Join NYLC in Advancing
Service-Learning
With President Obama's recent signing of the Kennedy Serve America Act, service and service-learning are likely to expand considerably. Recently, the Corporation for National and Community Service held six regional listening sessions across the nation seeking input on how to expand opportunities for all Americans to serve; focus on important national outcomes; be catalysts for social innovation; and support the nonprofit sector, building on the strengths of federal and private programs.
We at NYLC are hoping to send a united message to the Administration and CNCS about the implementation of the new Kennedy law. Please get involved by joining in an upcoming conference call this week or by offering written testimony via email.
Conference Calls: June 2, 4, & 5, noon to 1:30 p.m. ET.
Register to participate!
Written Testimony: Submit a statement supporting the goals for implementation, revising the talking points below to reflect your experiences. (Please send a copy of your statement to NYLC and let us know if you have called so we can gauge the impact of NYLC supporters!)
Talking Points:
- When implementing the new Kennedy Serve America Act, please require that the curriculum and programming be based on the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. A distinction must be made in federal legislation between service and service-learning; the research supports high-quality service-learning delivered by trained teachers leading to academic gains for students. Service-learning can be integrated into any grade level and into any classroom experience and discipline. School-wide institutionalization of service-learning, with support from district administration, is optimal. (For a copy of the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice, go to www.nylc.org/standards; for a list of service-learning related research, visit www.nylc.org/g2g).
- Encourage schools to provide professional development for educators. While teachers may receive exposure to service-learning during pre-service training, schools can also partner with a nonprofit organization to receive ongoing professional development. With the prevalence of online training, teachers can also access cost-efficient trainings to enhance their classroom skills. (If you are a member of the Generator School Network, please mention how this online community will help you in your classroom. To learn more about the GSN, visit: http://gsn.nylc.org.)
- Additional AmeriCorps members are key to the growth and success of service-learning. We encourage the new rules to require that these new Corps members be trained as service-learning coordinators and placed in schools. These coordinators should receive online training on the high-quality service-learning standards, join an online community to support their efforts, receive professional development themselves, learn how to assess the service-learning endeavors in their school, and access evidence-based service-learning curriculum.
Please do not hesitate to contact NYLC for further information.
Sincerely,
Kari Arfstrom
karfstrom@nylc.org
NYLC Vice President of Policy, Development and Marketing
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