STUDENT-RUN SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS

POSTED BY: YOUR TEACHER
FROM: EDUTOPIA
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/service-learning-cafe-freedom-rosemary-owens-blake-oconner

A Formula for Creating Successful Student-Run Service Learning Projects

May 19, 2011

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Rosemary Owens, assistant principal for curriculum at Freedom High School and Tampa FL.
  Tampa's Freedom High School was transformed by a student-led initiative beginning in the summer of 2009. A rising senior, Blake O'Connor, and I had the privilege of attending the Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) on a scholarship from the Bezos Family Foundation. The AIF is an annual gathering of big thinkers from all areas of society, from the arts to science to religion, culture, economics, and politics. Each year, the festival challenges participants to tackle some of the more pressing issues of our times, and figure out ways to replicate solutions. 

Our Inspiration

The year we went the festival theme was "Exploring Ideas, Deepening Dialogue, Inspiring Action," and the scholars had lots of freedom in choosing speakers to hear and sessions to attend. Education, naturally, was important to our fellow student and educator  scholars. It was fascinating to listen to Michelle Rhee discuss her experience with D.C schools. Howard Gardner provided much insight on learning styles and Tom Friedman was a driving force in declaring the responsibility of youth to be agents of change in our world: "Get off Facebook and into peoples' faces!" A highlight was spending a scholars-only hour with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. New to his position, he requested the time to listen to us - educators and students - tell him about our classroom experience and hopes for its future.
As part of our grant, we were challenged to return home and create a festival for our own community, a Local Ideas Festival.

Turning Inspiration into Action

Inspired by the profound needs to improve literacy in our community and around the world, Blake and his peers created Café Freedom, named after the salons of the French Revolution. As a team, they worked to change local statistics: 35% of children in third grade were not ready to read when they arrived.   
This is an important year in Florida public schools, as third-grade students begin to take standardized tests that determine their placement in their own educational progression.   
Meeting with peers, faculty and administration at the beginning of the new school year, Café Freedom got to work. A plan was formed and implemented to promote literacy awareness through numerous stages.

• Book donations: Freedom High students encouraged others to donate books to take to 12 second grade classrooms in Title 1 elementary schools. They asked for help gathering donated books from the entire school's educational community, including the PTSA, Liberty Middle School, parents, teachers and early childhood programs at nearby universities.
• Readings at elementary schools: High school students read books to the second graders, created "I Feel the Need to Read" activities and made sure they all received books that could be given away to each student.
• Parent Night: The targeted elementary school parents were invited for a discussion on how to raise readers and an exploration of techniques to make it happen. A panel of experts from local media, education university faculty and librarians were asked to share their advice, while separately their children were entertained by Freedom High School's Drama Club productions of children's stories.
• Day-long "I Feel the Need to Read" celebration The major push of the initiative was the Literacy Festival on Dr. Seuss' birthday in which 280 second graders filled the Freedom High School football field for a day of literacy-themed games, activities, food and prizes. Not only was each student encouraged to read throughout the day, but each also took a literacy oath and received a bag of books and school supplies to take with them.

Bringing the Literacy Project to Other Schools

Because of the overwhelming success of Blake's project, Café Freedom expanded their effort this year. Two additional high schools were supported to start their own literacy initiatives, reaching a thousand more elementary school students. In its second year, over 1000 students benefited from books raised by this expanded group. The second annual Family Literacy night drew close to 400 parents and students. Sponsorship of this program has expanded from the original Bezos grant to include local support from Target, Publix and the Rotary Club of New Tampa.