Exploring Service-Learning as a Way to Increase Student Academic Performance and Civic Involvement

An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — February 14, 2005

Friendship Edison Public Charter School
4095 Minnesota Ave, NE, Washington, DC

Background

On this American Youth Policy Forum field trip, participants went on student-lead tours of Friendship Edison Public Charter School to join in a discussion on the adoption, implementation and sustainability of service-learning as a way to engage students in increasing academic and civic skills. Service-learning is a teaching practice that connects academic skills to civic engagement opportunities within the school and community. Friendship Edison's staff is currently engaging students in community service activities and now is considering adoption of a more academically-based service-learning program. During the visit, Friendship Edison staff were able to dialogue with veteran service-learning leaders from Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia. A team of educators from Stafford County Public Schools, including students, described lessons learned in service-learning, particularly from their Students Serving Stafford program, as it pertains to policy, practice, student leadership, linkages to standards and assessment, and working with community partners.

Friendship Edison is the District of Columbia’s largest public charter school, serving approximately 3,200 students across four campuses: Chamberlain, Woodridge, Blow-Pierce, and Carter G. Woodson. Friendship Edison is authorized by the D.C. Public Charter School Board which monitors the school's compliance with its charter. Over $30 million has been invested to renovate vacant buildings into attractive learning centers for children and teens at the charter school. According to Friendship Edison leaders, students have made dramatic gains on the Stanford Achievement Tests. The school’s mission is to prepare students to become ethical, literate, well-rounded, and self-sufficient citizens.

Students Serving Stafford is a ten-year, after school, old service-learning program that allows students to earn academic credit for community service. Stafford County Public Schools also supports an elective Learn and Serve course in which students focus on social environmental and educational community service and an after-school, independent study course. The Students Serving Stafford program has received numerous awards including the Governor's Award for Volunteerism, J.C. Penney Points of Light Award, National Association of Counties Award, Rappahannock Volunteer Recognition Award, and the Florence D. Helms Award. Brooke Point High School in Stafford was selected as a National Service-Learning Leader School from 1999-2001. Current funding for the program comes from Stafford County Public Schools, partners, and a variety of grants.

Trip Summary

Barry Lofton, community research director of Friendship Edison Public Charter School, welcomed and applauded participants for being willing to get “in the schools” to experience the effects of service-learning. In May 2003, Lofton participated in the AYPF fieldtrip for policymakers to Stafford County Schools. “We can always use more advice from the veterans that came before us,” said Mr. Lofton.

Friendship Edison started with 300 students six years ago and has grown to 1200 students in 2005. Previously, the building had been the former Carter J. Woodson Junior High School and is in a convenient location just across the street from a Metro station, but when Wilson closed the building fell into disrepair. “Everything of value was stripped from the building and it became a center of drug and gang activity. Thirty million dollars was invested for renovation of the building so we would have quality structure and resources for our students,” said Lofton.

All students at Friendship Edison receive a “world-class education.” Because Friendship Edison is a public school, there are no entrance exams or extra tuition fees, so students come in at various levels of academic achievement, from “on grade” to “behind”. The staff at Friendship Edison believes that every child has the ability to learn, and staff do whatever it takes to move their child to the next level. The school uses monthly assessments to determine progress and uses the findings to tailor classes to the needs of the students.

Michael Jackson, head of schools of Friendship Edison’s Collegiate Academy, introduced students in Friendship Edison’s Early College Program. Early College Program students must take the initiative to apply to the program. They are interviewed and tested before being accepted. Sophomores in the program will earn 12 college credits, juniors earn another 17 college credits, and students who started in the program at the freshmen level can potentially have earned 60 college credits though the program, which includes AP courses, when they graduate. According to Jackson, there are more students who want to be in the program than can be accommodated.

Fieldtrip participants met in Friendship Edison’s Smart Lab with school staff from both Friendship Edison and Stafford County Schools. The Smart Lab is based on the design and technologies available in labs at MIT. Students initiate their own learning at individual work stations focused on specialized skills such as, robotics, aeronautics, architecture, engineering, entrepreneurship, publishing, and television broadcasting. Friendship Edison believes in allowing “students to teach students.” Students work together in teams of two or three, with the teacher serving as a facilitator. Before leaving a work station the experienced students teach new students.

After introductions, participants broke into groups to take student-led tours of Friendship Edison. In the stairwells were painted character education words like “Justice” and “Compassion,” while on the little space between each stair was written the names of famous African-American civil rights activists. In one hall student art was displayed along the top of the wall near the ceiling.

Student leaders informed fieldtrip participants that each grade has a designated floor that belongs to them, and the school runs on a block schedule. The students explained the four different academies: Arts and Communication, Health, Law, and Public Service, Engineering and Technology, and Business and Finance. Students explained that they are encouraged to explore academy affiliation in the ninth grade and, with the help of counselors, choose the academy they will be in by the start of tenth grade. When asked about the student ID’s the students were wearing, the students explained how the color of the ID reflects each students academic progress based on the achievement tests they take monthly. Gold and platinum cards reflect the highest levels of academic achievement. Students with gold and platinum cards earn incentives like admittance to certain dances and cheaper tickets to sporting events.

Fieldtrip participants were shown the school’s state-of-the-art television broadcast studio that has the capacity to broadcast nationally. Students use the studio to run a daily news show called “Edison School News.” Students use the broadcast system to keep students informed of current events.

On returning to the Smart Lab, participants listened to a presentation by representatives of Stafford County Public Schools. Cynthia Lucero-Chavez, community involvement specialist with Stafford County Public Schools, emphasized that, “Service-learning is not the same as school-to-work programs, extracurricular activities, court ordered service, or normal charity. Service-learning is much more.” Stafford County Schools has been involved with service-learning for over decade. The district administers two programs: Learn and Serve, which is an elective class, and Students Serving Stafford, an after school, independent study program. Last year Stafford students volunteered over 8000 hours of service to the community. Stafford county schools’ staff defines service-learning as “activities that connect serving the community with learning that is taking place in the classroom.”

Agnes Dunn, social studies coordinator, Stafford Community Schools, shared the history of Stafford County’s service-learning programs. Twelve years ago the County received a $12,000 grant from the state originating from Learn and Serve America funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service which was just enough to pay one part-time community officer and start an after school program at two local high schools. By using a pre-established program that allowed gifted and talented students to receive academic credit for independent study, students in the service-learning program were given academic credit as well.

Learn and Serve classes and the Students Serving Stafford program “provide an opportunity to show children’s special skills and resources,” said Dunn. These programs center on project-based learning, which tie back into classroom components. They allow students to “throw back the schoolhouse walls,” and get involved in the community. Stafford’s service-learning programs “live by grants,” which students have the opportunity to help write, but the programs are also supported by their local school district. A twenty thousand dollar grant from the Environmental Protection Agency paid for a teacher to design the district’s first Learn and Serve class.

Ms. Dunn emphasized the benefits that students receive through their programs. “Students don’t just provide service, they lead service.” Students in Learn and Serve classes have better attendance than students not in the class. Learn and Serve students have greater success on both pre-tests and post-tests, and teachers remark on the more positive attitudes they have toward all of their schoolwork. Dunn believes this is because they link Virginia’s Standards of Learning to authentic community service. “Students can see how what they are learning will be useful in the real world –after high school,” said Dunn. Students do their own research of the community and initiate projects based on the community’s needs. Students at Stafford County Schools who have performed 50 service-learning hours receive a civic seal on their diplomas. All students in Learn and Serve class will receive this honor and students may win the President’s award for service-learning if they are able to complete 100 hours of service. Ms. Dunn stressed the importance of the fact that, “the students in the program are leaders. They make the projects happen.”

Wendy Scott, Learn and Serve and history teacher, admitted “there is an outside-the-box philosophy to what we do.” When describing a typical day in her class, Ms. Scott stated, “The students lead the show. They give me their plans, and I say ‘make it happen.’” Students plan pep rallies and other activities to promote the Read Across America Program. “Students make the calls, print the letters, and raise the money needed. The single most important thing is to see them do it on their own. The empowerment is immeasurable,” said Ms. Scott.

Showing that service-learning improves grades is a challenge. “It is hard to put a grade on life changes,” said Scott. Students are required not only to plan and execute their community service projects, but to write personal reflections about what they learned and how they were affected by their projects. These reflections are graded on a scale used for that class, so that students can gauge how they are doing, but they don’t receive a formal grade until the end of the class.

Ms. Scott assured participants that the Learn and Serve class is “anything but fluff.” She showed participants two, three-inch binders of student work, each student is required to do for the class. “Everything relates back to the Standards of Learning,” Ms. Scott said. Students create their own presentations to seek approval to do their service-learning projects from groups such as the city council. They learn how to work cooperatively in small groups, and how to write professional letters of inquiry and thanks. Learn and Serve classes are especially affective because they allow students to use and refine skills as they learn new skills. “Every student comes with different skills, talents, and strengths,” Ms. Scott said. She praised her students as “agents of change” in their communities, and remarked that it is an “incredible experience to watch them be leaders.” Because of her experiences in teaching Learn and Serve, Ms. Scott has integrated service-learning into another course she teaches – history.

Comments by students from Brooke Point High School regarding the Learn and Serve class:

• “The one thing I have learned from taking this class is that one person really can make a difference and that every little thing you do to help matters. There are many things one person can do for all the needy people in the world. This class helps me think twice before I throw a piece of trash out the window or complain about not having what I want. This class has helped me want to go out and make a difference.”
• “Learn and Serve teaches you to see a problem and take action."
• “Before Learn and Serve I never volunteered or I would sign up and not go because I thought it was a waste of my time. Now I know that my time makes a difference in the community and in the world.”
• “I never really saw the need to help other people. I couldn’t possibly change anyone’s life. Well, I was wrong. From the overjoyed faces, to the detailed letters of thanks it is no longer a matter of if I can change someone’s life. It is a matter of how many lives I can change.”

Jane Ware, foreign language and Students Serving Stafford teacher, described the Students Serving Stafford manual. Dr. Ware emphasized that students choose the project they will do, but by using the manual, students from across the county can be graded according to the same standards. Dr. Ware announced that over 2000 students have used the manual as a guide to formulate their projects. By requiring the use of the manual, the Students Serving Stafford program stresses on the students the importance of planning out ideas. “Every action requires a plan,” Dr. Ware said to the participants, “if we don’t teach them to plan, we program them for failure.”

Dr. Ware described how she had taken the position of facilitator for Students Serving Stafford with the assumption that it would be less work than a regular classroom. Students Serving Stafford in theory only meets one evening a week, but Dr. Ware was surprised to find that students work on their projects every night. Official planning of student service-learning projects or activities is done once a week, but students, both those who are officially in the program and their friends, choose to spend their free time throughout the week helping others through their projects.

Through their work students learn the difference between helpful and not so helpful projects. Dr. Ware explained, “You cannot help a little old lady cross the street if she doesn’t want to go”. Examples of helpful community projects include:

• collecting use eyeglasses to be sent overseas,
• recycling used cell phones,
• helping out at a battered women’s shelter, and
• raising over $2000 for tsunami relief.
• setting up a class to teach sign language to fellow students so a deaf classmate could feel more included,
• doing the research to prove that though the water in the drink fountain tastes bad, it is not harmful, and
• mapping the school and creating signs to allow visitors to better navigate around the school.

Dr. Ware admitted that students are not always able to complete every project. “Sometimes they fail, but what do they learn?” she asked. They learn time-management, planning and data collecting skills. They learn to keep asking questions and how to make connections with bureaucracies and community groups. They learn how to explain and present their own ideas. Students learn the four essential steps to Stafford Schools' service-learning process: Preparation, Action, Reflection, and Celebration, or PARC.

Students in Students Serving Stafford class must complete 70 hours of service to receive .5 credits of independent study. Students also get to participate in an internship as part of the program.

Krista Sharp, spokesperson for Friends of the Rappahannock, highlighted the benefits of programs like Students Serving Stafford for community and business organizations. Friends of the Rappahannock is an organization with only five staff members. “The students take a great deal of the work load off our backs. Students help coordinate other volunteers and even participate in the grant writing process,” said Ms. Sharp.

Friends of the Rappahannock conducts a river cleanup twice a year, with the spring cleanup drawing over 100 volunteers. Stafford students took over planning and management of the fall cleanup. “Students organized recruitment, fundraising, food, raffle prizes, advertising, and promotion,” said Ms. Sharp. Students were able to draw 317 volunteers from the community who collectively picked up 12,000 lbs of garbage. Everyone who participated in the fall cleanup mentioned how well organized the event had been.

Fish Bowl Discussion

Two students from Stafford County Schools participated in a fish bowl discussion with students from Friendship Edison. Friendship Edison students described service projects they have been involved with including participation in the March of Dimes and volunteering their time to help at polling places for the 2004 election. Stafford students described efforts to renovate a football stadium and to build a playground for preschoolers in their neighborhood.

Stafford students were asked why they chose to participate in the Learn and Serve class if they knew it was going to be more work. A student answered that her group did not know how much more work would be required, but that they wanted the opportunity to serve others. The Friendship Edison students were asked about the challenges they face currently in doing community service. They answered that there are transportation problems and the problem of travel time. Friendship students agreed that participating in service to their community might be easier for more students if it was part of a formal class.

Stafford students were asked how service-learning has affected their future plans. One student answered that it had helped her learn what she does not want to do. The Stafford staff stressed that service-learning helps “widened the students’ bubble, expanding their horizons” so they know there are other things you can be besides being a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. It creates for the student a better awareness of the “buffet of opportunities” available to them.

Friendship Edison students were asked what service-learning projects they would like to do. Students and staff of Friendship Edison thought a good project would be cleaning up the school’s athletic fields, which is littered with broken glass and other dangerous items and is currently used only for disreputable activities like drug dealing and burning abandon cars.

One of the participants asked the Stafford staff about the challenges schools must face to set up service-learning classes. Dr. Ware answered, “There are always the problems of transportation, getting students to a project site and back again safely. There is also the question of liability, who is responsible if something happens and how do we deal with it.” Dr. Ware told of the challenges in setting up good relationships with community agencies, and the importance of making service-learning opportunities assessable to all children. “A good service-learning program sets a specific framework for students, so students know the Where, the Who, and the What. A good program provides structure and support for students while maintaining the student-initiated-ness of the projects.” Ware believes it is easiest to make service-learning a part of social studies classes first, and then branch out to other subjects like English and math. Ms. Dunn agreed that what is needed is a strong infrastructure and multiple contracts with community organizations that provide students with the support they need to take on the responsibilities of their projects.

Dr. Ware noted their service-learning manual is unique and can be used to connect service-learning with standards of learning. Schools sometimes cannot or do not want to take the necessary time for planning and proper follow-through in building connections with community organizations. She said, “Many people are intimidated by the logistics of it all and don’t know how to begin.” Ms. Sharp also commented that many community agencies “don’t realize how much potential students have.”

One participant suggested that the only way service-learning will become more than just a “fad” is if we promote the powerful stories of how service-learning affects not just students, but their teachers, their entire schools, and their entire communities. Ms. Dunn wholeheartedly agreed. She encouraged anyone involved in service-learning to “be your own best promoter. Nominate yourselves for awards, and take time to celebrate your accomplishments.”

Reflections on the Visit

Participants noted:

• Friendship Edison Public Charter School is a great school with an amazing opportunity to be involved in Service-Learning. The staff is obviously committed to quality education and had genuine hope for their students’ futures. Youth involvement in the beginning of the program was excellent, especially the student lead tours. I was amazed by the quality of the technology students have available to them.
• Stafford County Schools’ presentation emphasized the value of service-learning to the students, school, and community. They have a good variety of service-learning opportunities for their students that emphasize the need to be involved in their community. “There is so much to say in so little time.” Stafford Schools has a dynamic and dedicated staff whose profound knowledge and experience with service-learning makes them great models for schools like Friendship Edison to follow.
• Some participants felt Stafford’s presentation was too focuses on implementation, and requested the opportunity to hear more about service-learning’s impact on school, on the community, and on teachers. More needs to be done to answer people question: why do service-learning?
• Participants had mixed reviews of the students’ fish bowl discussion. Some wished that the students had been more prepared and had more interactive questions to have been able to better participate in the discussion. One commented that, “The students needed more time to process all they had heard the same as everyone else.” Others thought the discussion was useful because in included both students and staff of two different educational agencies sharing their perspectives on both the potential and impact of service-learning. “It was great to hear from so many perspectives.”
• Participants commented on the high turnout the event drew from many organizations that need to be involved in service-learning. (community groups, educators, schools, service-learning providers, funders, etc.) I was good to see the partnerships that have developed between administrators, schools, and communities. Participants appreciated the discussion to the challenges schools face when implementing service-learning.
• “This discussion should easily be continued in future AYPF events.”
• “It made me realize how I want to be a part of a service-learning classroom.”

Contact Information

Agnes Dunn
Social Studies Coordinator
Stafford Public Schools
31 Stafford Avenue
Stafford, VA 22554
Business: 540-658-6695
adunn@staffordschools.net

Michael Jackson
Head of Schools
Collegiate Academy
Friendship Edison Public Charter School
4095 Minnesota Ave., NE
Washington DC 20019
Business: 202-396-5500/ Fax: 202-369-6137
mjack@dc.edisonschools.com

Barry Lofton
Community Research Director
Friendship Edison Public Charter School
900 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Washington DC 20003
Business: 202-675-8460/ Fax: 202-675-8351
blofton@friendshipschools.org

Cynthia Lucero-Chavez
Community Involvement Specialist
Stafford County Public Schools
31 Stafford Avenue
Stafford, VA 22554
Business: 540-658-6695
clucero@staffordschools.net

Wendy Scott
Learn and Serve/ Students Serving Stafford Teacher
Stafford County Public Schools
31 Stafford Avenue
Stafford, VA 22554
Business: 540-658-6695
wscott@staffordschools.net

Krista Sharp
Friends of the Rappahannock: Watershed Projects
Stafford County Public Schools
31 Stafford Avenue
Stafford, VA 22554
Business: 540-658-6695
ksharp@staffordschools.net

Jane Ware
Foreign Language and Students Serving Stafford Teacher
Stafford County Public Schools
31 Stafford Avenue
Stafford, VA 22554
Business: 540-658-6695
jware@staffordschools.net

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