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A Lesson on Partnerships
by Cynthia Belliveau & Sarah John

Since 1987, the Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance has been developing an infrastructure of service-learning across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in which collaboration and partnerships with institutions of higher education, K-12 schools, community agencies, students and teachers have been central. When the Corporation for National and Community Service announced its Disability Outreach grant program, the PSLA recognized an opportunity to use its existing network of organizations to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to serve.

A core goal of the PSLA Disability Outreach grant is to change how people view others with disabilities, from individuals who “receive” service to those who “provide service” in K-12 schools. Often a well intentioned teacher, wanting his students to experience service, will arrange for his class to “help” the special education class down the hall. He and his students feel good about their service and how they are making a difference. The experience may not be as positive for the special education recipients, however. Once again, they are put in a receiving position, not a giving one. The PSLA grant changes the experience into a collaborative and mutually beneficial service-learning activity between two classrooms. The special education classroom is then transformed from a recipient of service to a collaborating partner in a service-learning project.

Initially, we presumed that a service experience for special education students would require adaptations or changes to the project so that special education students could participate. We held an underlying belief that service-learning would not be the “same” with special education students, instead would be "adapted service-learning." In the first year of our work with special education students, we have learned a very important lesson. Service-learning with disabled individuals is not so much about adapting or changing, but more about partnering and collaborating, something the PSLA has been practicing all along!

As part of the grant work this year, twelve teachers from the Philadelphia school district partnered with either Earthforce, Need in Deed or Kids Around Town, all non-profit organizations that support service-learning efforts. In addition to these organizations, each class worked with a community partner, ranging from local advocacy groups, to city officials, to business owners. In each case, the classes reaped the benefits of having someone with whom to share the service-learning experience.

For the students of Vare Middle School in Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River Development Council (SRDC) was a crucial partner in service. The SRDC taught the history and current state of the Schuylkill River and helped develop three interactive field trips to different sections of the river. while the students added new insight, fresh ideas and a community voice to the project. Integral to this experience was the partnership between schools, community agencies and experienced service-learning staff.

Throughout the year, the PSLA has also observed how important partnerships are between the students themselves. Many of the PSLA-supported projects joined two classrooms to accomplish community change. At Martha Washington Middle School in Philadelphia, students with complementary interests and aptitudes were placed in pairs. The paired students assessed their respective abilities and assumed responsibilities accordingly. It was expected that all the pairs would do their part, because the work would not get done without the skills and energy of everyone. Most importantly, the regular education students were not instructed to “help” the special education students; both classes were given similar instructions to “accomplish the service-learning work.”

The PSLA Disability Outreach grant promotes service as a transition tool and a life-long option for special education students. This summer, the PSLA forged a partnership with youthAbility, an initiative of JEVS (Jewish Employment and Vocational Services) to create the My Corps Summer transition program to help accomplish this goal. This two-week program gave special education students the opportunity to experience short-term membership in a National Service Corps program and to encourage them to explore service as a post-secondary option.

Serving as junior counselors, students in My Corps Summer taught and helped elementary aged children who were participating in a National School and Community Corps (NSCC) camp. Through this opportunity, students gained first hand experience in service, while the NSCC gained experience working with students with special needs. Partnerships were the deciding factor to success, not our expertise at “adapting” service to fit special education students. Few, if any, special accommodations had to be made so that the junior counselors could fully participate .

PSLA hopes that all students and young people will be expected to participate in service-learning opportunities, and that the partnerships, support and general acceptance of service-learning will help to fulfull this goal. The PSLA strives to help all teachers in Pennsylvania view service-learning as a teaching method, whether they teach in a "regular ed" or "special ed" classroom. This goal will be achieved by helping educators understand that the main adaptation needed is an openness to collaboration.