O'Connell to give welcome at statewide Service Learning Institute in Carpinteria

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will give the welcome address at the first statewide Service Learning Summer Institute, which will run 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 15 at Carpinteria High School, 4810 Foothill Road, Carpinteria. This is the fourth time the institute is being held locally and the first time it is statewide in scope.

The Region 8 Annual Summer Institute is sponsored by the National Service-Learning Exchange, as well as Cal Serve — the state agency for Service Learning — the Santa Barbara County Education Office, and Service Learning Region 8.

Region 8 spans Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern, and Ventura counties and their districts.

Service Learning is a teaching method that provides grade-level core curriculum through service to the classroom, school or community, in grades K-16. In the Carpinteria Unified School District, for example, sixth graders from four schools continued a service-learning project that restores the natural dunes at Carpinteria State Beach. Students mended fences and cleaned up debris; in the process, they learned about Chumash history, natural vegetation, area insects, and reptiles.

Ed Brown’s eighth and ninth graders at the Court Community School in San Luis Obispo met one-on-one with retirement home residents and wrote their histories for English class. In Bakersfield, 1,500 students, parents and staff participated in the Great American School Cleanup. Students from 15 schools identified areas that needed work on campuses and in their neighborhood. They cleaned up, fixed up, painted, and planted trees.

“It’s clear that Service Learning is filling a vital need in our classrooms,” said O’Connell. “Through this classroom technique, children — who for different reasons may be alienated from school— suddenly see the connection to real life and become motivated to learn. It is wonderful that teachers understand the powerful difference this kind of teaching and learning can make for students.”

Santa Barbara County Superintendent Bill Cirone, whose office is coordinating the conference, voiced strong enthusiasm for the program. “Service learning clearly adds to student motivation and, as a result, higher student achievement.”

The institute offers workshops for teachers to learn or refresh service-learning methodology. Statewide experts will hold beginner and advanced service-learning workshops at the Institute, including Andy Furco, director of the Service-Learning Research and Development Center in Berkeley, who will review ten years of research in service-learning effectiveness.

Youth leadership and in-service-learning will make up the second large component of the institute, featuring interactive sessions for both youth and adults. A continental breakfast and lunch will be included in the all-day institute, and there will be optional beach events afterwards.

"This is the conference to attend,” said Art Fisher, director of the Career Education Department in the Santa Barbara County Education Office, and also Region 8 Lead. “Participants will be able to learn what the research shows about the nexus of service learning and increased student achievement, attendance and motivation to learn.”

Registration is $20 for adults and $15 for youth. More information is available from the Region 8 website, www.sbceo.org/careers/service.html or by calling Ann McLennan at 964-4711, ext. 4407 or e-mailing her at service@sbceo.org.