How to Establish Service-Learning In Your After School Program

By Robert Schoenfeld

"Service-Learning will help you make your after school program a more educational, character-building and fun experience for your students.

What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning is a method of teaching and learning that enriches the student’s life by engaging the student in meaningful hands on service to the community while gaining valuable knowledge and skills that connect with classroom studies. Today there are over four million students, K-12, who are improving their lives and the lives of people in their community through Service-Learning.

Benefits of Service-Learning

Service-Learning is a proven educational technique that facilitates a student’s growth in academics, social maturity, thinking, communication, collaboration and leadership skills...


Service-Learning – Key Components

Some key components of Service-Learning are reflection, analytical thinking (problem solving), working as a team, service to the community, experiential learning, reciprocity (the student gives and receives), and journaling.

Getting Started

A successful After School Service Learning Program requires knowledge, planning and buy-in from the students, the After School Program staff, the student’s parents, and community partners (the people in the community that are being served)....


Your After School Service-Learning program will be very successful if the Service-Learning project is fun, interactive and meaningful."