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Service-Learning
Hours
What
Counts?
Reminders
for students who are completing the service-learning graduation
requirements of 36 hours of service:
·
Students
must do service in a non-profit setting.
We have three exceptions to this rule:
nursing homes, hospitals, and licensed day care facilities.
It is important to remember that our schools and government
office buildings are non-profits (local, state, and federal
governments).
·
Students
may earn direct service hours during the school day in the
following capacities: community
service class or science mentoring class, student aide for no
credit (36 hours are awarded at the completion of the semester),
Child Growth and development/Parenthood Education 3, and peer
mediation. Many of
our schools afford students the opportunity to earn service hours
answering the phones before and after school.
·
Internships
during the school day in a graded course are not eligible for
service hours. In
addition, internships after school hours in a law firm or
doctors office are not permitted as service learning hours
since these two locations are for profit businesses.
·
Students
may earn service hours as managers, statisticians and scorekeepers
for interscholastic athletic teams and by providing non-graded
services to the school or community as a member of the ROTC,
chorus, and band. Sponsors
of these groups are responsible for tracking the hours and signing
the verification forms.
·
Students
may earn service hours whenever time is spent on fund raisers for
the school or for an extracurricular activity.
The only time a student may not receive hours for
fundraising occurs when the activity is required as a part of a
grade for a class (e.g., the student government class at the
school, selling yearbooks/newspaper ads).
| ACTIVITY |
AMOUNT SOLD |
HOURS |
| Selling: |
every
$15.00
in sales |
1
hour (e.g. $150 in
sales equals 10 hours) |
·
Students
may earn service hours whenever they participate in charity
drives.
| Canned food drive |
10 cans |
1 hour
|
| Walkathon etc. |
every $15.00 in donations |
1 hour
( in addition to the
hours walked)
|
·
Giant
and Safe way receipt program
Students
may earn 1 hour for each verified new program registration
for their school.
·
Students
are reminded that when they turn in the verification form, they
should have the for signed immediately and keep the yellow copy
for proof of completion and submission.
Participating
in an activity and not receiving pay does not always qualify for
service-learning hours.
Any questions regarding
what other activities may count as service hours should be
referred to the Student Service-Learning Office, 301-749-4130
PROCEDURES
FOR STUDENTS TO FOLLOW
1.
Selecting a Service Site/Location A "suggested"
list of sites is available in each school's Guidance Office. This
list is updated every eight weeks. The site must be non-profit
based - exceptions include nursing homes, hospitals, licensed day
care facilities. Government facilities are considered-non-profits
(federal, state, local, AND school buildings). Service hours may
be completed through service projects with a place of worship or
working on political campaigns. Baby-sitting at home or for a
neighbor or relative is NOT acceptable for service hours.
2.
Reporting for Service A student must make arrangements with
the site to do the service hours. Prior to reporting to the site,
the student must make sure that he or she has a verification form
for the site supervisor (verification forms are available in all
Guidance Offices). The person at the site who is responsible for
the student volunteers is the person who signs the verification
form. Parents and guardians may not verify for their own children.
3.
Submitting the Service Hours When school begins in the
fall, students must take the verification form (both pages) to the
Guidance office of their middle school or high school. The
Guidance secretary will sign the form and keep the white copy so
the hours can be recorded on the student's permanent record.
Students should keep the yellow copy in their portfolios. Service
hours are recorded on all report cards at the end of each grading
period.
EXAMPLES OF STUDENT
SERVICE PROJECTS
Service-Leaming
Activities Must Include Preparation, Action, and Reflection
Senior Citizen
Projects
*
yard work, shovel snow, work around the house
*
grocery shopping, reading the newspaper, books, magazines
*
write letters for the seniors, write a journal type
documentary on their life with the senior dictating the past to
you
*
volunteer at the local senior citizen center
Children Service
Projects
*
tutor at the neighborhood school or day care center
*
present special programs that have a message to young
children, e.g., a puppet show on saying "no" to
strangers
*
make calls to a latchkey student in cooperation with a
county program *
create a special childcare day during certain times of
the year, e.g., a Saturday before the winter holidays so parents
can go shopping
Community Projects
assist city governments, or civic associations with the
planting of trees, flowers, or a park clean-up
participate in the Adopt-a-Highway program
help around your place of worship - clean-up chores,
teach Sunday School, assist with a festival or bazaar, sing in the
choir, baby-sit in the nursery
assist with monitoring a recycling program in your
apartment or housing development
volunteer at the library
coach or help out with the Boys and Girls Club
help with the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts
help with Little League
work on a graffiti clean-up campaign in your community
help at the local nursing home, volunteer in your local
hospital
assist with Special Community Projects - e.g., National
Heritage Hispanic Month, Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations,
African American History Month, Women's History Month
School Based
Projects
*
become an active member of the peer mediation and/or
conflict resolution teams in your school
*
develop a plan and plant bushes and flowers around the
school; decorate trash containers (school colors and
mascot); do grounds clean-up; organize recycling programs *
serve as school guide during special events
*
tutor students before school, after school, or during lunch
*
serve as manager or statistician of an interscholastic
sports team
THESE
ARE SUGGESTED SERVICE ACTIVITIES - SERVICES HOURS MUST BE EARNED
IN A NON-PROFIT SETTING (EXCLUDING NURSING HOMES, HOSPITALS, AND
LICENSED DAY-CARE FACILITIES). DO YOU HAVE MORE IDEAS TO ADD TO
THIS LIST? IF SO, PLEASE CALL 301-749-4130.
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