March Beginnings

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Casady Parents Forum: The Casady Service Requirement for Graduation

The high school service requirement for graduation https://www.casady.org/service-learning-requirements is ONE aspect of the Community Service-Learning Program.  https://www.casady.org/service-learning-mission-and-goals-.

What is the requirement?  45 hours in 4 years.  Volunteerism/community service (not court appointed) opportunities and service-learning experiences receive credit. 


Volunteerism/Community Service: Volunteer helps Topsoccer program on Sundays.
Service-Learning: Volunteer becomes a soccer mentor for Kickstart soccer Program.  Writes a grant to Do Something.org for supplies, snacks, etc.  Creates a lesson plan with assistance of coaches and research for age-appropriate drills for autistic children, etc.   Coaches his/her soccer team.  Has a summer soccer clinic for the team.  As part of the clinic, the volunteer has a demonstration for parents of areas players have practiced and mastered during the clinic.

The difference is the level of volunteer ownership of the answers to the questions who, what, where, when, why, how, and how much of the project experience. 

The choice of service is of student preference.  The guiding mechanism is to reflect on what the volunteer likes to do, or an ability the volunteer wants to enhance or explore.  It is the responsibility of the volunteer to find a non-profit organization that provides an adult (18 years old or older, not a relative) to supervise and certify hours served. 

Where can students serve? Service opportunities with direct, indirect, advocacy, and research experiences as well as youth boards, empowering foundations, and celebratory service award programs are available @ http://casadyplacestoserve.blogspot.com/. 

What is the needed documentation and where can it be found in the website?
Find forms  https://www.casady.org/document.doc?id=590  It is the volunteer's responsibility to get the completed forms to the community service-learning office at Casady.
Time log: Keeps track of hours and provide a brief reflection
Site Supervisor Evaluation of Student Service: Verifies hours, gives feedback of quality of service. 

What communication is in place to report service updates to parents?  The Service-Learning Director places hours in the volunteer file when the completed site supervisor evaluation and time log reach the office.  An updated service report is sent to parents after hours are verified, certified, and updated numbers are placed in the transcript and report card.  The Casady service-learning director is Carmen Clay and her contact information is clayc@casady.org,  405-520-1325 (cell), 405-7493103(office)


Questions from the floor

1. What service-learning projects exist in the Upper Division Curriculum:
Blue Thumb in Mr. Delgrosso's Ecology class where students monitor water quality of a stream.
K-Senior Literary Exchange  in English classes, high school students make children story books in Mrs. Finley and Dr.  Hubble classes and share them with Kindergarten students. http://casadycommunityservice-learning.blogspot.com/2013/02/senior-k-literary-exchange-projet.html.  Full curriculum-based service-learning at Casady Schools @
https://docs.google.com/a/casady.org/document/d/1wGJT0DHMTPyZPlAsjBI4cEYbWskP5l5OZBEG1BE95fw

2. What are the requirements and the process for the President's Service Award?
Requirements: http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/tg/pvsainfo/dspAboutAwards.cfm. 
Minimum: 50 hours, 14 years old or younger, 100 hours, 15 years old or older in ONE personal calendar year.  Students can receive awards on a yearly basis.
Process: Students create a reflective file at the award site and place the Casady certifying organization code SCW-0931 as part of profile.  The code links to the Casady award certifying site.  The service-learning office orders the awards in March and pins, certificates and letter from the President are delivered during National Volunteer Week in April or the first week in May.

3. Are there plans to have alternative spring and summer service trips? Yes.  In the past we have had global education summer service-learning trips connected to language enhancement in the Spanish classes: http://cyclonexploringpossibilities.blogspot.com/.  The French classes are traveling to France during Spring Break.  The Chinese classes have trips to China every other year.

Areas of Concern:
a. Training about service learning: It is done on an individual basis by visits to the Service-Learning office.  Recommendations:  Greater, more intentional exposure at Chapel. Return to a more direct focus in a smaller groups like Service-Learning Fridays during Study Halls.

b. Connecting service to leadership building and ethics: Areas being addressed by Mr. Philipson.

c. Greater number of required hours: The emphasis is on quality of service experiences with focus on direct service, not on quantity of hours served.  Many students continue to serve after requirement completion, some because "service is their thing" others find an incentive in the President's Volunteer Service Award as enhancement of personal profile for college application process. The total number of hours served since 2004 when the requirement started to be implemented is reaching 100,000.

Ideal High School graduate article contains references to the role of public service in college admission process: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/ideal-grad/

Should we have a required number of hours?  Points of Light Foundation CEO on service requirement http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=x8f8aobab&v=001Uw9QefivccIprSGjdJaX2O8UHcqQXWsRAbXUn40A9EZjvkZrWU1WX9hOZHxq6PDJ46R6PLOxQq05rx8q57rHl5dqo8P16D2wGHQRjhqevVKQ6FYNkRPPIEdnPe12LdEOnC0FaRj6AGjbSsWt7saqqAaHu5xXuIjpC5kEY7359GdxWH75gPo-2V1_kD0xZlXEV_wgkAOidsU43aksiNIi3MADeeoKwtulT-Wq_BLRJpuGlW7GnofwibHb24VWLFPq47QZ8dNqBl-xXJZtkOFuNWg8-JoaC9pUYrcRRzy_kRrNh3kHDDR1LNP_BWRqgwLpFp60j_JWizaq492ZyEfr5EC5RvmiO7NUcJUaFuVGh6NaB41RsgPSX_SmVKhRHeJ3aeOUBeypOL0%3D
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YAC Message about their generation. 

YAC is a service Youth and Adult Advisory and Action Council.  Its mission is You-nite A Community.  YAC helps students find their passion to help our local and/or global communities and supports their efforts.  YAC also promotes school wide service experiences.  A few YAC members are part of the founding teen panel of a city wide cultural competency leadership youth board, Youth LEAD OKC, modeled after http://youthleadonline.org/. 

LEAD is an acronym for Leaders Engaging Across Differences.  YAC/Youth LEAD Cyclones will participate and present at the TIDE (Teens Identity and Diversity Education) Conference http://youthleadonline.org/tide.php during Memorial weekend.