Standards+for+CSL

Visit the following site for more standards.[| http://www.nylc.org/pages-newsevents-news-K_12_Service_Learning_Standards_for_Quality_Practice?oid=6091]

**Meaningful Service** Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities. Indicators: 1. Service-learning experiences are appropriate to participant ages and developmental abilities. 2. Service-learning addresses issues that are personally relevant to the participants. 3. Service-learning provides participants with interesting and engaging service activities. 4. Service-learning encourages participants to understand their service experiences in the context of the underlying societal issues being addressed. 5. Service-learning leads to attainable and visible outcomes that are valued by those being served. **Link to Curriculum** Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards. Indicators: 1. Service-learning has clearly articulated learning goals. 2. Service-learning is aligned with the academic and/or programmatic curriculum. 3. Service-learning helps participants learn how to transfer knowledge and skills from one setting to another. 4. Service-learning that takes place in schools is formally recognized in school board policies and student records. Service-learning is a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards. The K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice were developed by the National Youth Leadership Council with funding from State Farm Companies Foundation. Working from a base of 20 years of professional wisdom and practice, NYLC worked with other leaders in service-learning and engaged RMC Research Corporation to ensure that the standards included the strongest evidence-based elements of effective practice. Then young people, teachers, school and district administrators, community members, staff from communitybased organizations, policymakers, and others interested in service-learning participated in panels across the United States to strengthen the language of the standards their indicators. For more information, visit www.nylc.org/standards. **Reflection** Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society. Indicators: 1. Service-learning reflection includes a variety of verbal, written, artistic, and nonverbal activities to demonstrate understanding and changes in participants’ knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes. 2. Service-learning reflection occurs before, during, and after the service experience. 3. Service-learning reflection prompts participants to think deeply about complex community problems and alternative solutions. 4. Service-learning reflection encourages participants to examine their preconceptions and assumptions in order to explore and understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens. 5. Service-learning reflection encourages participants to examine a variety of social and civic issues related to their service-learning experience so that participants understand connections to public policy and civic life. **Diversity** Service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants. Indicators: 1. Service-learning helps participants identify and analyze different points of view to gain understanding of multiple perspectives. 2. Service-learning helps participants develop interpersonal skills in conflict resolution and group decision-making. 3. Service-learning helps participants actively seek to understand and value the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of those offering and receiving service. 4. Service-learning encourages participants to recognize and overcome stereotypes. **Youth Voice** Service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating servicelearning experiences with guidance from adults. Indicators: 1. Service-learning engages youth in generating ideas during the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes. 2. Service-learning involves youth in the decision-making process throughout the service-learning experiences. 3. Service-learning involves youth and adults in creating an environment that supports trust and open expression of ideas. 4. Service-learning promotes acquisition of knowledge and skills to enhance youth leadership and decision-making. 5. Service-learning involves youth in evaluating the quality and effectiveness of the service-learning experience. **Partnerships** Service-learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs. Indicators: 1. Service-learning involves a variety of partners, including youth, educators, families, community members, community-based organizations, and/or businesses. 2. Service-learning partnerships are characterized by frequent and regular communication to keep all partners well-informed about activities and progress. 3. Service-learning partners collaborate to establish a shared vision and set common goals to address community needs. 4. Service-learning partners collaboratively develop and implement action plans to meet specified goals. 5. Service-learning partners share knowledge and understanding of school and community assets and needs, and view each other as valued resources. **Progress Monitoring** Service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability. Indicators: 1. Service-learning participants collect evidence of progress toward meeting specific service goals and learning outcomes from multiple sources throughout the servicelearning experience. 2. Service-learning participants collect evidence of the quality of service-learning implementation from multiple sources throughout the service-learning experience. 3. Service-learning participants use evidence to improve service-learning experiences. 4. Service-learning participants communicate evidence of progress toward goals and outcomes with the broader community, including policy-makers and education leaders, to deepen service-learning understanding and ensure that high quality practices are sustained. **Duration and Intensity** Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes. Indicators: 1. Service-learning experiences include the processes of investigating community needs, preparing for service, action, reflection, demonstration of learning and impacts, and celebration. 2. Service-learning is conducted during concentrated blocks of time across a period of several weeks or months. 3. Service-learning experiences provide enough time to address identified community needs and achieve learning outcomes. 1667 Snelling Avenue North, Suite D300 | Saint Paul, MN 55108 | (651) 631-3672 | www.nylc.org © 2008 National Youth Leadership Council. All Rights Reserved. This document may be freely photocopied and distributed.K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice