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SACRAMENTO - In an effort to highlight the educational benefits of service-learning, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today encouraged all California students to take part in the National Learn and Serve Challenge, which begins Monday.

As O'Connell noted in his State of Education address, service-learning is an instructional strategy where students apply academic content standards while meeting critical community needs. He encouraged school districts to make service-learning a regularly used instructional method.

"Service-learning can enhance student's education by allowing them to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to real-life situations," O'Connell said. "Service-learning is a great character development tool because it exposes students to the idea of active and engaged citizenship. Communities can also benefit greatly from student service learning projects. I fully support and commend the thousands of teachers, youth workers, and community leaders who are working to educate our students on how important it is to be responsible citizens."

The National Learn and Serve Challenge is organized by a coalition of service-learning and youth service organizations Learn and Serve Challenge [http://learnandservechallenge.org/] (Outside Source). In California, hundreds of local and regional service-learning organizations will be conducting public awareness events and activities during the coming week (September 17-23).

The goal of the California Department of Education's Cal Serve initiative is to make service-learning a regularly used instructional method in California's educational institutions. The program annually involves more than 130,000 students and about 15,000 community volunteers in urban, rural, and suburban communities throughout the state.

The Riverdale Joint Unified School District in rural Fresno County has actively embraced service-learning. Every class, from kindergarten through high school, takes on a service project designed to impact their community in a positive way. In the past, students have collected food to prepare and serve to senior citizens, planted flowers in community flower beds, and hosted ceremonies for Veterans Day. Students select the service project their class will work on, but teachers and principals ensure that the project is in line with one of California's high-academic standards. Since Riverdale started its service-learning program, the district has strengthened its ties with the business community, faith-based groups, and adult service clubs.

And this year, the Los Angeles Unified School District is celebrating the graduation of more than 30,000 high school students who have learned, served, and achieved. The graduating class of 2007 was the first to meet the district's innovative service-learning graduation requirement.

"It was a monumental accomplishment and it shows what can happen when students are allowed an opportunity to meaningfully engage in their learning by serving the communities in which they live,” said Herm Clay, Director of History/Social Science in the Los Angeles district. ”We see service-learning as an important vehicle in closing the achievement gap by providing students with an opportunity to learn through participating in their communities in a very positive way. Service-learning provides students with opportunities to use the academic skills they've learned to benefit others."

To find out more about local service-learning projects, please contact the Regional Service-Learning Lead at: Youth Service California [http://www.yscal.org/services/regionalsll.html] (Outside Source).