Lexington (MA) High School Senate

Community Service Committee Report

Lexington High School Community Service Program: Investigation and Recommendation

Submitted by the Community Service Committee to the Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate.

April 5th, 2006

Table of Contents

I. Community Service Committee Report

II. Appendices

1. Student-Faculty Senate Community Service Legislation
2. Senate Community Service Committee Resolution of 11/16/05

3. Current Community Service Regulations

4. 1988 Rationale for Community Service

5. Applicable Lexington High School Documents

6. History of the Community Service Program

7. Survey of Student Opinion

8. Review of Community Service Records

Members of Community Service Committee

Ariel Weiser, chair, student senator
David Colarusso, faculty senator
Susan Gillmor, student senator
Todd Kresser, faculty senator
Melissa Lehman, student
George Mechem, assistant principal
Nora Murphy, faculty
Eva Rosenberg, student
Brian Sewell, student senator
Ceanne Tzimopoulos, faculty
Jim Williams, faculty senator
Mark Zagaeski, faculty senator

Special Thanks

The committee thanks the following for their help in preparing this report: Teachers Peggy Dyro and Henry Turner, Guidance counselors Melissa Buttaro and Stuart Silverman, and Guidance secretaries Carol Dickison and Marlene Couture.

I. Community Service Committee Report

Introduction

Lexington High School has a graduation requirement of forty hours of community service. In the spring of 2005 the Social Action Committee of the Student-Faculty Senate brought to the Senate a bill to abolish this requirement, because of serious misgivings it had about the program. In November 2005, after lengthy debate, the Senate created the Community Service Committee, composed of Senators and interested students, faculty, and administrators. The Senate charged the Community Service Committee (CSC) with investigating the program and recommending changes.

In order to evaluate the current state of the program the CSC carried out a survey of student opinion among juniors and seniors (Appendix 7). The CSC also reviewed records of community service performed (Appendix 8). In addition, the CSC interviewed counselors and other faculty members involved with the program.

What are the desired outcomes of a community service program?

The CSC identified the following goals of a community service program. The CSC evaluated the success of the school's current program against these goals and it is against these goals that the CSC's recommendations should be measured.

Participants in a successful community service program will

provide meaningful service to their community;
help build a spirit of service within their community;
develop an inclination to help others;
understand that they can effect positive change in the world;
recognize that individual engagement is necessary for the health of a community; and
strengthen their social skills, including those of teamwork and leadership.

What are the critical issues?

The CSC found that the desired outcomes of the program are probably met, on average, by about two thirds of students. These students are generally satisfied with the program and report that their experience was worthwhile. However, other students are not well served. The CSC identified five serious flaws with the current program.

(1) Dishonesty and lack of oversight.

The current program lacks integrity. Nineteen percent of students admit that they have falsely reported their service hours. The Social Action Committee reports that forms are copied and resubmitted. Guidance counselors and school administrators admit that each year, in the days before graduation, some students will suddenly produce forms signed by their parents for the requisite hours. Although forty hours of community service are required for graduation, no student has ever been denied graduation for failing to meet the community service requirement despite full knowledge of fraud.

(2) Lack of reflection.

The current program operates under the naïve assumption that the mere performance of community service will produce students of character. There is no requirement, or even an expectation, that students will reflect on their experiences or share them with others. Yet reflection and a sharing of one's experiences are the most important features of a successful community service program that leads to the desired outcomes.

Many students report satisfaction with the program but many would have performed community service anyway with their families or with religious or social groups. Students who lack these connections are more likely to have an unsatisfactory experience.

After completing most or all of their required service hours, about a third of students conclude that community service is not a worthwhile activity, are dissatisfied with the program, or feel it should be abolished. There is no evidence as to whether these attitudes are the result of thoughtful reflection or lack thereof.

(3) Failure to support students in need.

The program fails many students who lack ties to family or social institutions with whom they might already do community service in a supportive and reflective environment. These are the very students for whom a program is needed. For about five percent of seniors, a failure to keep up with the service requirement coincides with a grade point average below the minimum for open campus.

For some, the act of community service is extremely difficult due to personal and emotional issues that become, of necessity, primary commitments. The day-to-day struggle requires most of their energy. These students need a program that works for them.

(4) Failure to live up to the original spirit of the program.

For a sizable number of students, service is performed dispassionately and even cynically, empty of any educational component. Many students merely log mandated hours in the easiest way possible. The community service requirement was originally intended to encourage students to reach out personally to the truly needy and to extend themselves outside their comfort zone. Less than 30 percent of students have such experiences. The majority of service is performed doing administrative duties, fund-raising, and various activities within the Lexington schools, or by providing services in sports clubs and camps. The committee encourages all of these local and conventional forms of service but notes that their value to students will often depend on operating in a spirit of community and engaging in some form of reflection with adults or other participants.

(5) Unsatisfactory structures for resolving disagreements.

Even though community service is a graduation requirement, it is not clear who has authority for dealing with complaints, resolving disputes, or changing the rules. Over the years, these functions have been informally passed from a paid faculty member to Guidance counselors to the Senate. Unresolved problems include the need for clarity regarding service performed for a religious or political group, and service in positions that are prerequisite for future employment. Whether and to what extent service should be allowed causes regular conflicts with students and parents over interpretation of the requirements.

Should the community service requirement be dropped?

The CSC believes that the LHS community strongly supports the Community Service graduation requirement. The school's Mission Statement now states "Students at Lexington High School will participate in meaningful community service activities that expand their life experience and benefit others." Nevertheless, the committee seriously considered making a recommendation to drop the requirement for the following reasons:

The vast majority of students will perform community service without the requirement, both because it is seen to be a virtual requirement of college admission and because most students are already connected to groups doing community service. In fact, almost half of respondents to our survey reported that service performed outside the academic requirement was more satisfying than that performed for the requirement.
One third of all juniors and seniors do not find community service to be a worthwhile activity, even after completion of their four-year requirement
The will to rectify the program's many faults (see What are the critical issues?) may not exist.

The CSC does not recommend dropping the requirement if significant reform of the current program is implemented and evaluated.

What does the committee recommend?

While most of the structures and requirements of the program can be maintained, the committee believes the program cannot be successful without the voluntary commitment of faculty and students. Specifically, faculty and students must seek out students who are disengaged from this process, and encourage timely group participation in service to the community. Additionally, new service opportunities must be created which are organized within the school and carried out in the community, which join students and faculty in meaningful projects, and which result in numerous opportunities for informal reflection and discussion.

Requirements

A program forced upon the participants will not last. The CSC suggests four measures to bring about real change.

(1) Committed Faculty.

The Committee has two suggestions for how the faculty can help improve community service. Professional development time must be given so that faculty can discuss these, and their own suggestions, and decide whether and how to become involved.

First, homerooms provide ideal time for faculty to connect with students.

Homeroom teachers could be the signatories on all service forms submitted.
New opportunities could be promoted and past projects could be evaluated, both in individual and group discussion.
Students could have many opportunities to informally reflect upon and share their experiences.
Students could be encouraged to finish their service in a timely manner.
Active involvement of homeroom teachers who are trusted by and know their students' needs and who follow them for four years could help eliminate lack of commitment and disengagement. Homeroom teachers could provide support for those students who need help to fulfill their obligation.
Personal relationships with homeroom teachers could minimize students' temptations to cheat.

Second, students would benefit if more faculty could create, lead, or participate in projects.

(2) Committed students.

Current Senate legislation requires Class Councils to organize and lead at least one Community Service Project each year. These projects could be expanded to encourage the participation of students who are not on Class Council. In this way the councils could not only serve those in need but could also help build community within LHS. Similarly, the National Honor Society, the Social Action Committee of the Senate, and other service organizations could design projects in which other students are encouraged to participate. These projects could reach out beyond our school community.

(3) Creation of a stipended position of Community Service Facilitator.

An overseer cannot solve the problems inherent in the current program but a facilitator could bring people and opportunities together. The Community Service Facilitator could

advertise community service opportunities within LHS;
identify (via access to the student data base) and advocate for students in need, and provide student service records, periodically or upon request, to homeroom teachers and other faculty;
educate the faculty regarding program goals;
encourage faculty, administration, and staff involvement; and
run Community Service fairs where faculty- and student-led projects can be advertised.

This position should be stipended and the person filling it would report to the administration.

(4) Rules, Procedures, and the Role of the Senate.

The CSC suggests the following:

Homeroom teachers, who will have knowledge about their students' service projects even before they are undertaken, should evaluate and accept service hours.
Discussion of changes in the program can be taken up by the Senate to guarantee participation of a significant part of the community. These include clarifying the definition of community service.
The Social Action Committee of the Senate should continue to monitor the quality of service and hear complaints and appeals. Just as with academic disputes, appeals move from there to the Principal.
The program should be reevaluated after two years.

As Community Service will remain a graduation requirement, significant changes must be approved by the School Committee.

II. Appendices

Appendix 1. Student-Faculty Senate Community Service Legislation

March 1987 Community Service Bill
1. Each student will be required to perform twenty hours of approved community service during his/her four years at Lexington High School.

2. Community service will be required of each student for graduation.

3. This community service requirement for graduation will be added as a new cluster and will start with the incoming class of September 1988.

4. If a student arrives midway through the four years of his/her high school career, the requirement will still be in affect. After the first quarter of the senior year, any new arrival to the high school will have the community service requirement waived.

5. Opportunities for community service will be offered to the classes of 1989, 1990, and 1991 but will not be a part of the graduation requirement. Credit will be available under Cluster VI if a student in one of those classes does any community service.

May 1989 Class Service Project Bill
Beginning in the Academic year 1990-1991, all class councils at Lexington High School shall be required to sponsor at least one event over the course of each academic year organized specifically for the purpose of contributing to a community service effort.

The activity that each class chooses as its community service project must be approved by the community service coordinator. No student may claim or credit any work done on a class sponsored project or event for their community service graduation requirement.

The Social Action Committee of the Senate shall monitor each class council annually to ensure that this requirement is fulfilled.

April 1992 Revised Community Service Bill

1. Each student will be required to perform twenty hours of approved community service during his/her four years at Lexington High School.

2. Community service will be required of each student for graduation. Students will be expected to complete ten hours of community service by the beginning of their junior year. If students have not completed ten hours by this time, their privilege of open campus will be withheld until they do so.

3. If a student arrives midway through the four years of his/her high school career (junior year), the student will be expected to complete ten hours of community service. After the first quarter of senior year, any new arrival to the high school will have the community service requirement waived.

4. All students will be provided with a list of approved volunteer opportunities compiled by the Social Action Committee of the Senate when they enter the high school. The list will include types of activities that are suitable as well as the names and phone numbers of organizations at which they can volunteer. This list will be periodically updated by the social action committee. Lists of suitable community service will also be available in the offices of all house secretaries, building administrators and guidance counselors. Lists will also be accessible in the Student Activities Center, the library and the Career Center.

5. Any activity for which one is paid or one receives accreditation for another service organization will not be considered valid for the community service requirement. In addition, activities such as personnel services and working in school offices will not be considered community service.

6. If the student wishes to do an activity that is not on the approved list, he/she must submit a description of the proposed activity to the Social Action Committee of the Senate. Two student members and one faculty member of the Social Action Committee will meet weekly to review questionable activities.

7. Upon finishing an approved service activity, students will be required to complete a form which must be formally verified by the sponsor activity. This form will then be submitted by the student to his/her guidance counselor who will then credit the hour(s) toward the student's community service requirement. In the event that an activity is not on the official list but is approved beforehand by the Social Action Committee, the committee will forward that approval to the student's guidance counselor.

8. The Revised Community Service Bill will go into effect in September, 1993. No student shall be required to adhere to the above criteria for community service hours performed by September, 1993. Item two will go into effect starting with the class of 1997.

April 1993 Community Service Program Revision Bill

1. Each student will be required to perform 40 hours of approved community service during his/her four years at Lexington High School.

2. Community service will be required of each student for graduation. Students will be expected to complete 20 hours of community service by the beginning of their junior year. If students have not completed 20 hours by this time, their privilege of open campus will be withheld until they do so.

3. If a student arrives midway through the four years of his/her high school career (junior year), the student will be expected to complete 20 hours of community service. After the first quarter of the senior year, any new arrival to the high school will have the community service requirement waived.

4. This community service program revision will go into effect with the class of 1998.

Appendix 2. Senate Community Service Resolution of 11/16/05 (Written by Ariel Weiser)

Whereas "Lexington High School provides and supports a curriculum in which all students can develop the competencies needed for life in the modern world" (Lexington High School Statement of Purpose);
Whereas Lexington High School "encourages students to acquire the necessary intellectual, aesthetic, social, civic and physical skills, as well as the knowledge base and habits of mind that can serve as a foundation for lifelong learning" (Lexington High School Statement of Purpose);

Whereas Lexington High School, an environment founded upon the principles of high expectations, often encourages students to compete in an unhealthy manner, to struggle beyond natural ability and to focus on what one is not, rather than on what one can do;

Whereas, as students spend an increasing quantity of hours within the structures of formal and informal education, mentors, teachers and administrators become ever more obligated to ensure that every student learns his moral responsibilities as a human being and as a member of a local, national and global community;

Whereas community service provides the ideal construct by which the "young can regain a sense of community" in addition to "learning new skills, assuming responsibilities, becoming aware of the needs of others and learning the importance of unselfish serving and giving" (Importance of Community Service);

Whereas "community service links students to the wider community and exposes them to people and situations outside of their previous experiences" (Community Service Information &endash; http://www.lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate/comserv.html);

Whereas the separation of church and state is innately ambiguous and interpretation often proves controversial within the Social Action Committee as well as the Lexington High School community;

Whereas, for the purpose of graduation and open campus, many students make efforts to fulfill their community service obligations by breaking the rules and in the process violating the spirit of our school's community service requirements.

Whereas community service regulation has passed from a single employed position to individual guidance counselors to the senate Social Action Committee;

Whereas the Social Action Committee is unable to guarantee equity and ensure quality as well as change the current culture of community service: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate (the Senate concurring), That

1. The Lexington High School Community Service Program desperately requires reform.
2. Lexington High School will establish a community service committee for the purpose of examining and reforming the Community Service Program.

3. The Community Service Committee will a) examine the rationale supporting a service program within the structure of public education; b) examine the history of mandatory community service within Lexington High School; c) examine the pragmatic and ethical inadequacies of the existing program; d) assess other schools' examples of community service programs; e) publish a comprehensive assessment of Lexington High School's commitment to community service as well as the committee's goals for reforming the program to be sent to the Senate and; f) draft senate legislation to reform the community service program.

4. The Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate has confirmed the voluntary participation of eight senators who comprise a diverse representation of Lexington High School with regard to class and department respectively as well as six members (one administrator, two students, three teachers) not involved with senate.

5. The Community Service Committee will conclude their efforts by the first senate meeting following February vacation or request an extension from the Senate within the notification of two weeks.

Appendix 3. Current Community Service Regulations

All Community Service documents were updated during the 2003-2004 School Year.
The Community Service Requirement

Each student at Lexington High School must perform a minimum of forty hours of community service during their high school career (transfer students must perform 10 hours per year of attendance at LHS). Students may begin accruing hours beginning the summer prior to ninth grade. The yearly community service requirement may be satisfied by participation in either a single activity or a combination of approved activities.

Definition of Community Service

A community service activity must conform to the following guidelines:

It must be performed without compensation to the student. Examples: Court-ordered community service will not be accepted. Paid work will not be accepted. Work receiving academic credit will not be accepted.
It must benefit at least one person other than the student or the student's relative(s).
It must not be associated with religious ceremonies, services, education, proselytizing, or fund-raising. A non-religious activity performed through a religious community, but which does not benefit the religious community directly, may still be considered.
Political campaigning or work benefitting political organizations or causes directly cannot be accepted.

Process for Earning Community Service Credit

Credit must be earned according to the following guidelines:

The service must meet the prior definition.
The service may not be used to earn credit for more than one program or organization. For example, Peer Tutors may earn community service credit toward LHS or NHS requirements, but not both; students who volunteer in school offices may receive either personnel service credit or community service credit, but not both.
The service can be performed for an approved organization or the service must be approved beforehand by the Social Action Committee of the LHS Senate. You may submit a form for a service that has not been pre-approved, but you run the risk of having your hours denied for not meeting the guidelines of community service.
Completed and legible Community Service Forms must be placed in your Guidance Counselor's mailbox. Incomplete or late forms may delay the processing of your hours.

Approved Service Opportunities

The Social Action Committee of the Senate maintains a list of Approved Service Opportunities. All of these organizations have been pre-approved for Community Service credit at LHS.

Questions Regarding Community Service

The Social Action Committee of the Senate meets weekly on Tuesday afternoons (2:30-3:30) in the Guidance offices in the Main Building. Students or concerned parties are welcome to stop by and talk to the Committee. If you would like to email questions to the committee, please email one of the faculty senators who serve on the Social Action Committee: Melissa Buttaro, David Colarusso, or Todd Kresser.

Appendix 4. 1988 Rationale for Community Service

The following passage was written by Peggy Dyro and Elaine Engelberg in May 1988 as community service was first implemented.

Among the hallmarks of American education is learning through experience. Learning through participation in the larger community extends the experiential base of education to bridge the world of academia with the world of lived experience. This shows students that academic knowledge can be humanely and constructively applied and transferred to the community through service to others. Formal learning can be integrated in real, useful, and valuable ways connecting schooling with living. What we learn in great part is intimately related to and connected with how we live.
Young people are a wellspring of talent and resourcefulness that is unfortunately largely untapped in our society. Through community service work their energy and vision can help to return to the community the benefits that they have been afforded. As with any effectively designed service project, the benefits of participation are many. When young people involve themselves in the world beyond their immediate environs they see their learning as consequential. Their actions make a difference and help them to focus on who they are and what they might become.

Service activities provide valuable life experience. In addition to being fertile ground for developing a sense of one's own identity and personal worth, one also gains a better, richer understanding of others. Empathy, sensitivity, and respect for those who may appear to be different from us are powerful benefits to be gained from turning outward and engaging the wider community. Reaching out to others concomitantly affords one a sense of responsibility to and concern for others. Student participation in community service activities fosters a genuine sense of citizenship. Being willing to experience life beyond one's immediate circumstances and explore how others live gives one an awareness of the world as a place of diverse, complex, and multi-faceted realities. Within this context students can develop a concern for the integrity and dignity of individuals and a concern for human rights as they learn social and civic responsibilities.

Appendix 5. Applicable Lexington High School Documents

Mission Statement of Lexington High School

Lexington High School is a learning community committed to developing well-educated, healthy, engaged students in a respectful, safe, supportive environment. We encourage the effort and imagination necessary to acquire knowledge and develop academic habits of mind. We maintain our high expectations with a challenging and varied curriculum, inspired by curiosity, enriched by clubs and activities. At the same time we emphasize the need to reduce unhealthy stress and unproductive competition in pursuit of balanced lives. We honor diversity and individual achievement; we promote collaboration and community service. Together we strive to model behavior that will help make our campus a microcosm of the world we hope to create.

Social and Civic Expectations

Students at Lexington High School will:

learn to make appropriate and healthy choices that foster their personal well being, and will seek support when needed for academic, social, physical, mental and emotional issues.
demonstrate self-awareness, tolerance, and respect while cultivating social skills that reflect self-assurance, kindness, and tact.
act with integrity and be accountable to themselves, to the school, and to the community at large.
participate in meaningful community service activities that expand their life experience and benefit others.
act as responsible citizens, recognizing the important stake they have in the school community while finding constructive opportunities to influence its direction.

Lexington Public Schools Core Values: Shared Responsibility

In order to flourish in today's society, students must learn to work together to explore ideas and solve problems. Schools are the public institutions best suited to help children understand the power of community, collaboration, and communication. It is our responsibility to engage them in experiences which nurture these habits and also to model these behaviors. Consequently, parents, teachers, and administrators should communicate openly and honestly so that children can benefit from the partnerships that evolve when the defensiveness that sometimes hampers relationships can be confronted and overcome. The spirit of collegiality, cooperative learning, community service, citizenship, and common enterprise should be promoted for children and adults throughout the school system.

Appendix 6. History of the Community Service Program

The Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate legislated twenty hours of compulsory community service on April 13, 1987. As Lexington High School Principal David Wilson presented Senate's proposition to the School Committee, Scituate , Weston, Lincoln-Sudbury and Springfield High Schools were implementing similar programs. Lexington High School became the second public institution in Massachusetts to mandate community service following Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.

As LHS teacher Peggy Dyro stated, the service program was intended to connect students to "the larger reality. This school community is so well cared for, it is long overdue for these kids to have a sense of being connected to a world that is not well cared for." Students were urged to volunteer outside the realm of comfort and familiarity. Service was encouraged throughout Lexington, Greater Boston and New England. Popular services included the "Walk for Hunger, the Lexington Youth Commission, Pine Street Inn, food / clothing drives, Amnesty International and refugee work." Service associated with religion was discouraged.

At onset, service was facilitated by the Student Internship and Activities Coordinator, Nancy Gordon, primarily employed to monitor internships during the second semester of senior year. Community service was monitored by the following procedure:

Community service agency requests student volunteers via Activities Coordinator;
Student submits required community service contract to Coordinator;
Activities Coordinator visits requesting agency to ensure student opportunities;
Coordinator provides agency with contract specifying students' rights and responsibilities;
Student completes intended task;
Coordinator contacts agency to ensure completion;
Student evaluates community service agency.

The Lexington High School Community Service Requirement Contract appeared as follows:

I. Students agree to:

A. Pay attention to acceptable standards of dress and behavior in the placement of setting.
B. Develop the ability to undertake and complete tasks independently.

C. Meet time obligations conscientiously.

D. Communicate with the Coordinator regularly about problems and progress.

E. Provide individual transportation and personal expenses to and from the work site.

F. Keep a log of hours and reactions to the service.

G. Complete an evaluation of the experience.

II. The Community Service Agency agrees to:

A. Provide meaningful community service work.
B. Provide any necessary supervision.

C. Avoid menial or unpaid labor that violates the spirit of the rationale for community service.

III. The School Community agrees to:

A. Help students to find an appropriate placement.
B. Monitor the student's progress and problems.

C. Hold after school meetings to discuss the community service.

IV. The Parents or Guardians agree to:

A. Direct inquiries and / or concerns about the program promptly to the Coordinator.

B. Assume responsibility for the transportation of the student to and from the placement.

C. Encourage the student to make this experience meaningful educationally for their child's social, moral and psychological development.

A handbook of approved opportunities and contact information was prepared to assist students in selecting a service. If a student sought to volunteer with an unlisted institution, the Senate Social Action Committee was charged with interviewing the student, examining the proposed service and deciding whether the service fit the intended guidelines.

In May 1989, class councils were mandated to sponsor, at minimum, one service project per year, jointly monitored by the Student Activities Director and the Social Action Committee.

In April 1993 the Senate increased the required hours to forty. Moreover, community service was linked to open-campus. To qualify for open-campus, students were instructed to complete twenty hours of service by the fall of junior year. As students needed only twenty-two credits per semester, community service requirements made open-campus considerably more difficult to obtain.

Due to budget constraints, the position of Student Activities Coordinator was eliminated. Thereafter, community service was monitored by guidance counselor, each required to formally verify the authenticity of completed services. When problems arose, the Social Action Committee acted as official arbitrator. Students were required to complete the intended service and submit verification within ninety days. Counselors widely disapproved of the responsibility, uncomfortable as "referee" between public institution and family.

Lacking administrative standardization, the program eroded as the school enlarged. As guidance counselors were unable to guarantee equity or verify quality of service, administration became the principal duty of the Social Action Committee. Comprised of student and faculty senators, the committee convenes once per week to collectively review completed service forms.

Appendix 7. Survey of Student Opinion

This survey is being administered by the Student-Faculty Senate in an effort to better understand the experiences of students performing community service to satisfy the LHS requirement. We appreciate your participation. Thank you for considering each question carefully before responding.

IMPORTANT: If you have not yet had any community service accepted at LHS proceed immediately to question 28 and do not answer the other questions. If you have completed community service at LHS, continue with 10.

Appendix 8. Review of Community Service Records

Below are the results of a review of Guidance Department records of community service performed by 196 randomly selected juniors and seniors.

The committee was interested in the breadth of student experience. Therefore, for each student, each type of service performed was counted once and each type of organization with whom the work was done was counted once, regardless of how many times or for how many hours the service was performed.