The Power of Service Learning

“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.”

– Benjamin Franklin

Each year, millions of youth interact with isolated senior citizens, help people with disabilities to meet basic needs, teach toddlers, mobilize citizens to reduce environmental impact, tutor, cook and serve food, speak out for social causes, help peers resist drugs, organize blood drives, food drives and health fairs, fold, staple, assemble, answer phones, and assist in most any way . . . .

New Century Academy is committed to the value of Service Learning, requiring a service learning experience as criteria for graduation. We are eager to cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, and cultivate each Service Learning opportunity and look forward to working with our students as they link their service learning experience to learning more about themselves, about community agencies and issues and develop a broader understanding of social and global problems our society faces. The Service Learning component is a part of the senior portfolio requirement.

The Steps of Service Learning at NCA

  1. Prepare: identify student participants (students are assigned to service learning during their senior year, in some cases, students may complete this requirement during the spring of their junior year or during the summer months between their junior and senior year)
  2. Partner: match students with meaningful service learning opportunities
  3. Action: the activity of learning the service (25 hours of learning)
  4. Reflection: critical thinking from student
  5. Celebration: recognition of student contributions and efforts involved
  6. Evaluation: integrated throughout experience – student performance, overall impact of experience

When the experience is successfully completed, students will have had the opportunity to look at what they have learned about themselves and what they have learned about community agencies and the service they provide. Finally, students will have the opportunity to understand the relationship between local action (their own service as they move on to horizons beyond high school) and global concerns and the power they possess to make the world a better place.

– Service Learning Advisor, Barb Haugen