<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4BViyD_0vk40Z5900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4BViyD_0vk40Z5900" width="1280" height="853" ></figure>Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 25, 2024 – After a year of changes brought forth by the LEARNS Act, schools across Arkansas are still adjusting to many of the new requirements.One such requirement is Community Service Learning (CSL), which requires high school students to complete 75 community service hours before they can graduate.The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website defines this as “activities carried out by individual students or groups of students to enhance and contribute to their local community.”“Beginning with the graduating class of 2026-2027 (which is currently the tenth graders as it started in 2023), a public high school student shall complete a minimum of 75 clock hours of documented community service in grades nine through twelve, as certified by the service agency or organization with which the public school student volunteers, in order to graduate,” according to Arkansas Code Annotated §6-16-1901.There is no minimum community service hour requirement per grade level or a limit on the number of hours a student can earn in a year. For example, a student who earns 30 hours their freshman year and 45 hours their sophomore year will have already completed the required 75 hours before graduation.For current eleventh and twelfth graders, Arkansas Code Annotated §6-16-120 states that a student who has completed the minimum 75 hours of documented community service in grades nine through twelve, shall also be eligible to receive one CSL course credit that may be applied toward graduation.For students transferring into a public school district after ninth grade or students graduating early, they may receive a diploma provided that the minimum requirement for each year they attend a public school district in Arkansas is met.This includes 15 hours for students in ninth grade; 20 hours for students in tenth grade; 20 hours for students in eleventh grade and 20 hours for students in twelfth grade.For example, a student who moves to Arkansas from a different state in eleventh grade would need to accrue 40 hours of community service to graduate, while a student who moves to Arkansas from a different state in ninth grade would need to accrue the full 75 hours to graduate.As last year was the first year for the CSL requirement, Douglas MacArthur Junior High School Guidance Counselor Lindsey Kelley noted how the process has been working at the school.“It is still a work in progress,” she said, noting that they have a better plan this year. “While we logged 2000 hours last year, we have already logged 650 hours so far this [school] year.”According to Kelley, the CSL hours start being accrued on the first day of summer after the students complete their eighth grade year. She also noted the class of 2027 will be the first group to have to complete the full 75 hours over four years as per the LEARNS Act.“Our goal at JPS is to have students complete the first 15 hours in the ninth grade and 20 hours each grade after because it doesn’t seem as daunting if they learn to break it up,” she said.Community service hours do not have to be done through the school. They can be acquired through school clubs, sports teams, church groups, and more.“The teachers help find hours for their students as well and they have gotten really good at it,” she said. “We have learned to be creative and learned to change our mindset as to what community service hours are.”For example, Kelley said that at Christmas time some clubs like the FBLA send Christmas cards and the band does extra concerts throughout the community.However, she said they realize that transportation is an issue for some students. To combat this, the school provides volunteer opportunities such as working at the carlines, concessions, and the school food room and clothes room.Kelley also noted that while the students are responsible for keeping up with their community service hours and making sure that they complete their 75 total hours before graduating, the school has created a Google form to help make it as easy as possible, which can be accessed via a QR code or link.“We are still deciphering and figuring out the best method to keep up with the hours,” she said. “But it is good for the students as community service is important.”</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Schools continue to adjust to LEARNS’ required community service learning

Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 25, 2024 – After a year of changes brought forth by the LEARNS Act, schools across Arkansas are still adjusting to many of the new requirements. One such requirement is Community Service Learning (CSL), which requires high school students to complete...