Board Hails Learn & Serve Challenge for Advancing Service-Learning

Washington D.C. – The board of the Corporation for National and Community Service today joined a growing chorus of governors, school superintendents, and national education and service groups in supporting the Learn & Serve Challenge, a week-long effort designed to raise awareness about the value and impact of service-learning.

The Board passed a resolution noting the benefits of service learning and thanking the organizers of the Challenge for helping advance the practice of service-learning. Hundreds of local events are taking place across the country to highlight the powerful impact of service-learning in the lives of young people and their communities.

“Service-learning has an enduring positive impact on students’ academic achievement, personal and social development, and civic engagement, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” the Board stated in the resolution. The board “recognizes Learn and Serve America for its pivotal role in advancing service-learning, and expresses its gratitude to the organizers of the Learn & Serve Challenge for their support for achieving our mutual goals for service-learning and engaging students in America.”

In 2005, the Board adopted a five-year strategic plan that made engaging more students in service one of its strategic priorities and set a national goal to integrate service-learning into at least half of all elementary and secondary schools and to engage 5 million college students in service by the year 2010.

Currently the agency engages more than 1.4 million students in service-learning each year through grants to schools, community groups and higher education institutions through the Learn and Serve America program. The agency also supports service-learning through its other core programs and special initiatives, including the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse training and curriculum website, the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll that recognizes outstanding colleges for their service commitments, and Bring Learning to Life, a television PSA campaign about service-learning that has aired more than 53,000 times on 600 stations since its launch two years ago.

Board Chair Stephen Goldsmith suggested that the substantial uptick in service participation by youth and college students is due partly to the growth of service-learning and said “the challenge now is to extend service-learning to more classrooms.” Several speakers in the public comment period echoed his comments and thanked the board for challenging the field to reach bold national expansion targets.

In other business, the Board bid farewell to four long-serving members and thanked them for their significant and inspirational contributions to national and community service. The departing members are:

• Cynthia Burleson, who served from 2003-2007, was thanked for her steadfast support of the faith-based and community initiative and for strengthening communications with stakeholders;
  
• Henry Lozano, who last week was named by President Bush to be Director of USA Freedom Corps, was hailed for his commitment to assisting youth from disadvantaged circumstances and building healthy communities;
  
• Carol Kinsley, who served three terms from a period of 1994 through 2006, was recognized for being a stalwart supporter of service-learning and a leading voice for the inclusion of schools and other educational organizations as key partners in all conversations about the future of national service;
  
• Dorothy Johnson, who served for three terms between 1998 through 2007; was called a “tireless champion of national service and the Corporation,” and was recognized for her leadership in AmeriCorps rulemaking, grantee streamlining, and forging strong alliances with Members of Congress, foundations, and institutions of higher education.

The Board also welcomed three new Board members today. (PHOTO) The members, nominated by President, were confirmed by the Senate last June:

• Rick Hill of Helena, MT, has a distinguished career in public service, representing Montana in the 105th and 106th Congress. His private sector involvement includes serving on the board of directors of Montana Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Western States Insurance, and Combined Benefits Management. He owns Hill Properties and Hill Consulting, and is President of InsureWest, Inc. He is the recipient of numerous awards from health care advocates and business, senior, agricultural, and public interest groups. Hill received his Juris Doctorate Degree with honors from Concord University School of Law in Los Angeles. (PHOTO)

• Jim Palmer of Tustin, CA, has been president of Orange County Rescue Mission since 1992. The Mission, which served 35,000 homeless men, women, and children, is the largest non-profit, faith-based organization in Orange County. Palmer received the Spotlight on Volunteer Award from Governor Schwarzenegger’s Office on Service and Volunteerism. (PHOTO)

• Stan Soloway is president of the Professional Services Council, the principal national trade association representing government acquisition/procurement and outsourcing and privatization issues. He served as under secretary of defense for acquisition reform and as director of Secretary of Defense William Cohen’s Defense Reform Initiative. He has received numerous awards for outstanding leadership including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. (PHOTO)

Additional Photos

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than 2 million Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

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