Service Learning
Bosque School’s service learning program facilitates a meaningful connection between students and their community. Service learning instills a sense of civic understanding and social responsibility, creates pathways for the practical application of learning and leadership, and empowers our students to collaborate with community partners and authentically contribute to the health and vitality of our city and state.
While both community service and service learning involve acts of volunteerism and provide benefits to a community, there are distinct differences between the two:
- Community Service: Community service refers to volunteer activities performed by individuals or groups to address community needs or support charitable organizations. Community service is typically a one-time or short-term engagement in which individuals contribute their time and efforts to help others. Community service is often focused on providing direct assistance or support to those in need, such as volunteering at a food pantry or participating in a trash cleanup.
- Service Learning: Service learning, on the other hand, is an educational approach that integrates community service with academic learning. It is a more structured and intentional process that combines classroom instruction with meaningful community engagement. In service learning, students participate in service activities that are directly connected to their curriculum, allowing them to apply and reflect upon their academic knowledge in real-world contexts. Service learning aims to deepen students' understanding of course material, develop civic responsibility, and foster personal growth and social awareness.
Bosque School has always been committed to service learning, and our alumni often speak warmly about the rights of passage that came from their 6th-grade environmental sustainability-focused service work, their 7th-grade water rights-focused service learning, and their 8th-grade early childhood literacy-focused work. Our high school students deepen their passions for service learning by assuming peer leadership with longstanding community partnerships in areas such as art therapy, environmental advocacy, women’s rights, Amnesty International, and public health initiatives.
At Bosque School, we don’t count service hours — we provide pathways to inspire and motivate our students to engage in service learning, not just to check a box, but to fulfill a deep sense of purpose and meaningful contribution.
The goals of our service learning program are to increase student awareness of different perspectives and complexities around social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues; learn how organizations and individuals can address and impact these issues; experience and understand the value of volunteering time and talent to be part of the solution; and develop an authentic sense of compassion and ethic of service to others. Ultimately, students explore their place in the world by considering the impact of their choices and actions on their ability to affect positive change.