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When Tina Cross arrived as a new science teacher at Carver High School, in an economically depressed community in Columbus, Georgia, she found a school that desperately needed a focus. Students and teachers were demoralized and academic performance was poor. The community carried many negative perceptions of the school and its students. Dr. Cross believed that introducing service-learning in the school could help.
The first project she initiated was a study of the Chattahoochee River that engaged the entire school. Math, science, journalism, art, and vocational students worked together to create a thorough, scientific study that made the community and local officials aware of the problems that the city was facing from pollution originating in Atlanta.
The next major service-learning project involved Habitat for Humanity. Carver High School became the first public school to raise all the funds to build a house in its school district. All academic areas were impacted, and school morale and academic performance rose to an all-time high.
Last year, Dr. Cross coordinated a service-learning project where veterans from every conflict beginning with World War II came to the school and spoke to all the classes. Students wrote essays on the experiences of the veterans, and the best essays were selected by a committee of teachers and students for publication. Business students typed the essays, art students contributed illustrations, and by the end of the year, a hardback book was produced.
Service-learning has been so successful at the school that the community is now seeking out its students for assistance. “We do small things as well as big things – now people call us for students to help.”
Since Dr. Cross’s arrival at the school more than a decade ago, academic performance and the overall school environment have flourished. Today, more than 95 percent of the school is participating in service-learning. Dr. Cross is constantly amazed at how large the projects grow and how much positive exposure the school has received because of the students’ efforts.
“I truly believe that service is a part of your life,” Dr. Cross reflects. “I truly, truly wish more people had the opportunity to see what service-learning does and understand the concept.” |
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