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…

Alternative schools can provide all students, especially those with challenging behaviors, low motivation, poor attendance, failing grades, or those afraid to even walk into the school building, with an engaging and enriching educational experience. Through designing, leading, and serving students as an administrator of an alternative middle…

This article provides an overview of the use of service learning in the middle schools as a way to instill and foster civic responsibility and citizenship in students. In addition to a discussion about service learning's major aspects, the authors provide concrete examples of how to implement service learning across the curriculum in middle school…

Harmony Middle School educators recently undertook a project that combined poetry and real-service action for students. The students worked with a published poet and wrote beautiful poems and then blogged with art students in the district. The art students made ceramic bowls that represented the poems. The combined project was done for True Light,…

New school buildings often grab headlines that highlight their green features and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, yet nearly 90% of schools in the United States were built before 1985, with the largest portion built from 1950-69 to accommodate the baby boom generation (National Clearinghouse for Educational…

Winthrop Middle School's cafeteria had three paintings on the wall in which the paint was fading and the plaster was falling off. Many students wanted a change since the paintings had been there for over 15 years. This situation seemed appropriate for a service learning project for this Winthrop, Maine middle school. After the students reviewed…

Although critical ethnographers have explored in some depth the ways that social critique informs how youth assess their schooling experiences, the implications of social critique by educators themselves have been of much less interest. Yet, numerous professional educational movements have been wrought from social critique or, at the very least,…

How often have teachers tried to connect middle school science to students' lives only to lack an idea or a vehicle for making the connection? Service learning can provide that kind of a link for students. It is a teaching and learning method that combines meaningful community service with academics, personal growth, and civic responsibility. It…

C. Wright Mills Middle School uses a project-based curriculum and service learning to prepare students for participatory democracy. Two challenges are to develop academic skills through experiential education and to avoid indoctrination. (SK)

This resource guide outlines 18 service-learning projects throughout the United States focused on middle schools. Listed, in each case, are the project's description, sponsoring organization, the objectives, the project's framework, training information, materials, and ordering information. (BT)

Preservice teachers, social workers, and counselors studied resilience while performing service-learning projects in Wisconsin elementary/middle schools. Middle school teachers conducted service-learning projects in their classrooms. The college students gained valuable knowledge about teaching and ways to foster resilience in children. (SK)

4-H Youth for Community Action (4-HYCA) is an after-school leadership development program targeting teens in inner-city middle schools. The program provides opportunities for inner-city youth to learn and practice leadership skills in a service-learning environment. 4-HYCA participants actively engage in problem-solving activities that teach…

Describes how service learning can link to the middle school curriculum to strengthen the learning of various skills and concepts. Presents service learning model involving preparation, action, reflection, and recognition. Includes examples of effective infusion of service learning into units, lessons, and projects. Concludes with recommendations…

Describes benefits of service learning for middle school students. Describes the Community Problem Solving (CPS) Program, a competitive program in which students use the creative problem- solving process to identify community problems and develop and implement solutions. Differentiates community problem solving from other service learning…

Describes service learning, and how it can inject relevance and meaning into the middle school curriculum. Offers an example of service learning with an environmental focus. Discusses the extended benefits of service learning, arguing that it provides meaningful learning contexts that support instruction in the formal classroom setting, and meets…