Missouri
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History
The Missouri Department of Education sponsors a state-level Service-Learning Advisory Council to support service-learning activities throughout Missouri. The council’s 35 young people and adults, along with the state service-learning supervisor, oversee Learn and Serve subgrants in the form of Student Led Service-Learning Grants and Teacher Grants. The Council dates back to 1996. It was created to promote best practices among practitioners and to reach out to schools interested in service-learning.
The Council is representative of youths and adults involved in both grant-funded and non-grant-funded service-learning. Program coordinators from five sites plus two students from each site participate, together with several non-profit organizations, a representative from State Farm, and other community-based organizations and businesses. In addition, the Council includes school principals and representatives from higher education. The requirements for Learn and Serve subgrantees also reflect an emphasis on broad-based representation: each subgrantee must identify at least two partnering community-based non-profit organizations, a university, or a state agency that will work them on service-learning projects.
In addition to their recent legislative efforts, the Advisory Council student representatives have created an instructional video on the difference between service and service-learning, which is used as an outreach and “marketing” tool for service-learning, with the assistance of the Missouri Department of Education. The Council has also created a toolkit for use by community-based organizations. In addition, the students began a mini-grant program, which allows students from Missouri schools to apply for monies for service-learning projects. A student and a teacher/sponsor complete the application, and the Students of the Advisory Council read, score, and award the mini-grants.
In 2004, the ten young people serving on the Advisory Council began offering Student Led Service-Learning Grants. Grants of $1,000 or less are given by the young people on the council to youths for funding their school-based service-learning projects. Applicants choose community needs and write their own grant application to the youth of the advisory council. The young people serving on the Advisory Council have made 50 grants to youths across the state totaling $38,000.
The Teacher Grant program, initiated in 2006, is designed to support educators in their service-learning efforts. Teachers make applications to the executive committee of the Advisory Council along with the state Service-Learning Supervisor for funds up to $2,500. The Council has awarded 16 Teacher Grants since 2006 totaling $28,500.
Networks of Support
A large percentage of Learn and Serve subgrantees in Missouri are new to service-learning. In response, the state Service-Learning Supervisor has identified seven school districts to serve as regional service-learning centers that can offer support to districts and schools with less service-learning experience. The identified districts have sustained programs they started with Learn and Serve funding for an average of eight years beyond the initial seed funds. These regional centers are equipped to provide training and technical assistance.
Convening and Celebrating
Each fall, the state Service-Learning Supervisor organizes the Missouri service-learning conference that brings together young people, educators, regional coordinators, and community organizations. The conference is typically attended by 100 adults and 100 youth. Workshops feature youth project presentations and offer technical assistance for practitioners. In addition, participants in Missouri’s national service programs gather in the spring for Missouri Service Day. Service-learning participants share artifacts from their projects with state legislatures and often receive recognition on the floor of the legislature.
Evaluating Progress
There are 524 districts in Missouri and the Department of Education is currently in contact with 54 about their service-learning efforts. In order to meet the Corporation for National and Community Service’s goal of having at least 50 percent of public school students involved in service-learning, more schools need to be introduced to service-learning and supported in their implementation. In addition, on-going data needs to be collected to document student participation.
Missouri is in the process of further developing its survey for new service-learning participants, teachers, and community-based partners. The survey is one of the first using the Missouri Department of Education’s new computerized system for conducting online surveys. The use of computer technology, together with the state service-learning staff’s ability to analyze data in-house, makes the survey quite sustainable. According to the 2002-2003 school year survey, more than half (57 percent) of all school districts engage in service-learning. Missouri has 529 districts, 34 of which received Learn and Serve funding that year. Approximately 31,000 Missouri K-12 students were involved with service-learning.
Two initiatives are currently moving forward in Missouri to collect data on service-learning across the state. First, the Department of Education is applying to engage a VISTA volunteer to begin collecting statewide data. Second, the Missouri Service-Learning Network is conducting a statewide data collection effort. The Network is a nonprofit that was incorporated in 2005 and aims to increase awareness and funding for service-learning in community and faith-based organizations. Janet Schuster, recipient of the 2005 Service-Learning Practitioner Leadership Award from the National Youth Leadership Council and the State Farm Foundation, is leading this effort.
Policy Support
After five years of effort, Missouri passed service-learning legislation. The State Advisory Council spearheaded the creation of the new legislation, bill 945/HB935, which passed in May 2004, and took effect in August 2004. The bill directs the state Board of Education to encourage the adoption of service-learning in all public schools. As a way to introduce schools to the new bill and encourage superintendents to implement service-learning, the Commissioner of Education arranged for service-learning students to present their projects at an August superintendents’ conference.
Learn and Serve
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education receives a $302,439 school-based Learn and Serve grant that supports service-learning activities at 29 subgrantee sites. The MDESE grant program is managed by Alicia Riner, who currently serves as SEA for the state. In addition to the school-based grant, Camp Fire USA, headquartered in Kansas City, and the Heartland Foundation both managed community-based LSA grants worth $733,874. Participation in the school-based program involves 4,741 students and the community-based grants involve an additional 513 students in-state, as well as numerous students at separate subgrantee sites out of state.
Youth Contributions
This section is in need of expansion. You can help by expanding it.
Examples of Quality Service-Learning
References
- Cairn, Rich, Henning, Anna, and Neal, Marybeth. 2005. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2005. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.
External Links
- Learn and Serve America in Missouri
- National Service in Missouri (Corporation for National and Community Service)
- Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Career Education - Service-learning
- Missouri Community Service Commission
- Missouri Campus Compact
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