MAKE IT LAST FOREVER: THE ... - National Service Resource Center

FUNCTION #3: LEADERSHIP
inter-age and inter-school
projects, community
partnerships, and links to other
educational initiatives.
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION WHEN IT’S THERE: WHEN IT’S NOT THERE:
State/District/Non-Profit
Personnel:
Coordinating staff at the
departments of education,
school districts and regions,
and non-profit personnel,
particularly those who are paid
and full-time (or are VISTA
members), provide invaluable
assistance in training, technical
assistance, logistical support,
and promotion. Supportive
activities by local or state
school-boards and
superintendents, particularly for
Learn and Serve, make a major
difference.
Organizational Culture: When the use of servicelearning
is so common in its
use, this is usually because
there is agreement among all
within the system that servicelearning
is valuable, as well as
common ground regarding
educational vision and goals.
While some schools and
districts seem to arrive at a
consensus on this quite easily,
others take a bit of persuading.
The end result is that servicelearning
is an expected, routine
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People are available to provide
help to those who need it, and
these individuals can spend
much time conducting outreach
activities, training other
educational personnel,
developing intra-agency
partnerships, and cultivating
advisory boards to guide
service-learning policy and
practice.
There is a profound sense of
cohesiveness among faculty,
between the principal and
faculty, among students and
faculty, and surrounding the
entire school community.
There is unquestioning belief in
the value of service-learning,
and a persistent commitment to
its success.
Teachers must rely on their
own creativity and wit, which
may only go so far when it
comes to trying a new
pedagogy. Part-time personnel,
while helpful, may not be
sufficient to catalyze adequate
momentum to galvanize true
support for service-learning.
The lack of personnel reflects a
lack of commitment by the
institution(s) to servicelearning.
Service-learning may be quite
successful and practiced by
some, many or even most
faculty, but it lacks the sort of
endorsement that contributes to
complete support. In some
cases, faculty can even obstruct
this and other new methods
with vigor or by other and more
discreet forms of apathy. Most
opposition is usually based on a
failure to see the academic
relevance of service-learning
activities. This limits the