Classroom and Community Partnerships – Service-Learning is the tool!

by Debbie Emery

 

Recently more than 100 educators and school administrators across the state joined together for Service Learning New Jersey: Building Our Future.  Kean University provided a fabulous backdrop for the day, which was co-presented by generationOn, the New Jersey Governor’s Jefferson Awards and the Volunteer Center of Bergen County.

 

Educators explored best practices  in service-learning from experts and practitioners in the field, discovered community resources to support initiatives, learned how to use service-learning as a tool to implement core practices and 21^st Century skills, and connected with peers in their areas of education.  Whenever the community and the classroom can benefit from each other’s expertise, students win.  

 

Some comments from attendees included:

• “...the entire conference was very useful and informative.”
• “Everything was amazing.  Mainly the workshops.  It was inspiring, educational and motivational.  Thank you.”
• “It is a definite need for our youth to know they are important.  And that we need listen to our students to see their perspectives on their community and the steps for improvement.”

 

Plans are already in the works for the 2014 conference.  If you want to receive information about this and other programs around youth volunteerism and service-learning, please contact Debbie Emery at demery@bergenvolunteers.org or 201-489-9454, x118.