Building Community Through Service-Learning: The Role of the Community Partner

This issue paper has been designed especially with the community partner in mind. From the school perspective, what can be done to encourage and support the emergence of the agency or organization as a partner? From the agency or organization perspective, what are the significant considerations involved in establishing successful service-learning partnerships? This paper highlights effective strategies, using best practice examples to illustrate the potential impact on the service-learning partnership.  The paper's focus is on school-based, as distinct from community-based, service-learning. A number of the strategic recommendations presented in this paper, however, especially those dealing with changes within the organization or agency itself, may be applicable to both situations.