Service learning, in a broad sense, can be defined as integrating community service into academics. There are, however some facets of service learning that must be focused on to gain a better understanding of the subject. Most agree upon several basic principals. First students are involved in action that helps to meet the needs of the community. Ideally the students identify a problem in their community or sometimes in a broader based state or national sense, and take action to help solve this problem. Second the students benefit from their action both is a sense of knowledge as well as civic responsibility. Finally the students reflect upon their experience within the setting of the classroom, hopefully tying the experience in with the curriculum.

Recently the United States has made progress in the field of service learning. In 1990 Congress passed and George Bush signed the National and Community Service Act. This act provided the authorization of grants to schools for service learning. In 1993 Bill Clinton signs the National and Community Service Trust Act. This act brought further support to those schools willing to incorporate service learning into their curriculum. At his 1996 commencement address at Penn State University Bill Clinton had this to say:

"I challenge every high school in America to make
service a part of its basic ethic. Every high school
student who can do so should do some community
service. There are some schools, both public and
private, that require community service as a part of
their curriculum. I say, good for them. Commitment
to community should be an ethic we learn as soon
as possible so we carry it throughout our lives."

Since this address many more steps have been taken to highlight the importance of service learning in schools.

There has been an abundance of research done in the area of service learning. Many of the studies show that service learning helps to develop a sense of civic responsibility among students. Furthermore studies have shown that service learning has been linked to higher academic success, higher attendance rates, and an increase in students' self esteem. Just as importantly is the fact that service learning can lead to more closely knit communities.

The following project was designed to bring attention to those schools that have successfully integrated service learning into their curriculum. I personally feel (and I know I am not alone) that service learning, when carefully tuned, will help foster community and learning among the youth of America. Therefore I feel that it is necessary to credit those who have taken the lead and provide models for those who choose to follow.