Idaho

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The Idaho Department of Education Learn & Serve Idaho provides young people with opportunities to serve Idaho by connecting community service with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility. Grantees create new service learning programs, replicate existing models, and train staff, faculty, adult volunteers, and students in service learning.

Contents

History

In 2003, Marilyn Howard, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction, convened state staff from character education, civic education, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Community Service Program, and Learn and Serve America to discuss ways to strengthen collaboration. In January 2005, to formally link these initiatives, she pooled resources to create the Office of Civics, Service, Character, and International Education in the Idaho Department of Education. Learn and Serve Idaho was housed within this office to assist schools with meeting their civic mission as mandated in Idaho Education Law under citizenship education. It is the vision of the SDE that "Idaho schools will be places where every child is learning every day in a safe, disciplined, drug-free environment to become a good citizen and life-long learner. Every student will complete school with the character, skills, and knowledge to become a responsible and productive citizen to build a stronger America".

In January 2007, Idaho's newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Luna, housed Learn and Serve Idaho under the new office of the Division of Innovation and Choice with Deputy Superintendent Rob Sauer. This division will continue to keep civics and service learning interwoven as part of the state mandate to empower students to link school curriculum to the problems and issues in their school and communities.

Networks of Support

Historically, pilot programs work well in Idaho. Innovative schools are able to develop new approaches and programs from which other schools are eager to learn. Therefore, Idaho pairs veteran service-learning program leaders as mentors to start-ups. Subgrantees range from large districts to small charter schools.

Individual faculty and the Director of the Service-Learning Program at Boise State University work as mentors and coordinators for service-learning efforts in the Treasure Valley. The university’s emphasis on aiding school-based service-learning programs arises in part out of a deep institutional commitment to civic engagement. To expand the existing base of resources, Learn and Serve Idaho is reinforcing links to the Serve Idaho Commission, the state’s commission on service and volunteerism.


Empowering Youth

Learn and Serve subgrantees in Idaho form Youth Advisory Councils that offer young people opportunities to share their perspectives on service-learning projects taking place in their schools. In 2007 one Youth Leadership Team composed the Learn and Serve grant proposal for their school. Learn and Serve Idaho offers Youth Leadership Workshops that are designed to prepare members of these teams for their leadership roles. At the workshops, students learn about innovative service ideas, examine the needs of their communities, and begin to work with other young people to generate solutions. Workshops in 2007-2008 featured presentations by Leaders Today, a youth leadership training organization. In 2008, Learn and Serve Idaho was able to send 14 students to the Annual National Service-Learning Conference, "Youth for a Change" in Minneapolis. These students spent four days attending plenary sessions, workshops, and featured forums designed to encourage continued youth involvement in service-learning projects.

Evaluating Progress

The Idaho Department of Education has determined that service learning is a major component in increasing student civic engagement. In order to evaluate the civic climate of the Idaho schools that receive funding from Learn and Serve Idaho, a pre-and-post-"School Citizenship Education Climate Assessment" from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) is performed as part of their grant requirement. It was determined from this survey that the overall civic engagement of these schools increased from 42% in the fall of 2007 to 56% in the spring of 2008.

Convening and Celebrating

In June 2008, the new subgrantees received training in a service-learning workshop presented by Cathryn Berger-Kaye. Veteran Idaho learn and serve subgrantees served as mentors and shared experiences and answered questions at this workshop. These mentors, along with the State Department of Education, will continue to support new subgrantees throughout the state.

The Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism, Serve Idaho, hosts an annual conference for national service participants, including service-learning programs funded by Learn and Serve. Each year more than 50 teachers, students and administrators attend the Learn and Serve strand of the conference. In addition to the state conference, representatives of each Learn and Serve Idaho program attend the National Service-Learning Conference each year.

Policy Support

As part of the civic mission mandated in Idaho Education Law, Learn and Serve Idaho provides financial and technical assistance to schools as they develop and implement service learning policies and supportive structures at all levels. Learn and Serve Idaho has awarded a Learn & Serve grant to 14 schools across the state to build support for service learning. School districts are further classified as belonging to one of six geographic regions. There are at least one Learn and Serve subgrantee in each of the six regions. These grantees are evenly divided between 7 elementary schools and 7 secondary schools.

Learn and Serve

Idaho currently manages Learn and Serve America funds through the Idaho Department of Education. Cheryl Kary, Project Coordinator, and Tina Naillon, Project Specialist, direct service learning projects throughout the state. In addition to the LSA formula grant, Learn and Serve Idaho receives a Small State Capacity grant provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Youth Contributions

The foundation of Learn and Serve Idaho's grant is the development of site Youth Advisory Councils empowered to design and implement the school's service learning projects in cooperation with a community mentor and facilitated by the site coordinator. Youth empowerment is coupled with youth voice and engagement in the community. The project design fosters communities of learners by empowering students to assume leadership responsibilities which guide the school's integration of service learning as an instructional strategy for civic engagement.

Examples of Quality Service-Learning

References

  • ^  Retrieved from http://idla.k12.id.us.
  • Cairn, Rich, Neal, Marybeth, and Crossley, Alison. 2006. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2006. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.
  • Schultz, Nate. 2008. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2008. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.

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