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(Washington, D.C.) - Sixteen schools with outstanding service-learning programs were recognized today as National Service-Learning Leader Schools by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that offers Americans of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to serve their country and their fellow citizens.
The annual award recognizes schools across the country that successfully make community service an integral part of their curriculum. This approach to education, called service-learning, enables young people to develop academic, workforce, and citizenship skills while helping to solve local problems.
The 16 winning schools were selected through a rigorous state and national review process. Their service-learning programs vary widely, from one at Tamanend Middle School in Warrington, Pa., where students worked in a homeless shelter and shared poetry with homeless men, to one where seniors at Ohio's Elida High School tutored elementary students in reading. Of the 16 winners, nine are high schools and the rest are middle schools.
"Service-learning is one of the best ways to give young people the knowledge and skills they need to become active, responsible citizens," said Leslie Lenkowsky, CEO of the Corporation. "These Leader Schools are strengthening the spirit of civic responsibility upon which the health of American democracy rests. They also are helping to realize President Bush's vision of a new culture of citizenship, responsibility, and service in America."
In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush called on all Americans to serve their country for the equivalent of two years over their lifetimes. Service-learning offers a way for millions of students to answer the President's call. According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 46 percent of American high schools offered service-learning courses in 1999, up from nine percent in 1984.
Students, teachers, and administrators from the winning Leader Schools will be brought to Washington, D.C., for a three-day service-learning leadership institute from June 20-22. At the institute, participants will plan how to spread the word about the value of service-learning and encourage other schools to implement their own service-learning programs in answer to President Bush's call to service.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is the largest supporter of service-learning in the country. More than 1.5 million students nationwide participate in service-learning programs supported by the Corporation's Learn and Serve America program, which provides grants, training, and technical assistance to schools, community groups, and colleges and universities. Since the Leader Schools program was begun in 1999, 216 schools have been recognized for excellence in service-learning.
In addition to administering Learn and Serve America, the Corporation for National and Community Service oversees AmeriCorps and Senior Corps and is a proud part of USA Freedom Corps, a comprehensive initiative to engage more citizens in service at home and abroad.
For a complete list of Leader Schools, including contact information, visit http://www.learnandserve.gov.
Created in 1993, the Corporation for National and Community Service engages more than 1.5 million Americans annually in improving their communities through three programs: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
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