Service Learning and Community Service for Teens
Contact a Service-Learning Coordinator: (206) 233-3979
Ron Mirabueno | ron.mirabueno@seattle.gov
Ken Turner | KenO.Turner@seattle.gov
Service-Learning and Community Service
Opportunities with the Parks Department
Seattle Parks and Recreation has a wide range of service-learning and
community service opportunities in your neighborhood community centers.
Please consult your counselor or teacher at your school to find what
the requirements are for your respective school and have the project
approved. Youth are responsible for supplying the appropriate paperwork
to document service-learning and community service hours.
Please note, each of these opportunities requires youth who are responsible,
dedicated, dependable, hardworking, trustworthy, self-motivated, detail
oriented, and comfortable with working in small groups. Many of these
opportunities are service based and require an understanding of customer
service. The Parks Department would like the individual not only to
have a fulfilling experience, but to be proud of the work that they
have produced.
The experience will not only expand talents that the individual already
has, but discover new hidden talents and
interests.
Each individual involved in the service-learning project will be required
to record their thoughts and reflect on their experience in either a
journal or by other means. This could include group discussions, photographs
with captions, poetry, illustrations, or by other methods approved by
the teacher or counselor in charge of servicelearning at the students’
school and also by the project supervisor.
If you are interested in any of the following service-learning or community
service projects, or if you have any questions, please contact:
 *Note:
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Updated
October 16, 2006
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> Service Learning
FAQ
What is the difference between service-learning and community service,
you ask?
Community service:
- helping the community by choice or through court requirement
- may or may not be associated with academics or curriculum
- may or may not require reflection
Service learning:
- a teaching methodology that allows students to learn and apply
academic, social and personal skills to improve the community, continue
individual growth and become better citizens
- focuses on both the service and the learning
is appropriate for all students and all curricular areas
- encourages cross-curricular integration
- provides students structured time to reflect on their service
experience
(These definitions were adapted from, Service Learning
In Action: Practical Tools and Tips, by Cathryn Berger Kaye,
National Service Learning Consultant, © 2000)
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