Washington

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History

In the late 1980s, due to efforts of Kate McPherson and Project Service-Leadership, Washington led the nation in linking service-learning and education reform. Washington also had one of the nation’s first full-time service corps beginning in 1983, and pioneered other service-learning initiatives, including the Giraffe Project, Adopt-a-Stream, and YMCA Earth Service Corps. McPherson and other local leaders continue to guide Washington’s service-learning movement, providing training and technical assistance.

These leaders insisted on the importance of staff development and technical assistance. To nurture a supportive network, the Washington Learn and Serve program in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) organized an annual January Training of Trainers. OSPI also supports veteran practitioners to provide one-on-one support to colleagues. Local leaders play a key role in shaping Washington’s Learn and Serve grant programs, as they did with the 2000-2003 Community-Higher Education-School Partnership (CHESP).Washington’s teacher education programs also have been active in support of local service-learning practitioners. Further demonstrating its commitment to leading from the “bottom up,” Washington has long modeled effective youth leadership involvement at all levels of service-learning programming.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Washington Youth Voice Project created materials and promoted youths in leadership roles in schools. Youths regularly present as part of state and regional service-learning trainings. Students review grant proposals and work within the agency. OSPI offers workshops for teachers on how to support youth voice in democratic classrooms. In partnership with The Freechild Project, OSPI also leads the state testing process.

Networks of Support

Washington utilized service-learning as a means to energize “site-based” management as early as the 1980s. Practitioners have used service-learning strategically to advance state standards, support migrant education, and create supportive learning environments. Many programs in the migrant education community still feature service-learning methods. Learn and Serve and other service-learning practitioners have also collaborated with 21st Century Community Schools after-school programs and parent groups.

Building Partnerships

Service Learning Washington, the state’s service-learning advisory group, meets two to three times a year, including a two-day strategic planning retreat every fall. In addition to OSPI and Project Service-Leadership, other participants include Washington Campus Compact, Seattle University, University of Washington, and Western Washington University.

Service Learning Washington offers a training cadre led by experienced service-learning practitioners. Programs can be tailored according to the audience (teachers, national service members, coordinators, community partners, youth).

Learn and Serve's online Service-Learning Certificate Program began in earnest in 2008. The program has been deemed very successful and has also included out of state participants. The five course program is offered through the Heritage Institute and Antioch University Seattle.

Learn and Serve infuses service-learning presentations into other conferences and events of OSPI, the Washington State School Directors’ Association, Washington Association of School Administrators, and Washington Council of the Social Studies. The State Farm Companies Foundation has supported AmeriCorps’ work in support of the culminating project requirement and service-learning by providing the match for members in five rural communities. The Gates Foundation has supported rural service-learning programs. Local United Ways have been supportive with funding and recognition and Washington State University Cooperative Extension 4-H has provided website support.

Convening and Celebrating

Learn and Serve Washington offers trainings for sub-grantees twice a year. Service-learning workshops are offered three times a year at OSPI education conferences, as well as at conferences of the School Directors’ Association, Principals’ Association, and Grant Administrators’ Association.

Service-Learning Northwest publishes a service-learning newsletter three times a year for OSPI. They also provide service-learning trainings and publication support statewide. Washington hosted the National Service-Learning Conference in 1992 (Everett) and 2002 (Seattle).

Sharing Tools

The Washington Commission for National and Community Service (WCNCS) has published High Impact Project Manuals [1] on six themes (Diversity, Environment, Sober Minded, Social Justice, Tobacco Prevention, and Youth Action & Advocacy) for programs that use service-learning as part of a culminating project.

OSPI offers on its website many resources to strengthen youth leadership. See also [[The Freechild Project, Project Service-Leadership, and Service Learning Seattle, in addition to other organizations have published numerous service-learning guides and curricula.

Policy Support

More recently, Learn and Serve is helping No Child Left Behind staff at the state level to recognize the value of service-learning as an implementation strategy in many areas. Staff for Title I, Title IV, and Title V are particularly supportive.

Beginning in 2008, high school seniors must complete a culminating project to graduate. Oftentimes, these projects will have a strong service or service-learning component. However, it is for each district to decide whether such a component should be mandatory. Learn and Serve has made mini-grants available for this purpose. Learn and Serve has been working with the Washington Commission on National and Community Service Unified State Plan to mobilize AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps, and others to ensure that these students have adequate support from the community for this graduation requirement. Service-learning opportunities will strengthen the civics components of the program. For example, AmeriCorps applicants must state how their site will support the 2008 culminating project graduation requirement. Washington’s 2000-2003 CHESP grant supported work to link service-learning with civics education and the coming senior project requirement through state-wide best practices workshops.

Learn and Serve

In 2008, Washington received three types of Learn and Serve grants: two school-based grants, three higher education grants, and a portion of a national community-based grant distributed to two YMCA subgrantees. Statewide and across all grant programs, over 30,000 students participate in service-learning.

Beth Kelly, Learn and Serve Specialist in the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, serves as SEA and manages one of the state's two school-based grants. The state office offers two types of a grants: a $10,000-$15,000 first-year Implementation Grant and a $4,000-$6,000 mini-grant. As of 2008, 16 subgrantees received state-managed funds over a three-year grant cycle. A new cycle begins in spring/summer 2009. [2]

OSPI targets its Learn and Serve sub-grants to strengthen service-learning practice at both individual schools and district-wide. For example, grant recipients must extend service-learning across grades or across schools within a district over the three-year life of the grant. Currently, OSPI seeks to broaden its own support by creating five regional service-learning support networks at a rate of one per year.

Since 2006, the state's other school-based grant has been run through the Coalition of Essential Schools Northwest. The grant seeks to "implement service-learning across all of the disciplines, develop formal partnerships with community groups to address community needs, and increasing academic engagement of students" by providing subgrants to eight small schools across the state. [3]

The state's $1,094,741 in higher education grants fund Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington Campus Compact at Western Washington University, and the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health program. Roughly 3,100 participants are involved in these programs.

Youth Contributions

A Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC) was established in 2005. It works with legislators on bills pertaining to youths. Members also receive training on the legislative process. The Council is made up of 22 people aged 14 to 18 and meets up to six times a year.

The state also presents an annual Volunteer Award to a young person who has shown outstanding commitment towards service or service-learning.

Examples of Quality Service-Learning

References

  • ^   "High School Senior Culminating Project". The Washington Commission for National and Community Service. Retrieved August 20, 2008 from http://www.ofm.wa.gov/servewa/gradproject/default.asp
  • ^  "About CES." Coalition of Essential Schools Northwest. Retrieved July 3, 2008 from http://www.cesnorthwest.org/about.php.
  • Cairn, Rich and Neal, Marybeth. 2004. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2004. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.
  • ^  Washington Learn and Serve. "Frequently Asked Questions." Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved July 3, 2008.

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