Signature Program: Service Learning
Signature Programs
St. John’s Signature Programs broaden the student experience and cultivate a love of learning both inside and outside of the classroom. These Signature Programs provide a holistic education that extends classroom learning, encourages students to explore different areas of interest, teaches new skills, and helps children deepen their understanding of the world around them.
Service Learning
At each grade level, from prekindergarten through eighth grade, students have consistent service opportunities to support our surrounding community. Among the organizations we support are: Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, Jubilee Park and Community Center, Aunt Bette’s Pantry, Feed My Starving Children, among others. Our service learning coordinator works with all St. John’s grade-level teams to meet the needs of area organizations, and teaches students person-centered language that focuses first on the person and then on their need or disability. Through these experiences, we seek to help students understand that the way we speak about people influences the attitudes we form about them.
Service learning combines learning goals and community service to enrich both student growth and the common good. To quote Vanderbilt University’s Janet S. Eyler (winner of the 2003 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning) and Dwight E. Giles, Jr., service learning is,
“a form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students. . . seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves. In the process, students link personal and social development with academic and cognitive development. . . experience enhances understanding; understanding leads to more effective action.”
At each grade level, students participate in service projects, from collecting teddy bears for children, to visiting assisted-living facilities, to donating supplies to the Red Cross. Students learn civic responsibility, strengthen communities, and experience the responsibility and joy of making a difference.
Eighth graders embark on student-driven service learning projects, which serve as a capstone to their education. These projects blend the best elements of a St John’s education – servant leadership, collaboration, meaningful and relevant learning, and a unique experience. Students research problems in their community, plan and evaluate solutions, and give of their time and talent to make a difference.
Student Leadership and Service
Seventh and eighth graders are eligible to join student leadership and service (SLS). SLS members plan, organize, and pop-up and off-campus service experiences for other students throughout the year. SLS members are motivated to develop leadership skills; they have a passion for serving the community; and they strive to be role models for other students.