core goal of the Disability Outreach Grant program. Traditionally, a well-intentioned teacher, wanting students to experience service, will arrange for the class to “help” a special-education class down the hall. Teacher and mainstream students may feel good about their service. The experience may not be as positive for the “targeted” special-education students. Once again, they are perceived as needing assistance and unable to offer service themselves.

PSLA set about to change this scenario. Special-education students are now seen as service providers, rather than service receivers. In addition, a mutually beneficial service experience springs up between two classrooms: Special-education students become collaborating partners with regular classrooms in a service-learning project.

Initially, we at PSLA assumed that service learning wouldn’t be “the same” for special-education students. We anticipated that we would have to adapt service projects to accommodate special-education students. However, in the first year of our work with special-education students, we learned a very important lesson: Service-learning for individuals with disabilities was not about adapting projects or programs—it was about partnering and collaboration, something PSLA had been practicing all along!

In 2002, 12 PSLA grantees, special-education teachers from the Philadelphia school district partnered with several national non-profit organizations that support service-learning efforts. In addition, each class worked with a local community partner including local advocacy groups, city officials, and business owners.

One such partnership focused on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River. The Schuylkill River Development Council (SRDC) became a crucial partner in service. The SRDC spoke to students about the river’s importance, its history, and current condition and conducted interactive field trips to different sections of the river. In turn, participating special-education students and their teacher added new insight, fresh ideas, and a community voice to the SRDC. This partnership between schools, community agencies, and an experienced service-learning staff needed no “adaptations” to be successful to special-education and mainstream students and the community organizations they served.

With many PSLA projects, regular education students were not instructed to help their special-education partners. Instead, both groups were simply told to accomplish the goals of the project. At Martha Washington Middle School in Philadelphia, students with complementing interests and aptitudes were placed in pairs. These pairs instinctively assessed their abilities and assumed responsibilities accordingly, fostering the idea that all students had something to offer. A “regular” student with strong reading skills scanned the Internet for research information, while the special-ed partner with strong graphic skills designed a pamphlet to carry the research information. Student pairs soon learned that everyone’s skills and energy were needed to complete the project. Teachers learned that the best way to differentiate project instruction was to let the students do it themselves!

The PSLA Disability Outreach Grant is also intended to promote service as a life-long option, a preparation for work, and a transition tool for special-education students. To explore these objectives, the PSLA formed a partnership with JEVS (Jewish Employment and Vocational Services), an organization dedicated to introducing students to career options and fostering service to students with disabilities. Partnering with YouthAbility, the PSLA sponsored a two-week program where special-education students served as counselors for elementary school children at a National School and Community Corps (NSCC) camp. Here, special-education students gained experience in service and the NSCC gained experience working with special-needs students. Once again, partnerships provided the key to success, not expertise at “adapting” service to fit special-education needs.

Based on these experiences, the PSLA is working to convince mainstream and special education teachers that they can integrate service-learning as a teaching method for both groups and that an openness to collaboration is the only adaptation strategy they will need.

For more information, contact Sarah John at (215) 573-6535; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or visit the PSLA web site.

BINGO At Bay High School

by Cynthia McCauley

PANAMA CITY, Florida—Kevin, the student-body president at Bay High School spoke slowly and precisely to the class. “Under the en, forty-two” he called out and leaned over to mark a transparency. The bright light of an overhead projector cast “N—42” onto a silver-white screen on the wall. Across the top of the screen, written in big, block letters was the word B-I-N-G-O. Joseph’s eyes darted up to the screen, back down to the bingo card on his desk, and over to Ashley, his mainstream mentor. “What do you think, Joseph?” Ashley asked. Her eyes were encouraging, but she withheld any advice from her partner. After seconds that seemed like an hour, Joseph braved the call—“Bingo!”

I stood in the doorway watching. I had been called away from my special-education students for a meeting. What should have been chaos—eighteen mentally, physically, and emotionally challenged students abandoned by their teacher for an hour—had been transformed into organized, purposeful learning. Joseph was the last winner of the day. The BINGO winners and their student mentors headed for the school store to select their prizes. The store is also run by a collaborative staff of regular and special-education students. The profits from the store are used to fund Learn and Serve projects. These examples of student-initiated collaborations illustrate how service-learning can help special-education students overcome a sense of learned helplessness.

The goal of special education is to provide the skills and training necessary for each student to live as independently as possible when they reach adulthood. For some, this may mean a job and a self-sufficient living arrangement. Others will require more supervision. For each student to reach his or her potential, no learning can be assumed; all skills must be taught, observed, and applied. Service learning is a perfect teaching methodology to accomplish this task.

At Bay High School, one hundred and twenty challenged students attend the special-education functional skills program at Bay High School. In this unique but effective service-learning program, regular education students assist challenged students as mentors, tutors, therapy technicians, teachers’ aides, and job coaches. Kevin, the bingo caller and student-body president, knows every challenged student by name. In fourth period, he receives a leadership credit for working as a mentor in my class. Other mentors in my fourth period include a cheerleader, two young “hip-hoppers” from the football team, and a darling young lady who daily adorns herself with black nails, black lipstick, and black dress. Inclusion and diversity are now values that have become cultural norms at Bay High School.

Bay High School is located in Panama City, Bay County, Florida. Until the mid-1960s, the school was a segregated white facility. Black students attended Rosenwald High, a mile away. A third high school was added after the federal government ordered public schools to open their doors to the disabled. All three schools stand within a mile of each other as testimony to past efforts to keep young people segregated by race and ability.

Fortunately, Bay District Schools now use school choice to break down the barriers erected by the old, segregated schools. A Bay County student may attend any school he or she chooses. Several magnet programs attract students to Bay High School. Service learning has transformed Bay High into a magnet for the district’s special-needs population. Thirty percent of Bay High’s 1500-student population are special-education students who attend 58 percent of their classes in the mainstream. Each morning at 7 a.m., buses bring the special-needs students from other schools. At Bay High, three buses of regular and special students are divided into cooperative-learning groups and dispatched to spend 90 minutes meeting student-identified needs in the community.

Under this program, students from the Bay High technology magnet have developed a service-learning initiative to install computer labs at local retirement homes and housing projects. Special students then train the residents to use the computers for e-mail. They also help poorly sighted elders play BINGO. Other work sites include the Humane Society, the Junior Museum, the Visual Arts Center, the Civic Center, three Early Childhood Centers, the Red Cross, the hospital, Teen Court, the public library, and Goodwill.

The law magnet successfully advocated for public transportation for the special students under Title III of the America’s Disabled Act. The drama magnet mounted a production of The Miracle Worker, the moving drama about Helen Keller, and presented it to the community. Performances included closed-caption technology and sign language interpreters.

The combination of special education and service learning works at Bay High School because there is an established hierarchy of support from teachers, the principal, district coordinators, and the directors at Florida Learn and Serve. Students receive the guidance and flexibility they need to execute service learning’s hands-on methodologies. Also supported by technical assistance from the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Kids Consortium of Maine, special-education and regular students move along the service-learning continuum from community needs to advocacy and influencing public policy. All programs reach out to the community, but they also draw the community to the school. Teachers, students, parents and community leaders realize that this system of diverse, cooperative groups collectively applying their skills to real community needs is the best way for students to discover their unique promise and strengths. The benefits are many and profound. Blend service learning, special education, and a regular, inclusive high school environment, and you have a winning educational combination.

For more information, contact Cynthia McCauley, Bay High School,1200 Harrison Ave., Panama City, FL 32401. (850) 960-6880; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

East Bay Conservation Corps Charter School
Oakland, California

Building Their Own

by Cathleen Micheaels

The ultimate test of the value of what is learned is its use and application in carrying on and improving the common life of all. — John Dewey

Representing the ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area, the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC) Charter School emerged out of the organization’s two-decade history of pioneering programs that promote the civic engagement of children and youth. The EBCC is a multi-program, non-profit educational organization located in Oakland, California. Its mission is to promote youth development through environmental stewardship and community service and to further education reform and social change.

The EBCC developed new programs to serve younger students because it recognized that—while it is important to involve older students in service activities—it is essential to introduce service opportunities to children at an earlier age. As with many other competencies, civic education skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors are best learned young. The EBCC also knew that children learn best by applying academic study in direct and meaningful ways to meet community needs.

Based on this knowledge, the EBCC convened a team of national leaders in education, service learning, civic engagement, ethics, and theology to help them apply what they knew about community-based service to a school setting. The Institute for Citizenship Education and Teacher Preparation emerged out of this forum. A joint goal of the Institute and the school is to develop successful, replicable models for service-learning and citizenship education from kindergarten through high school. The integrated work of the Institute and the Charter School aims to influence educational policy and practice by developing a model school that is teacher-centered, -designed, and -driven.

The first goal of the Institute was to generate a framework that would serve as a foundation for the EBCC Charter School. The framework establishes a school that instills academic, artistic, and civic literacy in students starting in kindergarten. Students learn the basics of reading, writing, and speaking and how to express themselves through the arts. In addition, students are afforded structured opportunities to participate in the affairs of their school and community in a meaningful way.

In September 2001, the elementary level of the EBCC Charter School opened its doors to 120 children in grades K–4. A fifth grade was added in September 2002, with the school now serving 140 students. The EBCC Charter School uses service learning as the primary strategy to teach civic literacy. Each service-learning project is designed to fulfill the guidelines set by the framework.

After studying local community history and the value of community participation, each classroom identified a school-based, service-learning project, including mural painting, planting, recycling, and cleanup projects. Other groups partnered with community organizations including a nearby soup kitchen. Community work was balanced with classroom work where students studied related issues of nutrition and food production and distribution. Other projects included:

Fourth-grade reading “buddies” working with kindergarten-aged children on vocabulary-building activities that involved writing stories to share with their class and parents.

Third graders reading poems that celebrated older people and then writing poems as a tribute to residents at the local senior center while providing regular visits and companionship.

For the next three years, the EBCC’s Institute for Citizenship Education and Teacher Preparation, in partnership with the school as a demonstration site, will focus on:

Curriculum Development—Designing, piloting, and disseminating service-learning curriculum and assessment resources for grades K–5.

Research—Observing and recording the elementary level of the EBCC Charter School as a model to articulate best practices and conditions that support civic education.

Teacher Pre-Service and Professional Development—Developing, piloting, and disseminating a teacher-education program that combines expertise from university, non-profit, school-district, and school-reform sectors to develop recruitment and training strategies to attract teachers who can meet the diverse needs of students in urban communities.

Dissemination and Public Policy —Formalizing national partnerships with organizations such as the Education Commission of the States to advance citizenship education and influence policy through dissemination of curriculum resources and research and evaluation results through conferences, web sites, and newsletters.

Teaching Strategies—Working in partnership with the University of San Francisco School of Education Arts and Education Collaborative to focus on service-learning strategies that foster arts integration; connect academic work with meaningful community service; develop interdisciplinary curriculum and teaching strategies that build on content standards; and support school environments that attract and hold qualified teachers who are passionate about the civic mission of public education.

For more information, call (510) 992-7800 or visit the EBCC web site.

Adapted from the Charter School Development Center.

REVIEW CORNER

Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices
By Julie Bartsch and contributing teachers
Learn and Serve America
Massachusetts Service Alliance
Massachusetts Department of Education, Malden, Massachusetts. 2001.
8 1/2" x 11" 190 pp.

Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices was compiled by a group of Massachusetts educators who recognized they were onto something good. Challenged by increasing pressures of accountability, diversifying student populations, and a growing alienation among young people, they turned to community service learning (CSL). This guide reflects a creative group of teachers’ diverse efforts at putting together CSL curricula that would meet those multiple challenges.

Community Lessons reflects the enthusiasm that the author-educators, their students, and community members developed by augmenting existing curricula with community-based learning experiences. This useful manual consists of 14 separate lesson plans from experienced K–12 teachers who have successfully applied CSL to their classrooms and communities.

Each unit describes rationales for connecting academic content to CSL activities; ways to assess academic and community outcomes; multiple connections to various framework learning standards; lesson plans; solutions to organizational barriers; timelines; resources and materials; and goals for the future.

For more information, contact the Massachusetts Department of Education, Learning Support Services at (781) 338-3000.

Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum: A Workbook for Teachers and Administrators
Community Works Press, Vermont, 2001
ISBN 0-9713583-0-3
Spiral bound workbook, 8 ½" x 11", 107 pp.
With replicable forms

Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum is a comprehensive resource designed to equip educators with tools and strategies for implementing an effective service-learning program and integrating it into school curricula.

Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum is composed of six sections. An introduction gives a rationale for creating the workbook and provides a road map for its use. Section two contains a brief history and general overview of service-learning, defines service-learning terminology, and describes best service-learning practices. Section three, “From Experience: Service Learning in Action,” provides nine case studies of service projects planned and implemented by elementary, middle, and high school students. Some of these case studies offer formal descriptions of programs and activities; others are more reflective in nature. Section four provides assessment tools. Section five features a list of resources including books, publications, media, web sites and organizations related to service-learning. The last section includes blank and exemplar forms including a helpful project example form that can be used as a documentation and sharing tool.

Jennifer Hein, an instructional services coordinator in Highland Park, Illinois, is one of many educators who have endorsed Connecting Service Learning to the Curriculum. “For schools that have never attempted service-learning or thought about integration into the curriculum,” she says, “this workbook provides a philosophy and a plan of action. It is also appropriate for veterans of service learning in prompting a review of best practices.”

For more information, contact Community Works Press, (802) 254-7795.

Service Learning: Curriculum, Standards and the Community
VHS, approx. 35 min.
ISBN# 1-887943-20-X
Price: $99.00 (plus shipping and handling)

Service Learning: Curriculum, Standards and the Community provides an effective tool to help educators develop service-learning projects in their schools. The video focuses primarily on the application of service-learning in secondary-school settings by profiling a number of service-learning projects.

Service Learning: Curriculum, Standards and the Community examines the development of service learning from simple community work to service linked to the curriculum. The video includes on-camera student reflections about their service-learning experience. These student reflections reveal that students feel that their service-learning experience has allowed them to learn about real world issues including poverty, homelessness, and the quality and importance of education.

Interviews with teachers and a school superintendent augment these student perspectives. Educators and students speak strongly in support of service learning by noting that “service learning can be integrated into many subjects” and that there is “no conflict between service learning and standards.” These perspectives may help address concerns educators have about service learning.

Finally, the video outlines important service-learning characteristics by emphasizing the need for projects that address real problems, put a human face on social problems, include reflection, celebrate accomplishments, and are fun-filled.

For more information, contact National Professional Resources, Inc., (800) 453-7461.

2001 Robinson Mini-Grants Recipients

Each year, thanks to a generous grant from The Maurice R. Robinson Fund of New York City, Constitutional Rights Foundation awards mini-grants for K–12 service-learning projects. In 2001, over 1500 students from 22 schools in 17 states participated in service-learning projects funded in part by the Robinson Mini-Grant Program. Below is a sampling of the 2001 winners:

Elementary School

Animal Enrichment
Micke Grove Zoo, Lodi, California
A sixth-grade class will work in conjunction with local zoo personnel to help animals housed in zoos feel more as though they are in their natural environments.

The Giving Tree Community Service Project
Stepney Elementary School, Monroe, Connecticut
Special-education students K–4 will work with homeless agencies to increase knowledge about homelessness and homeless children.

Middle School

Project Citizen
Wilson Alternative School, Omaha, Nebraska
Eight-grade American History students will help Sudanese immigrants prepare to take the citizenship test.

Ceramic Tile Mural
Galaxy Middle School, Deltona, Florida
Students will beautify their school by mounting a tile mural on a school wall. The mural’s theme will be decided with a school competition.

High School

A Call to Action
Environmental Charter High School, Lawndale, California
High school freshmen will learn about a regional water system and present their findings to the city council.

Freedom Gardens
Howard High School of Technology, Wilmington, Delaware
Students research WWII Victory Gardens, plant a garden, and deliver fresh produce to senior citizens.

Community-Based Projects

Our Town-Our Heritage
Hampton County Recreation Department, Hampton, South Carolina
Participants will create a historical walking trail and book about local historical sites.

FYI

Service Learning Resources for Students With Special Needs

Mainstream students often volunteer in schools to provide services for special-education students. When well-planned and carefully executed, these are worthwhile forms of service-learning that should continue. However, this issue of Service-Learning NETWORK explores the possibility that students with special-learning needs can work side-by-side with mainstream students to provide service to the community. Below are resources designed to help educators make worthwhile service connections between mainstream students and learners with special needs.

California State University at Chico offers a service-learning course online. This accessible electronic curriculum provides instruction about the fundamentals of service-learning and ways to incorporate it into teaching and curriculum design. The course features a special-needs module providing a rationale for offering service-learning opportunities to students with special needs. It also examines a model service-learning unit to determine how students with special needs can engage in an appropriate service-learning experience. This site also provides access to several valuable special-needs resources: Mobility International USA, the National Dropout Prevention Center, and a National Service Resource Center, publisher of “Recruiting and Retaining Members with Disabilities.”

The Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance (PSLA) offers different types of assistance to teachers, administrators, and others interested in developing service-learning programs. In October 2001 the PSLA launched a new initiative, “Service-Learning: A Roadmap for Special Education.” This initiative provides special education teachers with training and technical assistance so that service-learning can be incorporated into the individual education plan (IEP) of special education students in Pennsylvania. (See also, NETWORK Program Profile, “The Great Leveler: Service Learning and Disabilities.)

Charter Schools

Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools that operate outside of, but not independent of mainstream public schools. The charter required to establish such a school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor— usually a state or local school board— to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. Below are some useful resources for educators with an interest in charter schools.

The Charter Schools Development Center (CSDC) provides technical assistance to the charter school reform movement in California and nationally through publications and workshops. For more information, call (916) 278-6069.

United States Charter Schools was created in 1997 by WestEd in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the Charter Schools Development Center at California State University’s Institute for Education Reform. The U.S. Charter Schools web site is a place where charter school developers, authorizers, and operators can meet and exchange ideas. The web site provides a wide range of information and links to resources to guide charter schools in every phase of their development—from start-up, to expansion, to renewal.

Useful Service-Learning Web Sites

Constitutional Rights Foundation’s web site features the latest online editions of Service-Learning NETWORK, a description of CRF’s service-learning programs and materials including new school- and community-based service-learning curricula, and a catalog of CRF’s service-learning publications. Also, check out CRF’s interactive WebLessons and useful Research Links.

The Giraffe Project’s web site includes profiles of community heroes, “giraffes,” who have stuck their necks out for the common good. You can nominate community heroes. The site also has inspiring news articles and information on projects, K–12 curriculum, and its speaker program.

Global SchoolNet Foundation’s web site offers three areas of interest to service-learning educators. Its Internet Projects Registry lists projects offered by GSN, teachers in the field, and other organizations. You can also register your project there. International Schools CyberFair is a school-based project in which students learn about their communities by doing research on local leaders, attractions, and businesses and publishing their project findings on the web. ThinkQuest is an annual contest for students who can win up to $25,000 in college scholarships.

I*EARN (the International Education and Resource Network), a non-profit organization, helps teachers and young people (K–12) to work together in different parts of the world at low cost through a global telecommunications network. Expanding to additional international sites daily, I*EARN now includes more than 1,000 schools in over 30 countries. Members can join existing structured online projects or work with others internationally to create their own projects.

Impact Online is a nonprofit organization that seeks to facilitate and increase community involvement via the Internet. It is building free resource databases to help people get involved in the community. Using its search page, you can search for non-profit groups by name, category, or by geographical area. You can also see which groups need volunteers. Non-profits can add information to the databases free of charge.

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse has searchable databases on service-learning literature, programs, events, trainers, organizations, and K–12 Learn and Serve America grantees. It has links to service-learning sites elsewhere on the web. You can enter information about your service-learning program, training, or conference, or if you provide training or technical assistance on service learning, you can add your name to its referral database. You can also sign up for its K–12 Listserv, which will keep you in touch via e-mail with service-learning educators across the nation.

The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) has been a pioneer in youth leadership initiatives since it began in 1983. NYLC was the first organization to champion a meaningful new vision of learning that addresses a dual purpose: educating America’s K–12 and college-age students through thoughtful and practical service and benefiting their communities.

Nonprofit Prophets is an interactive project that challenges groups of students to investigate a problem that they see in the world and create a Resource page on the Internet that teaches the world about the problem. Students select a topic (a list is provided), research the problem, locate non-profit partners on the web to collaborate with, conduct ongoing communications with professionals in the field, write articles on the problem, design a web page, get feedback on the design, and publish it.

Service-Learning: The Home of Service-Learning on the World-Wide Web, created and administered by Robin Crews and hosted by Communications for a Sustainable Future (CSF). This site includes: a guide to university programs, courses, and online syllabi that deal with service learning; links to service-learning organizations, networks, and resources and the archives of a service-learning discussion group. The primary emphasis is of this site is higher education, but all are welcome.

Youth in Action Network is a free interactive web site for young people, educators, community groups, and classrooms who want to learn about, and participate in, positive social action and service projects. Youth and educators from around the world come together to learn, communicate, and take action on issues related to topics such as the environment and human rights. The site has information and links to other sites, problem areas, chat areas, and take-action tools such as The Media Locator, Petition Maker, Survey Station, Global Citizen Lobbyist, and The Fundraiser.

The American Promise, the three-part series on taking action in the community, has a terrific web site. Two of its most intriguing areas are the Community Action Guide and the Public Discussion Center. The Action Guide includes 24 different projects, including replacing graffiti with community murals or keeping guns out of school. When you click on a project, you find details on how someone did it and who to contact for more information. In the Public Discussion Center, there’s an area for teachers to discuss how to do different lessons.

Jerome Coben, President; Todd Clark, Executive Director; Marshall Croddy, Director of Program and Materials Development; Kathleen Kirby, Senior Consultant; Susan Philips, Consultant; Charles Degelman, Editor; Sal Arrona, Program Coordinator; Andrew Costly, Production Manager.

©2002, Constitutional Rights Foundation, 601 South Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90005 (213) 487-5590  Fax (213) 386-0459   www.crf-usa.org