California Service-Learning District Partnerships: Statewide Summary Report of Local Evaluations 2008 - 2009

In an effort to improve the sustainability of service-learning as an effective teaching methodology in schools, California’s CalServe Initiative funds 21 partnerships to support high quality service-learning in K-12 schools. This statewide report was guided by the data received from teacher information forms, student tracking sheets, and teacher surveys. All were designed to explore the extent to which local programs achieved the established two overarching statewide goals for service-learning: (1) linking service-learning to the California Academic Content Standards to improve student academic achievement; (2) implementing high quality service-learning projects as defined by the 8 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. The findings suggest that the instructional strategy of service-learning, when implemented in a high quality manner, can have a positive impact on student academic achievement.