Washington D.C. - When the new school year begins, more than a million students will participate in service-learning programs funded by grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Learn and Serve America, the office within the Corporation that oversees service-learning grants, today announced $40 million in grants for the 2003-2004 school year. The grants, which go educational agencies, schools, institutions of higher education, and faith-based and community groups, will support 2,300 local projects that promote community service by school-age students while helping to enhance their academic and civic skills. To see the list of grants, please click here.

"These grants will foster high-quality service for students while helping to build the next generation of active, engaged citizens," said Amy Cohen, director of Learn and Serve America. "Service-learning is a proven method of achieving that goal."

Service-learning is an approach to education that links community service to academic achievement while also teaching students about our country's civic institutions and traditions. For example, students in a fifth-grade history class may visit seniors at a local nursing home, gather their personal histories, write up the accounts in class, and present them to the seniors. The students improve their writing skills and learn about local or national history, while the seniors benefit from interacting with the students and sharing their experiences. According to Department of Education statistics, about one-third of all K-12 students in the United States participate in service-learning programs.

Learn and Serve America has awarded grants in the following categories:

• Formula grants to state education agencies Approximately $20 million in grants is to be distributed to 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. States use the funds to make service part of academic curriculum and to support training of teachers and service-learning coordinators who incorporate service into academic settings.
   
• Higher education grants Approximately $10.5 million will be awarded to individual colleges as well as to statewide or national consortia, supporting about 250 local projects. These grants help colleges fulfill their civic mission by supporting the development of courses, extracurricular programs, and faculty research designed to meet community needs and carry out partnerships with their surrounding communities. In addition, many projects enable universities to employ Federal Work-Study students in community-serving roles.
   
• School-based competitive programs: More than $4 million was awarded to school-based programs to support the integration of service into K-12 academic curriculum in a manner that enhances achievement of academic standards while fostering civic responsibility and knowledge. The grants will support two model programs: Linking History, Civics and Service; and Community, Higher Education, School Partnerships (CHESP). These programs are expected to become exemplary models for replication by other schools. The first program is designed to help students couple service with the community and enhance their civic knowledge. CHESP will bring three key local institutions together-community-based organizations, higher education, and schools-to develop sustainable partnerships that will meet community needs over the long haul.
   
• Community-based programs The Corporation awarded nearly $4.8 million for 17 grants that will support approximately 150 local programs. These community groups operate service-learning programs primarily in after-school, weekend, and summer hours.
   
• Indian Tribes and U.S. Territories Approximately $700,000 was awarded to seven Indian Tribe programs and to one U.S. Territory, Guam, to provide school-based service-learning programs.

Learn and Serve America is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and AmeriCorps. In addition to making grants, Learn and Serve America serves as a national resource on service-learning to teachers, faculty members, schools, and community groups.

The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans the President's call to service

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