In our last post, we defined service learning and community service. We explored why schools have service as a focal point for graduation. Yet, how might schools track and evaluate service opportunities for their students? With Abre, schools have a simple tool they can use to support service learning and community service.
Four Key Players in One Place
Abre is an education management platform used to manage school involvement with community partners. Oftentimes, schools and student organizations require students to engage in meaningful service opportunities within the community. Service hours are used to measure the level of student involvement.
There are four key stakeholders involved in student service opportunities:
- Partner
- Staff
- Student
- Family
A partner is an outside community member that interacts with the school in some capacity. For example, a staff member adds “Habitat for Humanity” as a partner in Abre. A job site leader would be designated as a Habitat for Humanity partner in Abre, allowing them to interact with the school and students.
Partners can do several things in Abre. With family permission, they access information about students who are in their partner program. They receive and participate in communications with the school. And importantly, they take attendance of students in their program.
A Case for Service Hours
Jim Carter is leading a local Habitat for Humanity group in building a neighborhood home. Many students who attend Franklin City High School volunteer their weekends building with the group. The students are required to record and verify their service hours with Jim and Habitat for Humanity.
The process is simple.
Jim logs into Franklin City Abre, selects his student team, and records the hours the students volunteer.
Franklin City Schools now has a record of the volunteer hours. Moreover, the school district can track all types of service hours, for all students, over extended periods.
As a bonus: The district can compare students’ academic outcomes in different service groups (or against students who do not participate in service hours).
What about the Students?
Students can refer to a running record of their service hours, reflect on their learning, share their experiences with the broader world, and discover additional service opportunities. Our next post will do a deeper dive into how Abre supports student growth through service learning and community service.