Counselors across the U.S. work extremely hard to help their students have a successful high school career. But a counselor’s journey doesn’t end there. They also help their students find scholarship opportunities and guide them on the college application process. How do counselors do this? It’s not an easy job, but one that takes heart and dedication to the student’s success.
So how do you structure a service learning program? This is one of the earliest decisions that will be (or already has been) made at a school. And, as you probably guessed, no two service programs will be identical because no two schools work identically. Still - there are two main elements that can be found in just about any service programs structure. We'll explore both of those in this post.
Each student should be accountable for keeping track of their own hours. That means logging the hours as soon as possible after they perform their service, as well as making note of important information like contact names and phone numbers, or the next step or duty to be performed, or some other note of responsibility. Keeping notes like this is important to help the student keep moving along through the program without missing needed information.
An effective service-learning program can help students learn important Christian values. But service-learning programs often have many aspects to manage, making them challenging to oversee.
By Doy Roberts, STARS Teacher, The Ann Richard’s School for Young Women Leaders
The Ann Richard’s School for Young Women Leaders has developed program called Success Through Academics, Resiliency and Service (STARS) that begins in sixth grade. Doy Roberts is an original STARS teacher who shaped the program over the last 6 years. Here are a few tips and tricks Doy shares if your school or district is considering starting a service program:
Let's be honest. Not all students want to serve others.
It's "inconvenient." "Boring." They just want to meet the minimum requirement and get it over with. Check the box. Done.
Some are willing to risk the consequences of falsifying hours and forging signatures. They put a lot of effort into avoiding it altogether. Who cares?
What if we could see each other's heart?
Really see it.
Would it be the first thing you notice?
Would the novelty wear off after awhile?
Would you have more compassion?
Would you forgive faster?
Would it be a reminder of what's really important?
Service goals are at the heart of x2VOL. Schools across the nation have different service programs and they use x2VOL to set up a goal structure that works well for their students. We looked at 50 of our most active x2VOL schools, both public and private, and identified some of the recurring trends in goal structures and requirements. We wanted to share our findings so you can see what schools are doing across the nation!
They are the motivators, the leaders, the adults that care; they are your high school counselors and service directors! Without the heart behind what they do, volunteer service programs would simply be another check list item for students to complete on their way to graduation. Instead, service becomes a meaningful experience that impacts the lives both of student volunteers and the community around them.
