Community Service Learning Grant
Leesburg lies in the heart of Central Florida and was once a rich citrus farming community. After a very costly freeze, which devastated the citrus industry, many things changed in Leesburg. These changes had tremendous negative effect on the agriculture community, area businesses, and society, which in turn affected life as it had been lived in this area. In the last few years, Lake County has made the national headlines due to the occurrences of serious crimes and an unusually high number of low income families, which exceed state and national levels. Racial subgroups in Leesburg have higher than average poverty rates when compared to the same ethic groups in Florida. Leesburg dropout rate exceeds the state’s average. Lake County is divided into five areas for which data is kept on the number of expulsions, alternate placements and felonies off campus at the middle and high school levels. Of the five areas, Leesburg had the most incidents in the county.
For the 2001-2002 school year statistics show 280 students were suspended from Lake County schools. To date more than 50 have been expelled and referred to alternative programs. This year, in-school suspension has been added to our school system to try and offset the number of students affected by native influences while away from school environment. This most at-risk population, in the middle and elementary schools, will be our target.
The incorporation of the Help Redirect Student (HRS) program into the existing alternative/in-school suspension programs, in lieu of expulsion, holds great promise for bringing about effective changes with its service-learning focus. As a report from the national Commission on Service-Learning notes, “When service-Learning is explicitly connected to curriculum young people make gains on achievement tests, complete their homework more often, and increase their grade point averages.” Service-learning is associated with both increased attendance and reduced dropout rates. Further, the HRS (Help Redirect Students) relies on community partnerships and legitimate parent involvement that model “No Child Left Behind” and the changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The student’s population targeted in the Help Redirect Students (HRS) program is a challenging group. The group will include middle and elementary school students who are in alternative program or in-school suspension chronic offenders. These at-risk youth are housed at six separate locations. Caver and Oak Park Middle schools; Beverly Shores, Fruitland Park and Leesburg elementary schools; and Life stream in Leesburg.
The HRS program is an adaptation initiative because it expands existing programs to include the additional element of community service to an already effective program of challenged youth such as The Governor’s Mentoring Initiative, 21st Century Learning, Neighborhood Accountability Board, and MAD DADS program to support at-risk youth.
HRS will serve as a prevention and intervention strategy for the target group to help reduce the number of referrals, in-and-out school suspensions, and return students to the regular classroom and be productive citizens. HRS students will also:
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be more motivated to learn;
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increase their sense of social and civic responsibility;
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learn to see complex problems in a more approachable way;
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develop a better understanding of the decision-making skills;
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learn conflict resolution; and participate in anger management.
The activities designed to support the HRS program at five sites (Life Stream Behavioral Center, Carver and Oak Park Middle, Beverly Shores, Fruitland Park and Leesburg Elementary) include an Illusory-Photo Story Kit. This activity involves middle school students from Carver and Oak Park Middle in secondary research, designing, and illustration of original books about their lives under the supervision of mentors that will be donated to and shared with elementary at-risk students in the area title-one elementary schools. Students’ visits will be under the supervision of in-school suspension teachers and counselors.
Our mission is to provide students opportunities to learn and develop through active participation in fully organized service learning activities. These activities are compiled from their own experiences and information provided through counseling, which offer healthy choices to day-by-day problems, particularly for our target at-risk students. These goals directly reflect the core area specifically addressed in the HRS programs that are measured by statewide assessment and linked to the Sunshine State Standards. Specific objectives for the HRS program participants will include:
Reduce suspensions and expulsion by 10% based on individuals records.
