Community Service

Community Service: The Wednesday schedule differs from the rest of the week. Every other week all students participate in Community Service in the afternoon. On opposite weeks, the afternoon is dedicated to special school events that might include guest presenters, portfolio worktime, school governance town meeting, or other all school events. Community Service offerings occur in the school or in the larger community. In-school service includes School Council, Student Judiciary, Building and Grounds, Admissions Committee, and Technology Club. All students are expected to participate in at least 90 minutes of community service every other week through this Wednesday afternoon program or the equivalent outside school.

Community Service Winter Term: As part of our belief in connecting students to the community, and in an effort to apply academic learning in the "real world," Compass students participate in a "Winter term" in February dedicated to Community Service Learning. This break in the regular schedule allows students to work in across grade level teams to use their academic skills to address real community needs. We solicit "problem statements" from community partners that define a particular need for which they seek a solution. A team of students, working with a teacher, determine a plan to study this problem and produce a report, solution, or service to address the community need. From Winterm, students learn about working in uncertainty, exercising self-direction, aiming for quality and effectiveness, and making their very best effort to move things forward even if you are not always sure where it is leading. This has proven a great opportunity to allow students to be involved in real learning for the real world while seeking to make a real difference for our community.