Community Service

Students will be required to complete a total of twenty (20) hours of Community Service or Service-Learning activities. Students may begin attaining their hours after the first day of their freshman school year. The Community Service hours must be completed prior to May first (1st) of their scheduled graduation year. To have your Community Service or Service-Learning hours count toward graduation, you MUST do the following:
  1. Find a Community Service activity(s) to participate in.
  2. Get approval of your activity from your advisor prior to starting the activity.
  3. Set and write up (document) a goal for the activity(s).
  4. Complete the activity(s).
  5. Complete the Community Service / Service-Learning reporting form with the appropriate signatures, hours, and dates included, (see attachment).
    Complete a written narrative of each Community Service or Service-Learning experience, include your goal, the outcome(s), and a reflection of what you learned/gained from the experience.
  6. Turn in your paperwork to your advisor to be checked off, and finally,
  7. Place the written documentation into your portfolio.
The purpose for the Community Service activity is to help the students to gain personal insight into career, civic, ethical, academic, and social development through volunteering to do work in their community. The volunteer community activity should be selected so that students develop a sense of civic and social responsibility and improve their citizenship skills. Community Service should also provide opportunities for students to become active, positive contributors to our society.

The Colorado Department of Education’s website http://www.cde.state.co.us/servicelearning/index.htm has clearly defined Community Service and Service-Learning activities. These definitions are listed below. Community Service is a project where students provide service to the community, either as part of a class or another activity.

Examples are:
  1. Student / youth cleaning up a park
  2. Students volunteering at a homeless shelter
  3. High school students tutoring elementary school students
Service-Learning is a curriculum combining in-depth analysis of an issue with community actions. Service-Learning has both learning and service goals.

Examples are:
  • Students cleaning up a park plus a study of the environment or waste
  • Working at a shelter plus a study of poverty / homelessness
  • Tutoring elementary students plus a study of the social impact of illiteracy, teaching methods, investigation of other content areas.
 
As you can see Community Service is doing an activity in the community while Service-Learning is doing the activity and adding a learning component to it.

You can gain community service hours in many ways. Your advisor or counselor can help you with ideas and provide contacts for Community Service or Service-Learning projects. Community Service activities must be community or civic minded and they should be designed to improve the community as a whole.

You may only count VOLUNTEER Community Service hours towards graduation. Court ordered Community Service does not meet the graduation requirement.