This chapter discusses the impact of COVID on academic service-learning curriculum and how online course quality assessment can inform improvements to face-to-face courses with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The authors share their perspectives on applying assessment techniques developed during the pandemic to promote equity in…

St. HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Excellence) has embraced the character education movement and worked tirelessly to become a National School of Character. There is a commitment to relevant, student-driven service learning that develops every facet of their scholars' burgeoning identities, experiences that truly cultivate the whole child. St. HOPE…

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that annually engages millions of Americans in service and volunteering at more than 50,000 sites across the country. Senior Corps and AmeriCorps members play a vital role in helping communities design and implement locally determined, results-driven, cost-effective…

This report summarises findings from inspections and other evaluative activities carried out by Education Scotland over the period January 2012 to June 2016. It seeks to draw out some of the key features and trends that we have seen as education providers have sought to develop and improve their services over that period of time. During the period…

Urban and metropolitan areas face unique challenges in serving the multifaceted needs of their communities, but also have advantages that create some of the world's greatest universities. Three scholars opened the 2017 CUMU [Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities] Annual Conference with "Voices from the Field." Each spoke to…

The DEAL model of critical reflection (Ash & Clayton, 2009a) was explicitly designed to help improve the quality of learning and practice in applied learning. Heretofore, the DEAL model has been used at the level of the individual student or faculty member as learner. To improve understanding and implementation of critical reflection in a…

Dr. James Kielsmeier, founder of the National Youth Leadership Council, uses the history of service-learning as the foundation for the introductory article of this issue. In his article, Dr. Kielsmeier defines service-learning, explores current challenges schools have integrating service-learning within the school day, discusses the need and…

When Adam Fletcher was hired as the student engagement specialist for Washington state's education department 10 years ago, it didn't take him long to realize how difficult his newly created job would prove. Fletcher said no one was talking about the roles of students other than as learners, and they laughed out loud at the proposal of students…

Cross-generational learning teams that bring together novice teachers with veteran teachers would address problems at both ends of the teacher pipeline--and benefit student learning at the same time. In this cross-generational learning team, each member brings different skills to support a child's learning--some bring deep science content…

What is service-learning and how can students and community benefit from it? With the pressure of covering all of the content, passing tests, meeting standards and making AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), how is it realistically feasible to make learning more meaningful so that students are able to take it and utilize it in real life? There is no…

Briscoe's article explains how PennServe, Pennsylvania's youth service program, converts young people from a problem to a community resource of which to be proud. Silcox explains various facets of a Philadelphia high school's PennServe program and shows how school-based service has changed attitudes, values, and relationships and enlivened…

Educators in Springfield, Massachusetts, see connections between the current school reform agenda and their own program of Community Service Learning. Staff see the program as a way to increase student learning, enrich the curriculum, and foster the spirit of caring and lifetime service. (MLH)

University of Pennsylvania professor Lee Benton saw fire-ravaged city blocks in Philadelphia as an opportunity to involve the university in remaking K-12 education. Penn successfully initiated various community-outreach programs, focusing on building a community school and encouraging cooperation between college students and neighborhoods. (MLH)

This newsletter focuses on the importance of reading and writing skills in all educational and career pathways. It includes a variety of strategies for integrating reading and writing skills across the curriculum--in academic, career/technical and fine arts courses--in ways that improve student achievement in reading and writing and in the content…

Hudson, Massachusetts, an industry-based, socioeconomically diverse community with 2,800 students in six schools, developed a comprehensive preK-12 service-learning program. Parent support, ongoing professional development, curriculum planning time, administrative support, and sustained funding have helped the program achieve districtwide…