Service learning has held an important place in Colorado Academy's Upper School program for many years.  As one of the multiple components of our students' educational experience, service helps develop empathy and compassion, deepens an understanding of the wider community, and fosters a sense of civic responsibility and engagement.  All very worthy goals.

 

To provide more organic and more meaningful service experiences, this year, we will shift from school-designated all-day service activities to student participation in service clubs and service outings, all designed to strengthen students’ action in the community that is tied to their own passions and interests.

 

There are several reasons behind this change.  First, given our rotating schedule and the many demands on students' time, preserving and protecting as many academic school days as possible has become even more important.  While the total number of classroom minutes has not changed drastically, the number of days each class meets had been reduced by about 10% from its peak a few years ago.  Advanced Placement and early-level courses in math and world language particularly need as many class meetings as possible in order to meet their academic goals. Second, from a pragmatic standpoint, there are logistical challenges to taking all 400 students out into the Denver metro area on a particular day.  As robust as our transportation system is, we find it increasingly difficult to get every group to its assigned service location without spending an inordinate amount of time on the road.  Related to that, we have found that it is very challenging to find enough different service opportunities for 400 students and 40 adults on the same day, and our choices are limited to what is available on the days we have pre-assigned on our calendar.  Relying on these fixed dates is not a needs-based practice; ideally, we would be asking the agencies when they need us and go out on days they specify, not the other way around.

 

The result of these many challenges to our day-long service model is that the experiences have not been as meaningful as they ought to be to promote authentic learning and interaction. Service learning should not feel coercive or "forced" to the students, nor should the opportunities themselves feel too contrived by the agencies.  Instead, we want to encourage deeper engagement on the students' part -- and to help them develop real passions and interests in areas of service that they choose for themselves.

 

So what are we doing?  Freshmen will continue to spend a day working on campus with food service and Operations crews, as well as maintain an involvement with three senior homes in the area as part of an "Elders Project" they do in English class.  They will also take part in Service Learning presentations during the school year that help them understand the different non-profits, faith-based agencies, social justice-oriented organizations and other entities that help the local, national and international communities. 

 

Seniors will continue to have a graduation requirement for an an independent community impact project that is overseen by three faculty advisors: David Colodny, Lisa Dean, and Paul Kim.  For that project, students come up with an idea that solves an existing need or problem in the community and then address that need through their project.  In the recent past students individually or working in small teams have been able to accomplish some amazing things: creating a "senior" prom for a group of senior citizens, building a website for a start-up nonprofit, making artistic dishware for a soup kitchen, designing a wheelchair-accessible work table, not to mention numerous clothing, book and supplies drives.  They must produce a reflective video essay at the end of this independent project.  This requirement fosters individual growth and helps students appreciate service learning as a process.  (See examples on this page of the website.)

 

While there are no set days or specific requirements for students in Grades 10 and 11, CA students in all Upper School grades are  encouraged to be part of the many, vigorous club-based service groups that annually involve as much as 50% of our student body. From the decades-old Students H.O.P.E. group, which attracts as many as 100 students a year in a major service project, to the well-established AfricAid and Amnesty International student groups, to the newer Children's Hospital club and the Road To Hope partnership with a school in Nordette, Haiti, there are multiple opportunities for deep engagement at the club level.  Faces of Diversity, the GSA club and Love, Hope, Recovery also provide important student support and social justice outreach that allows students to do meaningful work in areas about which they are passionate.  And I should emphasize that the students are truly the prime movers of these in-house organizations.  While there are faculty sponsors for all, it is students who provide the leadership and direct the activities of these clubs.

 

Moreover, we have a significant connection to the Horizons Program, which serves low-income students in the metro area through a summer enrichment program designed to foster "academic enrichment, social growth with structured group dynamics, swimming lessons and sports participation, life-skills, cultural experiences, and the arts."  CA students have been steady volunteers for this summer program since its inception in 1998.  Two years ago, students created a Colorado Academy club dedicated to working with Horizons in order to expand their opportunities to participate.  Students from all grades now help out year-round, especially on the "Super Saturdays" that Horizons sponsors throughout the school year.

 

The Student Philanthropy Board, now in its sixth year, will continue to operate as well.  Funded by an anonymous donor, the Board receives around $5000 annually which it then distributes to worthy causes based on a grant process.  The Mission Statement of the Philanthropy Board states, "This program seeks to educate and empower young people of all ages in grant making and philanthropic endeavors as a part of their leadership development. By actively engaging with charitable organizations, students will seek to make a difference in addressing the local and global dimensions of our most pressing social and environmental concerns."  Students in grades 6-12 may participate on the Board after completing an application process.  Each year, the Philanthropy Board chooses a theme on which to focus its giving; last year's theme was equal access to education within Colorado, so all the organizations and agencies receiving the Board's dollars had that connection.

 

Certain classes will continue to embed service learning into the curriculum, both directly and indirectly.  I have already mentioned the Ninth Grade English class experience, now entering its fourth year.  Service learning also happens within the context of the Needs-Based Design course in the Innovation Lab, the Global Design elective, many Spanish classes (through Horizons, Students H.O.P.E., or other assignments where students seek out real-life opportunities to use their spoken Spanish within the local community), some of the Senior English Seminars, and of course in the new class on Haiti, which examines the culture, history and artistic traditions of that nation, but also works on developing sustainable action plans in the country with our partner school in Nordette.  Through professional development and relevant life experiences, other teachers and coaches have been inspired to incorporate service learning into their curriculum and programs as well.  I will highlight these new developments as they occur during the school year.

 

Additionally, some of our Interim and global trips will maintain a service focus.  In recent years, we have worked with Habitat for Humanity, Craig Hospital's Rehabilitation Center, and No Barriers USA.  We have also gone to Jamestown, Colorado, to help with flood relief assistance, so we are also open to new needs that may present themselves.  On the global travel side, service has been a major component of our recent trips to Haiti, France, Senegal, Rwanda,and Costa Rica.

 

Finally, we will be adding one new significant component that has the enthusiastic support of faculty this school year.  Similar to our Outdoor Education model where students can choose from an extensive menu of weekend adventures, students will be able to select from an array of faculty-sponsored outings that will take place either on Saturdays, at the end of certain school days, or during faculty professional days.  For example, Daniel Lopez, Martha Smith and Amy Myles will be taking interested students out on a Saturday in October to do trail maintenance for Jefferson County Open Space.  Other faculty members will continue our work with Habitat for Humanity, offering service excursions on a regular basis. 

 

I cannot conclude without acknowledging one important point: I know that many families perform meaningful service on their own; they are not relying on the school to make this happen.  So many of our students are involved in service through their churches, synagogues, or mosques, or volunteer during their non-school hours at a local soup kitchen or assisted living facility, or take on community projects through Scouts, or tutor a younger child whose family cannot afford to hire such support.  Often, students and families who do this kind of work do not want a lot of fanfare about it; they simply go out and do things or they support local charities in ways that they see as important.  I applaud those efforts and encourage everyone to encourage children to think beyond themselves, to try any endeavor, large or small, that they know makes a difference in someone else's life.  Here at CA, part of our mission is to help students be connected to and feel responsibility for their communities and the larger world. No matter how we get there, our goal remains the same.

 

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me, your child’s advisor, or one of the senior faculty service advisors: David Colodny, Lisa Dean, or Paul Kim.