YSA and State Farm are looking for administrators who want to create a culture of meaningful learning through service in their school. We will select 20 K-12 public schools to be recognized as Good Neighbor Innovation Schools. Each selected school will receive a $5,000 grant to support their efforts to authentically engage students during the 2015-2016 academic year by using YSA’s school programs – including Semester of Service, Classrooms with a Cause, and Global Youth Service Day.

Program Benefits:

• $5,000 grant to support service-learning in your school
• One-Day Training Symposium in Washington, DC, tentatively scheduled for June 30th (YSA will cover the travel expenses.)
• Ongoing technical support, resources, and networking

Eligibility:

K-12 public schools (elementary, middle, or high school) in the 50 U.S. states and DC with an administrator (principal, head of school, or superintendent) who commits to:

• Provide service-learning training to their staff, and
• Convene and work with a service-learning team that includes another administrator, students, a guidance counselor, at least five teachers representing different departments or grade levels, parents, and community partners – including a State Farm representative.

What types of applications are we looking for?
YSA is looking for administrators who:

• Want to create a culture of service in their school and demonstrate a willingness to use YSA’s resources, networks, and best practices
• Use service-learning as a strategy to meet state academic standards and teach college and career readiness skills, including the 4 Cs: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, Communication, and Collaboration
• Align service-learning activities with other innovative educational strategies or methods that you are currently using, including: deeper learning, project-based learning, experiential learning, citizen science/maker movement, global education, environmental education, civic learning etc.
• Have a service or service-learning requirement in their school or school district (not required)