1. National Center for Learning and Citizenship
District Leaders Network

2. Your Untapped Resource: How School Boards Can Support Service-Learning
District Leaders Network
National Center for Learning and Citizenship
JOANN Henderson, NCLC
Rich Parker, DLN - South Whidbey School District
Jim Williams, DLN - West Valley School District

3. Agenda Welcome and Introductions The Role of the School Board
Civic Mission of Schools
21st Century Learning Opportunity

4. Overview Goals and Objectives:
To emphasize the crucial role school board members play in the development and implementation of effective, innovative and sustainable service-learning programs
To provide recommendations on how to partner with board members and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships that support service-learning initiatives
To generate ideas for building a solid district-wide foundation upon which service-learning can grow and thrive

5. Overview Participants will:
Get a close-up look at service-learning advocacy from the perspective of school boards
Explore innovative ways to involve and partner with board members to promote service-learning initiatives
Examine effective strategies for embedding service-learning into curriculum, and for navigating potential challenges of district-level implementation

6. Role of the School Board

7. Role of the School Board
School boards provide leadership focused on promoting student achievement through planning, policy setting, advocacy and accountability.

8. Role of the School Board
4 Key Roles
Vision
Structure
Accountability
Advocacy

9. Role of the School Board
Vision: Planning and Goals
The Board, with participation by the community, envisions the education future, articulates core values, formulates goals, defines outcomes and sets strategic direction.

10. Role of the School Board
Structure: Policies and Operation
To achieve the collective vision, the Board creates an organizational framework which enables strategic planning, policy development, budget approval, and setting high instructional standards.

11. Role of the School Board
Accountability: Continuous Improvement
There is a systematic approach to ongoing assessment of all the organizational components affecting student achievement.

12. Role of the School Board
Advocacy: Communication
The Board facilitates advancing the community’s interests in education on behalf of all stakeholders. It encourages community engagement and collaboration by providing venues for diverse opinions to be shared and considered.

13. Role of the School Board
The Superintendent
Decides What and Determines Why
Decides How and Determines When
Request Information
Provides Information
Creates Policy
Institutes Policy
Approves Plans
Implements Plans
Adopts Budget
Develops Budget
Governs and Guides
Administers and Manages

14. Role of the School Board
School Board Actions:
Include Civic Engagement into your Mission Statement (Vision)
Integrate Service-Learning Programs into your Strategic Plan (Structure)
Allocate Resources (Structure)
Provide Professional Development (Structure)
Set Policy and Adopt Standards (Accountability)
Education Forums and Workshops (Advocacy)

15. Role of the School Board
School Board Interaction Activity:
1. Do you know your School Board members?
2. How would you approach them to discuss this?
3. How can you work with your supervisor to partner in this effort?

16. The Civic Mission of Schools

17. The Civic Mission of Schools
For more than 250 years, Americans have shared a vision of a democracy in which all citizens understand, appreciate and engage actively in civic and political life.

18. The Civic Mission of Schools
In the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, Congress included this clause:
“ Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

19. The Civic Mission of Schools
Purpose of Public Education
Citizenship    Preserve participative democracy  Knowledge     Maximize human potential  Skills             Economic prosperity
“Civic education should help young people acquire and learn
to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them
to be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives.”

20. The Civic Mission of Schools
Competent and responsible citizens: # 1: Are informed and thoughtful # 2: Participate in their communities # 3: Act politically # 4: Have moral and civic virtues.
Have an understanding and awareness of public and community issues; and have the ability to obtain information, think critically, and enter into dialogue among others with different perspectives.

21. The Civic Mission of Schools
Strands of Civic Competency:
Civic-related knowledge
Cognitive and participative skills
Core Civic Dispositions
Civic-related knowledge
Historical and contemporary, such as understanding the
structure and mechanics of constitutional government,
and knowing who the local political actors are and how
democratic institutions function.
Cognitive and Participative Skills
The ability to understand and analyze data about
government and local issues, and skills that help a
student resolve conflict as part of a group.
Core Civic Dispositions
Motivations for behavior and values/attitudes which
can include support for justice and equality and a
sense of personal responsibility.
Participation-related dispositions include support for
norms of participation, and expectations of actual
political or social involvement.

22. The Civic Mission of Schools
“Goal Displacement”
When performance is evaluated in terms of numerical
outputs, there is an incentive to maximize outputs,
regardless of whether this is a preferred strategy for
achieving desired goals.
“As civic learning has been pushed aside, society has neglected a fundamental purpose of American education, putting the health of our democracy at risk”
~ Sandra Day O’Connor, Retired Supreme Court Justice

23. The Civic Mission of Schools
School District Vision and Mission Statements:
Every student is a successful independent learner, empowered for life in the global society of the 21st century.
In partnership with our community, we are deeply committed to provide our students with the best educational experience, preparing them to become capable, creative, caring, and responsible citizens.
School Board Policies:
Canby School District, Canby, Oregon
Greendale School District, Greendale, Wisconsin

24. The Civic Mission of Schools
Create a Mission Statement:
What are some of the important elements that would support service-learning?
School Board Policy:
Write a general service-learning policy for your district.

25. 21st Century Global Citizens

26. 21st Century Learning Opportunity
A Global Society – Our World is Rapidly Changing
Digital Generation
The Flow and Access of Information
Communication and Social Networks
Collaboration and Cross-Cultural Relationships
Economic Global Landscape

27. 21st Century Learning Opportunity
The 5 C’s – Skills in a New Context
Critical Thinking
Communication
Creativity and Problem Solving
Cross-Cultural Relationship Building
Collaboration

28. 21st Century Learning Opportunity
The Seven Survival Skills for Global Achievement
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination
The Global Achievement Gap; Tony Wagner

29. Conclusion

30. Driving Forces: Conclusion Reauthorization of ESEA
Renewed Public Agenda for Service
Evidenced-based Best Practices and Standards for Service-Learning

31. Conclusion
Benefits of Service-Learning that will grab the attention of School Boards:
Improved Student Engagement in School and Learning
Enhanced Civic Responsibility and Citizenship
Strengthened Personal and Social Skills

32. Questions?

33. Contact Information
JoAnn Henderson: Rich Parker: Jim Williams: Education Commission of the States: National Center for Learning and Citizenship: National School Board Association:

34. The Civic Mission of Schools
Schools Boards are… “ that Dark Island of American governance, the institution that everyone knows of but few understand.” Neal Peirce, SchoolBoards: Strengthening Grassroots Leadership, 1986