Florescent lights glow overhead, and I am sitting in a pee-wee sized kindergarten chair in a tiny circle of kindergarteners. Squirming and wiggling in their seats, we are all enjoying our small reading group. It is a Friday morning for both Lakeland Elementary School and Quest Early College High School (QECHS). Every Friday morning, all Quest students have the opportunity to participate in hands-on service learning out in the community. I personally was an aide in an elementary school classroom, but students have the opportunity to volunteer at various service sites, from retirement homes to food pantries.
Quest’s service learning model is superb, because every single student at Quest is required to participate in service learning. On Friday mornings, Quest students arrive at QECHS and take attendance, and then they board school buses and are transported to their service sites. Quest students will typically spend two and a half to three hours volunteering Friday mornings at their service site.
Why is so much time allotted to volunteering and service learning?
Because Quest feels that service learning develops invaluable character traits and life skills. Encouraging students to develop relationships in their community means that they will feel invested in their community, and it means that my peers and I feel connected and valuable to our world. Additionally, Quest’s service learning means that students learn such workplace and life skills as communication and punctuality because it is expected of them in a real-world situation every single Friday.
All schools could benefit from the lessons that service learning at Quest teaches, but executing such a service learning program is difficult in large schools. Quest’s service learning works because of our dedicated staff and small student population –there are 275-300 Quest students. In a school with upwards of 3, ooo students, bussing the entire school population out into the community is complicated.
My question are: what is the alternative for such large high schools as Bellaire and Kingwood?
Can such civic engagement and community activism be fostered in these large environments?
Maybe these lessons are already being taught in large high schools? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Another great post, Micaela. I’m glad you raised the question about large high schools since we have so many readers who are students from those schools…I wonder what their thoughts about service learning are.
Thank you Candelario! I am wondering also. I would love to hear if service sounds like something they would want to do!
I love your blog post…Quest students are very fortunate to have access to life changing learning experiences that service-learning can create. Your question of how to take this to scale is so very important, and the answer is complicated…but I hope we all understand that complicated and hard doesn’t mean wrong or not worth it.
Hi Micaela, I had a chance to visit Quest HS this year and saw the innovative work they’re doing with the Service Learning initiative – quite impressive! I think it’s a great way to prepare the seniors for the real world job market.
Thank you Erika! I agree
Micaela, I applaud you and the students and staff of Quest for continuing with the service learning that was begun in 1995 when I was on the staff at Quest. We were such staunch believers in its value that we teachers got our commercial drivers licenses so we could drive the school buses to our sites. This is the truest and noblest form of learning while benefiting your community. Also, great article explaining the rationale of service learning!
Ms. Arnold, Wow! Your story is the kind that makes me feel so proud and fortunate to be a student at Quest where we have had such dedicated teachers since the very beginning of the school! Thank you for believing in and promoting service at Quest, it means that my peers and I get to continue to experience the life-changing and positive impact of service, as does our community! I cannot say thank you enough!
I really do love the idea of service learning, Micaela, but the question of how to bring it to a larger student population does seem daunting. Should schools be responsible for transporting students, or should parents and students assume transportation responsibility? How would administrators follows up on whether or not students were fulfilling all of their obligations? For that matter, how many administrators would be needed to properly oversee this learning? How would organizations report back to the school regarding student performance? What would the process look like for reporting complaints? (God forbid!)
I now have a lot to think about while I make dinner, Micaela! ; )
Ms. Sabatini, I am glad you enjoyed my post and that it provided some food for thought! :p
As to your question regarding monitoring student performance, I know that Quest uses a sort of survey system. When students go out to service, they are assigned a “service partner”. The service partner is the student’s connection to the community and source of guidance in terms of service work to be performed. For example, when I volunteered in a kindergarten classroom, the teacher of that classroom was my service partner, and it was my job to support her and the class in whatever way possible. At the end of every semester, my service partner was emailed a questionnaire by Quest’s Service Learning Facilitator regarding my performance as a volunteer. Additionally, Quest teachers regularly visit service sites to check-in on Quest student involvement.
I think that a similar system could work in a large high school, but it would take dedication to maintain the personal relationships between service partners and the school. When you take into account the large number of students, that equals more service partners, that means more work for the Service Learning Facilitator, who I would assume would need additional support. So it is all about support and determination on part of the large high school. As my English teacher says, “You gotta want it!” Unfortunately, this is just one part of the puzzle, I am still imaging trying to organize 3,000 teenagers into service sites! Its like a nightmare!
Awesome job, Micaela.