x2VOL Blog: Tracking Service Hours at your School

There’s no doubt that the past two years have taken a toll on students.

There has been a significant loss of learning, development, and personal growth. Students have experienced isolation from a myriad of social situations. Many students even began high school during the pandemic and didn't return to campus well into their high school careers.

This past year students have had to get creative when volunteering and serving in their communities due to COVID-19. Service leaders have modified service programs. 

Service has never been more important! Schools continue to modify and adapt their service program to account for the changes COVID-19 has brought to the education system. But one thing that hasn't changed, is students' drive to serve others and impact the world around them. 

COVID-19 has brought a host of changes to schools across the country and throughout the world. The uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the transition to distance or modified learning has created challenges. 

School campus closures and transitioning to distance learning haven't stopped the students of Newark Academy from serving their community in powerful ways this past semester.

During COVID-19, volunteerism and serving others around you has never been so important. Even though, students across the country are spending their time indoors and practicing social distancing, they are getting creative with ways to continue to serve others who are in need during this pandemic. 

We know teachers, school counselors, and all staff and admin, are learning to work and manage their jobs from home during this time. 

There are a lot of service opportunities to take advantage of in your community and beyond. But for today's technology and online driven students, taking service online can be a great option.

Whether your school, district, or club has a service requirement, or encourages students to serve, the process to track, manage, report on, and engage students in service can be complicated and time consuming. 

Community service is an important element in education. Reports have shown that participating in community service during high school positively impacts a student and even increases a student's likelihood of being accepted into college. While service is great, there are complications that come along with students completing regular service. From tracking hours to approving hours and ensuring students are completing their service before graduation, it takes a lot of time and effort from the administrators and service leaders to ensure success.

One wonderful part of the holiday season is the desire to do good for others. Whether individuals are donating to organizations they are passionate about or are going out into the community to serve others, the giving heart is alive and well during this season. There are a lot of opportunities for students during this time not only to give back to others, but also make progress on their service requirement for school.