HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

171

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP PLANS TO INTEGRATE CREATIVE APPROACHES FOR SERVICE LEARNING AND COMMUNITY SERVICE IN THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH STUDENT TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL.

 

 

WHEREAS, a stated vision of the Department of Education (DOE) is that by the time of high school graduation, students are able to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and

WHEREAS, the Superintendent of Education recently listed instilling civic responsibility and action in students as a top priority; and

WHEREAS, numerous states, public school districts, and private schools throughout the nation are integrating service learning and community service projects as essential components of the academic curriculum, as well as requirements for graduation; and

WHEREAS, the active participation and engagement of students in the civic health of their communities is essential to developing contributing citizens with lifelong habits of service and civic responsibility; and

WHEREAS, the positive impacts of community service include:

(1) Psychological and social development of students;

(2) Intellectual and academic benefits to students;

(3) Civic learning; and

(4) Engagement of young people with their communities;

and

WHEREAS, place-based education, community-based education, and the pedagogy of service learning offer students relevancy and engagement with the world in which they live, and have been proven to be curricular approaches that enhance student interest and increase the chances of students remaining in school to graduate; and

WHEREAS, service learning, community-based education, and community service projects are excellent ways to enable students to:

(1) Practice civic responsibility;

(2) Understand their roles as citizens in a representative democracy; and

(3) Encourage volunteerism through civic participation;

now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Education (BOE) is urged to request DOE to develop plans to integrate creative approaches for service learning and community services in the requirements for each student to graduate from high school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE is urged to offer teacher and administrator in-service on integrating service learning and place-based and community-based learning strategies into the regular curriculum so that community service projects become an integral part of a student's learning experience prior to graduation from high school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE is requested to engage each high school's career and guidance counselors, student activities coordinator or student government advisor, school community council, and student council leaders, with the assistance of community organizations and businesses, in dialoging and planning for the integration of service learning, including community service projects, into the school's educational curriculum; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education, who is requested to provide copies of this Concurrent Resolution to each complex area superintendent and to each public school.

Report Title:

Community Service; DOE