1. Service-Learning Contact Information
2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet
A complete PDF version of Allegany's Service-Learning Implementation Plan is available below.
• Implementation Plan • Form • Chart • FAQ • Unit
A summary of key elements of the plan is below.
Service-Learning has been infused into the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade discipline areas. Students will have a chance to earn hours in Creative Arts, English, Math, Physical Education/ Health, Science and/or Social Studies. The 75 hours of Service-Learning required for high school graduation will be counted when students successfully complete 9th grade. Students will receive hours in the following ways:
· 6th grade – 30 hours - 20 hours will be completed through participating in North Bay Adventure Camp and the additional 10 hours can be completed through various subject areas.
· 7th grade – 15 hours can be completed through various subject areas.
· 8th grade – 15 hours can be completed through various subject areas.
· 9th grade – 15 hours can be completed through various subject areas.
Students who wish to advance their Service-Learning opportunities can do so starting in their 6th grade year. In high school, students are encouraged to continue performing service for their school and community. If students complete a total of 132 hours beyond the initial 75 required service-learning hours, they will qualify for the Service-Learning Elective Credit and other awards of recognition
Reporting: Teachers are to enter service-learning information and hours into our new online tracker that will export the hours into our AS400 program. The AS400 program then generates the hours onto the final report cards stating how many hours the student has completed.
The statement on the report card at the end of the school year:
____ ____ has earned (30/30, 45/45, 60/60, 75/75- depending on the grade) required service-learning hours during the ___ ___ school year.
Transfer Policy: Service-Learning hours will be pro-rated for students transferring into Allegany County Public Schools from private or out of state schools after the start of the sophomore year. Transfer Policy: 6th grade: 75 hours; 7th grade: 45 hours; 8th grade: 30 hours: 9th grade: 15 hours; 10th grade: 15 hours; 11th grade: 15 hours; 12th grade 1st semester: 15 hours; 12th grade 2nd semester: 5 hours. Students who transfer in from another county will be guided by the guidance counselor and supported by the teachers to fulfill the required hours. All completed hours will be accepted for transfers from other in-state counties.
3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)
Roberta Clarke, 1997, Washington Middle School (Home Economics), 301-777-5360
My students worked throughout the year making pillow cases and tote bags for the local shelter, as well as participating in fundraising drives for the shelter. We are replicating the Kids Sew For Kids model program. I am also infusing service into my grade 8 classes through a unit on aging.
W. D., 1998, Westmar High School (English), 301-463-5751
High school students tutor elementary school students:
Meet a recognized need in the community: About 30 high school students tutor elementary school students in two elementary schools. The students being tutored have learning difficulties or special learning needs. We have found placing ten to fifteen tutors in any one school to be the most efficient as any more creates an overcrowding problem.
Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning: Students are able to apply basic knowledge accumulated during their school experiences. Students reflect, synthesize and analyze while working on service-learning projects.
Reflection throughout service-learning experience: Students are required to keep a learning log for the children they tutor and this log is handed in at the end of each session. Two one hour sessions are provided each week for approximately thirty weeks of the school year.
Develop student responsibility: Tutors learn to communicate effectively with elementary students, ask for needed help from supervising elementary teachers, and to keep the high school advisor informed of any times they may need to be absent. Tutors are also responsible for remaining with the child until the parents arrive to take the child home.
Establish community partnerships: Parents of elementary students provide the school with information concerning their child's progress. P.T.A.s are most supportive of the tutors and of the tutoring program. There is excellent communication between teachers from the elementary school and the high school advisor to the tutors.
Plan ahead for service-learning: The tutoring advisor meets several times with the students interested in being tutors to inform each student of the importance of the task. An elementary student tends to become possessive of the tutor and can become upset if that tutor fails to attend a session without warning. Confidentiality is strongly stressed by the advisor and supervising teachers at the elementary schools.
Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service: The supervising elementary teachers present two hour-long workshops for the student tutors before the actual tutoring begins. These teachers are also present at each session for support. The high school advisor for the tutors visits the elementary school during the tutoring sessions at least once every two weeks.
Bonnie Humbertson, 1998, Washington Middle School (Reading), 301-777-5360
I'm the service-learning coordinator at my school. Our 8th grade students adopt Friends Aware patients (mentally handicapped adults) who have no contact with family at all. Students make cards, tree ornaments, placemats and seasonal decorations for them and personalize them to let them know someone cares. Letters and thinking of you notes are also sent to them. The purpose of the program is to make students aware of differences in people and that differences are okay because everyone is special.
Michael Lewis, 1996, 301-777-2375, mlewis@miworld.net
"The Homeless Project." We spend one month in preparational action leading to "The Sleepout." We not only created a new awareness of homelessness and its poverty, but we raised over $20,000 in clothing, food, and cash. These items were distributed directly to the poor.
Barbara Rinehart, 1999, Fort Hill High (English I, Student Service), (301) 777-2570
As the service-learning coordinator at my school, I pair students with local and national organizations in order to help students find service opportunities suited to their individual needs.
Jeannette Rinehart, 1998, Flintstone School (PE/Health), 301-478-2434
I'm the service-learning coordinator at my school. In the past, we've organized a Health Fair for the community and a Senior Citizens Day for the school.
Tammy Twigg, 2007, Allegany High School (government), 301-777-8110, tammytwigg@allconet.org
My students and community have recognized the need for citizen involvement to help revitalize and rejuvenate our local neighborhoods. Let’s Beautify Cumberland Day is a collaborative effort between our local County United Way, businesses, and schools that teaches our students about the importance of a clean environment and the positive impact that humans can have on the environment. My students became involved when I contacted our local Board of Education and I asked about my students becoming involved because this event tied into our Voluntary State Curriculum and the Core Learning Goals for government. This was a terrific hands-on activity that allowed me to teach my students about the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air Act. This annual event allows the community and our students to come together and help clean up blighted neighborhoods.
Best Practice 1: What recognized community need was met by your project (e.g. health, education, environmental or public safety need)?
In August of 1996, a grassroots organization started Let’s Beautify Cumberland Day. My students realized that our community has many neighborhoods that are dirty and poorly kept. Our school is located within the city limits and students walking and riding the bus go through these decaying neighborhoods in order to get to school. Almost 59% of residents in our community are low to moderate income according to the 2000 Census. Overcrowding is a major concern for our area. Allegany County has taken the lead in trying to restore the natural environment.
Best Practice 2: How was the project connected to school curriculum (e.g. what course outcomes were met and/or how did the project reinforce or enhance student academic learning)?
This project falls in line with the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum and Core Learning Goals for government. Students are learning about environmental concerns and the impact that people and industry have on the environment. Students are also introduced to the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). My students also collaborated with other agencies and our local government. They witnessed the process of how a grassroots organization can mobilize an entire community. My students worked with the community and its citizens to help renew a sense of pride. Our neighborhoods and community worked together for the benefit of everyone.
Best Practice 3: How did you reflect on your experience throughout the project?
Let’s Beautify Cumberland was started by a grassroots organization that was fed up with the blighted properties and junk cars that were lining our city streets. By working with the Day of Caring and Sharing through our local County United Way, several businesses, both profit and nonprofit, we worked together to help clean up our neighborhoods.
Our students live in these neighborhoods and their parents work in these neighborhoods. They realize the impact that people can have on the environment. Our community has several industrial sites that dump waste and raw sewage into the Potomac River. The small city of Cumberland has in itself removed 362 junked cars from city streets. After participating in the event for the first time and witnessing the impact first hand, students agreed that this is a project that should continue year after year. To further enhance the learning and reflect on our experiences, students will take a trip to Washington D.C. so they can tour our Federal Government’s Environmental Protection Agency.
Best Practice 4: How did students take leadership roles and take responsibility for the success of the project?
Students connected with the neighborhood coordinators and the County United Way and created several designated areas that would be cleaned up. The students identified the tools and materials needed for those sites. Students were extremely excited because during the 2006 clean up, their school site was selected as an area to be worked on. The students planted flowers, spread mulch, and picked up trash near and around the school. The students choose and planned where they were going to plant flowers and arrange flower beds.
Best Practice 5: What community partners did you work with on this project (e.g. non-profits, civic organizations, business that provided donations, etc.)?
The entire community has made this event very successful for the past several years. Our students have partnered with the local County United Way, our local mayor and city council, the local board of elections, Congressman Bartlett’s District Office, our local management board, Friends Aware, the Y.M.C.A, and our local volunteer center. In addition, numerous businesses donated plants, mulch, shovels, tools, and people for this annual event.
Best Practice 6: How did you prepare and plan ahead for the project?
The students learned in class about the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air Act. We then identified spots that we would like to beautify in our community. We then contacted the County United Way and the local volunteer center to set up the equipment, plans, and supplies that we would need delivered to our work sites. The students devised a plan of action and each group worked on cleaning or planting flowers for that designated area. All of the students enjoyed, and were proud of, their work.
Best Practice 7: What knowledge and skills did students develop through this project?
Existing elements of the government curriculum were brought to life for students through the service-learning project. They learned about the EPA and Clean Air Act, and my students learned that the impact of people’s actions can have a positive or negative effect on the environment. When the community takes pride in its neighborhoods, there is a ripple effect and other people and communities become involved in helping to clean up their cities and towns. Frostburg State University students and faculty have also joined the effort and are conducting clean ups of their community and ours. Community involvement is a life skill that can be passed from one generation to the next. By getting involved in community clean up projects, students learn about the impact every individual has on the environment.
Daniel Whetzel, 1997, Allegany High School (World History, Economics), 301-777-8110
Students construct cardboard shelters in preparation for the "Homeless Project." They are also required to collect articles of clothing, food or cash donations to participate in the sleep out. All money and donated items are directly distributed to local residents.
Brian White, 2000, Allegany High School (Social Studies), 301-777-8110, Briantwhite@excite.com
In social studies seminar class, students wrote a book on the history of theaters in Allegany County. The intent of the project was to capture a moment of our local history before it is lost forever and to provide companionship for local senior citizens.
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Meet a recognized need in the community: The students were performing an invaluable service to the community by valuing the contributions of older citizens in Allegany County as they were interviewed for the book. The students were also doing a service to the community by compiling and publishing a history of the community.
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Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning: The students were involved in researching, writing, and constructing books on the history of theaters in Allegany County. The students also interviewed many of the senior citizens in Allegany County.
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Reflect throughout service-learning experience: The students reflected on their findings and discussed the importance and relevance of exploring history.
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Develop student responsibility: The students were responsible for gathering information by researching, interviewing, and networking.
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Establish community partnerships: Partnerships were created with members of the community who provided valuable information to the students. Many individuals have helped set up additional interviews and some have provided additional contacts to the students.A partnership was also created with Jan Alterton, editor of the Cumberland Times, who published several of the students' articles in the paper.
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Plan ahead for the service-learning: To prepare for the project students signed up for the seminar and met over the summer to develop a work plan. The students researched and developed a list of theaters in Allegany County. They also developed a list of people who could be interviewed for the project.
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Equip students with knowledge and skills need for service: The students learned effective researching, interviewing, and writing skills.