Living Democracy Daily: Service-Learning and Active Citizenship

This chapter presents a case study of a school created in 2001 in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a part of the $4 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative to ensure that all students graduate from high school ready for college. Nationwide, just 70% of American students graduate from high school ready for college. Among African America, Hispanic, Native American, and low-income students, only 50% graduate. Avalon High School was created based on the assumption that when students have a sense of ownership of their work and the life-world of their school, and when academic service-learning is defined as servant leadership and active civic engagement, student achievement will increase. (author)