North Carolina
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Contents |
History
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Networks of Support
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's most important partners include other state agencies, higher education institutions and research organizations.
Convening and Celebrating
Professional development has recently been enhanced to include service-learning standards. There are also efforts to build awareness of the benefits of service-learning in supporting student achievement, increasing student engagement, and increasing the usage of service-learning as an instructional delivery strategy, learning tool, and community engagement strategy.
Service-learning training opportunities are in place for grant-managers that are the recipients of awards for their school or district and service-learning institutes that seeks to build capacity in understanding of the benefits of service-learning by training educators and partners in the pedagogy and the partnership-building of service-learning. Certificates of Participation are awarded which may assist in the total number of hours or credits needed for continued certification.
Sub-grantees assemble annually in one of three site review assemblies to present their successes and challenges, and to discuss ways to strengthen performance. Programs write a report on the best program practices implemented in their community.
Evaluating Progress
Results from the shift in strategy have been dramatic. Participation in Learn and Serve rose from fewer than 800 students to about 25,000 students contributing 345,000 hours of service annually. Programs have a broad approach to supporting instruction. Many school districts now link service-learning with character education programs.
A third-party evaluator has conducted surveys of students, teachers, and other supporters to determine program effectiveness. The evaluator presents and discusses findings with all sub-grantees as part of an annual one-and-a-half-day service-learning staff development session.
Policy Support
North Carolina has not adopted a definition of service-learning. Although the state does not require it for high school graduation, service-learning activities count toward graduation requirements.
Learn and Serve
In the early years of Learn and Serve America, North Carolina spread small project grants among individual teachers. In 1999-2000 there were 35 sub-grantees, and shortly thereafter North Carolina boasted 24 National Service-Learning Leader Schools. This support complemented many effective service programs run by student clubs and organizations across the state.
In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shifted funds to support comprehensive proposals from school districts. Each district now must assess its needs and capacity to support service-learning, and submit a plan for the integration of service-learning into the academic curriculum. Given the diversity in applicant communities’ sizes and economies, programs have varied widely in scope and design. Most grants are for $20,000, renewable annually for up to three years.
The Learn and Serve grants are administered by Carolyn Copelin Foxx, Coordinator of Special Projects at the North Carolina DPI. In 2008, the state involved 13,154 participants in its school-based grants program. Thirty-three subgrantees received funding from the DPI's $429,713 school-based grant. Additionally, HMCUC/North Carolina Central University Foundation received a community-based grant of $404,555 serving eight subgrantees. And, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Mars Hill College, Inc. both received higher education grants.
Youth Contributions
This section is in need of expansion. You can help by expanding it.
Examples of Quality Service-Learning
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Exceptional Students, Exceptional Practicum (Greenville, North Carolina)
References
- Cairn, Rich, Neal, Marybeth, and Crossley, Alison. 2006. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2006. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.
External Links
- Learn and Serve America in North Carolina
- National Service in North Carolina (Corporation for National and Community Service)
- North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service
- North Carolina Campus Compact
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