Preliminary Findings: Community Service and Service-Learning in Public Schools

This nationally representative study of principals and other administrators in K-12 public schools in the United States in January 2004 found the following: 69 percent of K-12 public schools engage students in community service, reaching an estimated 15 million students; 30 percent of K-12 public schools engage students in service-learning, reaching an estimated 4.5 million students; 9 out of 10 principals in schools that offer service-learning say that it has a positive impact on students' civic engagement, personal and social development, and school-community partnerships; Principals in schools with service-learning in low-income communities are more likely than principals in other schools with service-learning to say that it positively affects students' academic achievement and school engagement; 8 out of 10 principals in schools that offer service-learning say that it has a positive impact on academic achievement, teacher satisfaction, school climate, school engagement, and community's view of youth as resources. The full report contains even more information on statistics and trends in service-learning.