Based on the premise that school reform efforts must consider the needs of at-risk children, this paper discusses parallel reform efforts that focus on community service. The first part discusses logical linkages between community service and "at-risk" education and describes how Arizona is attempting to formalize these linkages within…

Describes three Oregon school-community programs that improve student attitude and behavior: community-service learning projects for previously disruptive students, after-school programs that provide exciting group activities for students who maintain decent grades and stay out of trouble, and adult mentoring and group activities for high-risk…

Since 1999, pre-service teachers undertaking the Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) Program at the University of Western Sydney have participated in an alternate practicum called Professional Experience 3 (PE3). This practicum encourages students to engage in broader educational settings within local communities. Increasingly, a number of…

Examines factors contributing to youth violence and suggests ways that service learning can mitigate their influence. Community-based programs can fill the void of unstructured, unsupervised time tempting many youth. Peer education and cross-age teaching can help create positive attitudes towards cooperation and responsible behavior. (MJP)

Service learning addresses many developmental needs of early adolescents that may be neglected in academic curricula, a particularly urgent need for inner city youth. This paper describes the urban National Helper's Network, noting ways that service learning empowers both the servers and the served, who are both in need. (SM)

Recounts the successes of Project HAWK (Habitat Alliance and Wildlife Keepers) in Northern California. HAWK consists of various at-risk students brought together for a service learning project constructing and maintaining community gardens. Discusses how the garden was related to traditional curriculum instruction and provides information for…

This paper emphasizes the relationships between middle school science, social studies, and service learning, showing how service learning supports many national science and social studies content standards. Positive results from research on the National Science Foundation service learning project are included. (SM)

This report describes the efforts of Mount St. Mary's College (California) to extend the benefits of a strong, traditional baccalaureate program to an underserved population of women in an urban region, including substantial numbers of minority and first-generation college students. To help realize its service mission and increase access to…

This report explores the impact, through themes that emerged in interviews with 59 participating adolescents, of the Mentor/Advisor Program on students with or at risk of emotional disturbance. The Mentor/Advisor Program is implemented as part of the existing regular education high school curriculum and is designed to promote resiliency and school…