Service-Learning in Harford County

Sections:

2. Fact Sheet

3. Fellows

Contact the designated MSSA Regional Coordinator with questions, or to update information on this page.

1. Service-Learning Contact Information

2. Service-Learning Fact Sheet

Curricular-connection of service-learning into ALL subject areas as an application of knowledge (Dimension 4 of DOL). A student service-learning semester-long course is available during the senior year for transfer students or any interested students.

Breakdown: Curricular connected service-learning into all subject areas and courses middle school through high school. At the middle school level, interdisciplinary service-learning projects are carried out.

Reporting: service-learning progress noted on report card, but hours are not tracked or recorded.

Transfer Policy: students have met the service-learning requirement if they attend HCPS for any three years, grades 6 - 12. They offer a course for students who transfer during high school years.

3. Teacher Fellows (see overview)

1998: Primary Election Day occurred soon after school started in September. Voter turn out was 30%. As we discussed this in class students decided to initiate various activities to increase voter turn out. We also decided to include activities to promote student voting as our county is involved in a program called Kids Voting which hopes to get al students to the polls on General Election Day. Hopefully voter turn out will increase and students will go to the polls due to our many activities.

1996:"Honoring Our Veterans" is a service-learning project in which the students go and thank the veterans of the community and Perry Point Hospital for their service to our country. Students visit the hospital with gifts (ie. homemade poster cards). In honor of the veterans of the school community, cards were mailed, veterans were interviewed, a wall of heroes display and posters were displayed in businesses throughout the community. The American Legion was also presented with posters and cards. The students will also be speaking via phone contact to the troops serving in Bosnia.

Linn Griffiths, 1997, C. Milton Wright High School, 410-638-4110, linngriffiths@hotmail.com

Since 2000, biology classes at C. Milton Wright High School have grown submerged aquatic vegetation known as wild celery in their classrooms as part of the "Grasses in Classes" project sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Grasses are planted by students in the Bay to help improve the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, environmental science classes test water quality of local streams in the Bynum Run Watershed, compile and interpret the results, and write reports with their findings to the Maryland Department of the Environment and Maryland Save Our Streams. Best practices:

• This project met critical environmental needs related to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
• As part of the issue investigation and service-learning component of the Biology curriculum, students spent a few weeks this spring investigating the importance, problems and restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAVs) to the Chesapeake Bay. The student learned what the best conditions are for the growth of wild celery, an important but dwindling SAV, and grew them in containers for several weeks.
• For the Bay Grasses in classes project, the students did reflective journal entries for homework and then wrote a final reflective essay and selected ones were sent off to all parties invloved. For the water quality testing, students also wrote nightly reflective journal entries and a final reflective essay which was also sent to the parties involved.
• Each day the students took turns monitoring the temperature, water depth, and overall condition of the growth chambers. Every Friday, tests were run on pH, nitrate, and carbonate hardness on the chambers to monitor progress. This information, as well as the height measurements of the plants, was faxed to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources where the information was analyzed, compiled and posted on the DNR website. On May 5th, fifteen volunteer students traveled to Rocky Point State Park in Essex where they participated in several activities such as seining in the Bay for biodiversity and planting the grasses the class had grown. The students waded into chest-deep water and dove to plant the grasses. Although wet and muddy, the students felt great pride in helping with the restoration of the severely depleted SAV beds which are so vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
• The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources were critical partners in this project.
• We established partnerships with those noted above well in advance of this project. Partners provided many resources so we could engage in this activity. We also needed to arrange for a skipjack trip which helped prepare students to carry out the project.
• Students spent a day aboard the skipjack Martha Lewis of Havre de Grace where they dredged and identified SAVs as well as analyzed the water quality in which they live. Also on board, they learned about the many organisms which depend upon the SAVs to survive.

Patricia Ritz, 1999, Bel Air Middle School (Math, SEM), (410) 638-4140

In my service experience, I have led students as individuals, classes and teams in service projects dealing with issues such as care of the elderly and/or disabled, protecting endangered species, and aiding hurricane victims.

Michael Daniel, 2002, Bel Air High School, 410-638-4600

This service-learning project, which continually produces outstanding reactions from students, is the soup kitchen portion of the social issues project in my senior government classes. Students select an issue, research the topic, then carry out a service project on the topic.

Best Practice 1: Students address various community needs through individual or group projects. Students who choose poverty or hunger as a topic go to a nearby soup kitchen to help prepare and serve lunch. I can take four students on the first Wednesday of each month. I then ask the students to extend the activity in some way. Frequently the students organize a collection drive of some sort. In addition to receiving lunch, each "customer" of the soup kitchen is invited to take home a bag of groceries. Students collect things to supplement this (i.e. seasonal clothing items, personal care items, or a type of food not often donated).

Best Practice 2: Each student in my government class chooses a social issue to research. The focus of the project is on the way laws and government programs meet (or don't meet) community needs. I then work with the students to find a service opportunity that will give them a real world perspective of the problem they are studying.

Best Practice 3: Throughout the project the students keep a journal of their activities. When the students return to class after their service, they share their experience. In the class discussion, we talk about who needs the kitchen's services and why. We also discuss government's role and why private groups such as churches are often involved. Prior to the experience, the students usually have very strong stereotypes about the appearance and personality of a poor person. Watching their reactions as the stereotypes start to break down is always rewarding. Even students with unusually broad experiences gain a new perspective about poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. Most importantly, the students begin to understand that if a relatively wealthy county like ours has a significant need, the scope of the problem nationally is much larger than they ever imagined.

Best Practice 4: Students are responsible for most aspects of this project. They must select their research topics and service experiences. They are required to report on their progress.

Best Practice 5: Various community agencies are partners in the project during the research and service phases (e.g. the local soup kitchen).

Best Practice 6: This experience is built into my curriculum and planned for accordingly.

Best Practice 7: As noted above, students research the social issue before they begin their service projects. Before we go to the soup kitchen, I give the students a short explanation of how the program works and what their duties will be that day. At the end of the semester, students write an essay summarizing their efforts.