Community Service
For the past several years, students at Paola High School have been given the opportunity to opt out of one final by completing ten approved hours of community service. For first semester if the students meet the goal of 10 hours they will receive an opt out for a final. Second semester the Developmental Leadership class will turn the hours into the office where they will be converted into points.
The goals are to:
- Introduce students to community service/civic engagement
- Increase student participation in school organizations
Research shows that students who are more involved in school organizations tend to have better grades and test scores. Also, the “reward” (opting out of a final) is academic, so the program is designed to maintain that tie to the school’s mission and curriculum.
Therefore, all community service done by a student that he/she wishes to use for opting out of a final must be earned through pre-approved community service projects directed by school organizations or the Developmental Leadership class. All community service hours for this purpose will be logged by PHS organization sponsors or the Developmental Leadership class.
We hope to encourage students to become more involved in Paola High School’s clubs, organizations and activities which will in turn benefit not only our community as we build stronger ties with our student’s overall civic engagement, but also benefit the students themselves as their involvement in their school translates into better academic records.
Sponsored by:
Paola High School’s Developmental Leadership Class
-- Commitment, Compassion, Integrity --
~Additional Research Information
- Extra Curricular Activities in High School and Higher Test Scores
- The Role of Supportive School Environments in Promoting Academic Success
- The Free Library - Education Periodical
“The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve the leader, but the number of people served by the leader.” --adapted from a quote by John C. Maxwell
