New Hampshire

From Service-Learning Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

While no substantial changes have been made to service-learning coordination in New Hampshire, the state has seen some exciting developments in the broader field of education that may well have implications for service-learning policy and practitioners. The state, which strongly emphasizes local control, is dramatically transforming its high school programs to emphasize experiential education.

With funding from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help support curricula redesigns, high school students in the state will soon be able to fulfill graduation requirements with experiences outside of the classroom. NH Learn and Serve is waiting to advocate for service-learning as a component of this new credit option until questions regarding grade determination and how to measure student competencies are addressed by the broader initiative.

Contents

History

Prior to 2006, service-learning in New Hampshire was linked closely with character education. For example, students learned about values such as justice, fairness, respect, responsibility, citizenship, and honesty, as well as critical thinking skills necessary to function within a democratic society. They then applied these values through a range of projects. For example, as environmentally responsible citizens, they organized projects to monitor and protect air and water quality, or to start recycling projects. The New Hampshire-based ABC Quilts, Inc. has involved numerous students in New Hampshire, as well as students across the United States and around the world, in making quilts for infants with HIV and AIDS. Unfortunately, character education programming no longer exists at the state level in New Hampshire.

The Department of Education worked closely with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) during the CHESP project to conduct state Learn and Serve evaluation and other research on effectiveness of K-12 service-learning. UNH is also helping to develop resource guides for character education and service-learning that will offer ways to meet graduation standards through service-learning.

In the mid-2000s, several emerging initiatives promised to raise the profile of service-learning in New Hampshire. The state Citizen Corps Council voted to work with NH Learn and Serve to involve schools in local Homeland Security programs.

Around the same time, the Learn and Serve Director and state heads of all the other streams of service — including Campus Compact for NH, VolunteerNH!, and the New Hampshire Office of the Corporation for National and Community Service — met quarterly to coordinate efforts.

In 2004 and 2005, Learn and Serve convened students and teachers from across the state in the spring to showcase their service-learning efforts. The first year, 35 students and teachers participated in the Student Service-Learning Showcase; in the second year, 120 students and their teachers shared and learned about state projects and participated in workshops.

Networks of Support

Since 2006, service-learning at the New Hampshire Department of Education has been integrated into 21st Century Schools programming, which provides a much larger funding pool and reaches a far greater number of schools. Only eight programs receive Learn and Serve subgrants, while fifty eight receive support through the 21st Century Schools program. By making service-learning a requirement for the latter grant program, far more students are able to engage in service-learning than if Learn and Serve were a stand-alone initiative. The state Learn and Serve office makes use of its partnership to bring LSA subgrantees into the strong community of 21st Century-funded programs through conferences and networking opportunities.A two-day retreat for site directors is held every winter, in addition to a three-day conference involving LSA programs. Online blogs and discussion forums help 21st Century and LSA programs connect.


The Department of Education also partners with New Hampshire Campus Compact and KIDS Consortium to provide professional development and technical assistance to service-learning programs. These organizations work together to showcase students' work.

The New Hampshire Alliance for Civic Engagement (NHACE) seeks to support and enhance teaching and learning opportunities that foster civic engagement. The NHACE steering committee includes Campus Compact for New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies, the New Hampshire Bar Association, the League of Women Voters, and the Department of Education, as well as several higher education agencies. This broad coalition will focus on K-16 and community education of civics, including an emphasis on applying civics skills through activities such as service-learning. NHACE held its Second Annual Statewide Summit on Civic Education in September, 2004. Technology is aiding a coordinated statewide campaign. NHACE is also developing civics and service-learning curricula aligned with state graduation standards. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has approved a grant request, part of which will be used for the exploration of developing a NH K-16 Service-Learning Partnership.

Convening and Celebrating

New Hampshire is part of an informal New England network. New Hampshire has been invited to participate in an evaluation-focused partnership with Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts. However, these states receive supplemental small states funding, which New Hampshire does not, making participation impossible due to insufficient funds. More formally, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire jointly offer an annual 21st Century Schools conference. These three states also share a Corporation State Office in Concord, New Hampshire.

21st Century holds a number of frequent meetings throughout the year to network practitioners. Site Director meetings are held six times per year. Coordinator meetings happen quarterly. A two-day Site Director retreat is held every winter, in addition to a three-day conference involving Learn and Serve programs. Online blogs and discussion forums help 21st Century and LSA programs connect.

Evaluating Progress

Given the shortage of funding in the state available for service-learning, the state has worked effectively to make the practice relevant to broader educational initiatives. This also means that few resources are available to conduct formal evaluations of the state's program, though student surveys are conducted annually.

Policy Support

Led by Governor Craig Benson, the New Hampshire Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, New Hampshire held a series of 20 public input sessions on public education, including an emphasis on “Real World Learning.” One goal is to offer students credit for qualified learning experiences outside the classroom, including service-learning.

As a dedicated local control state, service-learning develops at the school and district levels with the guidance of the New Hampshire Service-Learning Specialist. Accordingly, state efforts concentrate on motivating and supporting programs, with a minimum of mandates. There are many quality programs and service-learning is promoted as an effective teaching strategy. Possibilities for growth may well accompany the broader shift towards experiential education in public schools.

Learn and Serve

From 2000-2004, New Hampshire received a Community-Higher Education-Schools-Partnership (CHESP) Learn and Serve grant supporting seven sub-grantees. Many focused on environmental projects. CHESP also supported numerous training opportunities for K-12 subgrantees from all Learn and Serve programs.

When Learn and Serve merged with 21st Century Schools in 2006, service-learning gain a broader funding pool and a wider network of practitioners. As part of the merger, Learn and Serve funds are exclusively dedicated to afterschool programs and are not available for any school-day activities. While Service-Learning Specialist Christina Durkee, SEA for the state at the Department of Education, has very limited time to focus on LSA programs, the partnership with 21st Century gives service-learning more attention than would otherwise be feasible in such a small state.

In 2008, the state received both a small school-based grant of $58,751 and a higher education grant, awarded to Campus Compact for New Hampshire. The school-based program is managed by the New Hampshire Department of Education and serves 1,794 participants at 12 subgrantee sites.

Youth Contributions

The Legislative Youth Advisory Council Bill of 2006, established a council of 19 students between the ages of 15 and 22 to advise the legislature, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House on issues and legislation pertaining to New Hampshire's youth. The Council is modeled after a similar initiative in Maine.

The bill was introduced by Senator Robert Odell, who stated: "Everyday, the young people of New Hampshire contribute to the economy, participate in community affairs, and very importantly, are impacted by the laws we pass. The time for their voices to be heard is now. The Legislative Youth Advisory Council will allow their viewpoints to be expressed and taken seriously by legislators."

The annual Student Voice Summit, sponsored by the NH Alliance for Civic Engagement, convenes about 40 students, grades 5 through 12, and their teacher representative from 12 school districts.

Examples of Quality Service-Learning

References

  • Billig, S. & Conrad, J. (1997). An Evaluation of the New Hampshire Service-Learning and Educational Reform Project. Denver, CO: RMC Research.
  • Cairn, Rich, Henning, Anna, and Neal, Marybeth. 2005. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2005. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.

External Links


States and Territories of the United States
States Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado - Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho - Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - Minnesota - Mississippi - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Hampshire - New Jersey - New Mexico - New York - North Carolina - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma - Oregon - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island - South Carolina - South Dakota - Tennessee - Texas - Utah - Vermont - Virginia - Washington - West Virginia - Wisconsin - Wyoming
Federal District District of Columbia
Territories American Samoa - Guam - Northern Mariana Islands - Puerto Rico - Virgin Islands
view - edit
Retrieved from "http://www.servicelearningwiki.org/wiki/index.php/New_Hampshire"
Personal tools