Student Service Learning links academic learning with student service that benefits the community.  Service learning projects must include academic preparation, service activities and structured reflection.   Service learning projects can be direct (ex: helping serve the homeless at a soup kitchen), indirect (ex: planning a fundraiser to donate proceeds to the local food bank), or advocacy (ex: creating and presenting information to the community about homelessness).  Prior to starting the action portion of your project it is a good idea to have a teacher, parent, and/or guidance counselor review your project idea and preparation with you. 

 

MSDE Service-Learning Guidelines

 

WHAT COUNTS:

• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to directly address human needs in areas such as health, education, the environment, or public safety, even if done in conjunction with a religiously affiliated agency or institution
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to collect food, clothing, or other items necessary to benefit others and meet human needs, even if done in conjunction with a religiously affiliated agency or institution
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to implement voter education activities that express views on particular legislation by way of letters, meetings with elected officials, testimony before governmental bodies, work with political candidates, and/or activities that provide information to voters about current issues
•  Any service-learning activity whose purpose is to serve the local school community itself and which meets the service-learning standards articulated in Maryland’s Seven Best Practices of Service-Learning

 

WHAT DOES NOT COUNT:

·         Any service-learning activity that violates federal or state law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, or disability

• Any service-learning activity that compensates a student with money, goods, or services such that the service-learning activity is performed in expectation of both the service-learning credit and the money, goods, or services
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to convert others to a particular religious, moral, or spiritual view and/or which denigrates the religious, moral, or spiritual views of others
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to help prepare and/or participate in the performance of a religious service
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to serve the student’s own family and which does not extend the benefit of the service to other families in need
• Any service-learning activity that is done independently by the student without adequate preparation or reflection components as verified by designated school personnel or, in the absence of such designated personnel, by the school Principal
• Any service-learning activity that replaces a paid staff worker of the participating agency or institution with a student earning service-learning credit
• Any service-learning activity whose chief purpose is to increase the amount of revenue for a private, for profit business or to generate new revenue for that business