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Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance Newsletter
January 2006

• Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance: What We Do
• Upcoming Events
• Service-Learning Resources
• Grant Resources

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I. Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance: What We Do

The Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance is the training and technical assistance provider for the Department of Education's Learn and Serve program in Pennsylvania. The PSLA is committed to bringing the service-learning methodology to urban, rural, and suburban public K-12 schools throughout Pennsylvania. The PSLA helps teachers in Pennsylvania acquire the skills they need to successfully develop, implement, evaluate, and assess service-learning projects in the classroom. The PSLA training events emphasize the integration of service-learning with the curriculum and academic standards. With offices at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania, the PSLA staff is able to meet the needs of public school teachers and administrators statewide.

Our website has many new resources, from grant listings to peer consultants to service-learning links. Check it out! http://www.paservicelearning.org

Submit to the newsletter! Let us know about the service-learning that’s going on in your Pennsylvania community. Email articles/updates/photos to: info@paservicelearning.org.

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II. Upcoming Events

Promising Practices - Proven Strategies: Delivering Quality Extra Learning Opportunities For Our Children
March 1-2, 2006
Harrisburg, PA
http://www.center-school.org/extralearning/

Plan now to attend this statewide conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Hilton Harrisburg and Towers, March 1-2, 2006. The conference will focus on key elements of high-quality extra learning opportunities, and on developing systems that support and promote collaboration and youth success.

• Academic Achievement
• Community & Family Involvement
• Quality Programming
• Management & Administration
• Staffing & Training
• Financing
• Research, Evaluation & Knowledge Base
• Policy & Advocacy
• Supporting Systems

These key elements will provide the backdrop for participants to learn about the development, implementation and sustainability of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by schools, youth, parents, and the community-at-large.
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17th Annual National Service-Learning Conference
March 22-26, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.nylc.org

The National Youth Leadership Council's Annual Service-Learning Conference is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia on March 22-25, 2006. The Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance and the rest of the Pennsylvania service-learning community are excited to play host to this amazing conference. We are getting ready to showcase all of the wonderful service-learning work happening right here in our own state.

Visit the conference web site (www.nylc.org) to download the conference flier. We look forward to seeing you there!
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2006 Coalition Forum Community Schools: Creating the Conditions for Learning
June 14-16, 2006
Baltimore, MD
http://www.communityschools.org/Overview.htm#goals

The Coalition for Community Schools is pleased to announce our 5th National Forum, Community Schools: Creating the Conditions for Learning. This year's Forum will be held at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland June 14-16th, 2006.

It’s an exciting time for community schools, and this year’s Forum promises to continue building momentum. Community Schools: Creating the Conditions for Learning will focus on how community schools create an environment in which all children can learn and succeed at high levels. Participants will explore the conditions for learning through the lens of leadership, policy, systems and practice changes. For more information, read the Forum Overview. Registration will open within the next two weeks.

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III. Service-Learning Resources

Youth-Driven Service-Learning Center (YDSLC) Manual
http://www.paservicelearning.org/Directory/Publications.html

A Youth-Driven Service-Learning Center (YDSLC) is a community development center located in a school, managed primarily by young people, which brings together school and community resources for the benefit of all.

The YDSLC model was developed at the Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Learn and Serve Office, and has now been implemented in twenty centers across Pennsylvania. For more information on the YDSLC concept, check out http://www.paservicelearning.org/PSLA/YDSLC.html.

A note from the authors: “We’ve used the model (of the YDSLC) to develop the workbook…The process will prompt you to answer questions in ways that are specific to your needs, not designed to be used cover to cover but rather to use the parts as you NEED them.”
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National & Global Youth Service Day -- Free Planning Materials Available
April 21-23, 2006
www.YSA.org/nysd

Youth Service America is pleased to offer free materials to help you
plan your service project for the 18th Annual National & Global Youth
Service Day (N & GYSD), April 21-23, 2006.

Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, and Classroom
Posters are now available in print and on-line. Download these
materials or order free printed copies at
www.ysa.org/nysd/resource/nysd_resources_parent.cfm

All materials are also available for downloading in Spanish.

Use these materials to plan your service project for National and Global Youth Service Day and all your service projects throughout the year. To learn more about N & GYSD and access other resources to help you plan your project - including project grants, tip sheets, effective practices, and more - visit
www.YSA.org/nysd.

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Grant Resources

Funding for PA Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training
(Feb 7)
Funding is available through the Ready Campus Initiative to support CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trainings on your campus.
The CERT program helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. If you are interested in applying for CERT funding, please request an application from Charlene Gray at cgray@paccompact.org or Helen Speziale at hspezial@misericordia.edu.

Christopher Columbus Awards (Feb 13)
http://www.christophercolumbusawards.com
Grants are available for teams of up to four middle school students and a coach to identify a community issue and use the scientific process to solve it. Grants are $25,000 and all-expense-paid trips to Disney World and U.S. Savings Bonds.

International Young Eco-Hero Award (Feb 28)
Action For Nature seeks applications from 8 to 16 year olds worldwide for its 2006 International Young Eco-Hero Awards Program. Cash prizes up to $500 will be awardedTo print out award flyers, for guidelines, an application form, or to find out about winners for the last three years, click: http://www.actionfornature.org/eco-hero/ecoheroawards.html

GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards  (April 7)
Gatorade and the Women's Sports Foundation (http://womenssportsfoundation.org/) are supporting a second year of the GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards to inspire teams to help combat the alarming physical and psychological health hazards affecting America's youth. The program will award twenty $2,500 grants.  See the foundation's Web site for complete program guidelines and application instructions.
http://womenssportsfoundation.org/

Digital Imaging & Visual Learning Grants (Dec 30)
Olympus America, Inc. & Tool Factory, Inc. sponsor a classroom grants program designed to strengthen education through digital imaging and the power of visual learning. Maximum Award: $3,500. Eligibility: K12 and special education schools in the US, its territories, and Canada.
http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus_contest/olympus_teacher.htm

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