Service learning is a teaching tool in which students apply classroom skills to solve real problems in their communities. Community service becomes service learning when it is connected to classroom learning and contains opportunities for students to reflect upon their experiences. In addition to enhancing learning through experience, service…

The implementation and continuing growth of a volunteer youth/adult match-up service, Cal-Pal, being provided in seven rural communities are described in this article. School social workers in these areas can collaborate with other school-based personnel and community leaders to make such a service available. A major benefit of the program is the…

AmeriCorps is a national initiative that involves citizens in strengthening America's communities through community service. This document presents findings of a cost-benefit analysis of two AmeriCorps programs in Washington State--the Hoquiam Project and the Lake Chelan Project. In calculating annual costs, the study included both federal dollars…

This paper describes an innovative service learning program developed at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, a historically black college in a poor rural area. Project DREAMS (Developing Responsibility through Education, Affirmation, Mentoring, and Service) involves college student volunteers serving as tutors and mentors to elementary…

This document begins with a four-page performance report describing how the Camp Verde Adult Reading Program site was relocated to the Community Center Complex, and the Town Council contracted directly with the Friends of the Camp Verde Library to provide for the requirements of the program. The U.S. Department of Education grant allowed the…

This document presents, for local Urban League affiliates and community-based organizations, a framework for developing and conducting locally operated mentor programs. The development of mentoring programs has been an incremental process. Mentoring programs now contain some elements that other programs lack, such as an emphasis on self-esteem,…

Noting that, generally, low-literate adults in Labrador and Newfoundland (Canada) are being helped only through the altruistic efforts of literate volunteers, this paper argues that adult literacy must be professionalized and become an integral part of the education system. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the definitions of literacy,…

The purpose of this paper is to provide information to practitioners who are establishing and implementing volunteer programs on their campuses. First, the historical and contemporary roots of civic participation by students in American higher education is explored in three historical phases: (1) higher education as preparing an elite group of men…

Issues in requiring community service for high school graduation are addressed in this document. The debate is not whether community service is valuable, but whether making it mandatory lessens its positive effects. Proponents of mandating student volunteerism argue that it provides a valuable learning experience; gets all students involved;…

Howe-To Industries is an intergenerational entrepreneurship project at the John de la Howe School, a state-supported institution for at-risk youth in rural McCormick County, South Carolina. Expansion of this type of program into public schools could engage the community and school system in a mutually beneficial relationship. John de la Howe…

An inservice training program for tutors was developed that was based on a review of existing math materials for students at the 5-8 grade level and an analysis of the results of standardized math tests administered to literacy students in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Nearly 100 adult literacy students were tested in Fall 1992. Results were…

The Rufugee Education Project in Tucson, Arizona, supplemented its traditional group English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes for adult refugees with individualized ESL literacy instruction in August 1990. A $500 grant made possible the acquisition of a variety of literacy materials that could meet diverse student literacy needs. Fifty-three…

This study examines the value of volunteering in preschools by members of the preschooler's family. Prior research has confirmed the benefits of parental involvement in children's education, particularly before the child is 6 years of age. Close contact between parent and teacher gives each a more complete picture of the child's abilities and…

A survey of and interviews with 259 college and university presidents and their spouses (65 percent response rate from 400 distributed) sought to understand their role as "living logos" of their institutions. Results found that the position of president is a way of life which involves the entire family; that presidents and their spouses represent…

Introductory material provided in this document states the mission of the National School Volunteer Program (NSVP), lists background trends related to community/school partnerships in education, and offers reasons for increasing the role of volunteers in schools. Subsequent material provides examples of programs based on cooperation and…