Applications for Service-Learning Mini-Grants (up to $500) are available here.

Connect & Commit is helping to facilitate the integration of service-learning into the curriculum at WHS. Service-learning is a teaching-and-learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and meet real needs in the community.

· Cleaning up the Aberjona is service
· Studying ecosystems, erosion, and the affect of chemicals in waterways is learning
· Testing and monitoring the Aberjona in partnership with the Mystic River Watershed Association and conducting an awareness campaign around the school is service-learning

Connect & Commit provides training and ongoing support to faculty interested in bringing service-learning into their classrooms. Ample evidence exists that, while we all benefit from pursuing the integration of real world service experiences with the academic aspect of school, it is the students who benefit most. Service-learning, which is a form of experiential learning, has been shown to improve student academic achievement and engagement, build character and civic responsibility, and strengthen relationships between the school and the community.

For more information about how Connect & Commit can help you to develop service-learning in your classroom, please contact the Program Director.

In the Connect & Commit office, there are many articles and books about service-learning that faculty may borrow. These resources contain information about the why’s and how’s of service-learning, and can give faculty help with how to connect service with Massachusetts curriculum standards, as well as information on project ideas, preparation, assessment, and reflection. Check out current book titles and other links and resources.

Click here for current available book titles