Summary: The Learn and Serve Alabama Program (LSAP) will provide between 16 and 21 subgrants to local school systems and schools to develop service-learning programs for 20,000 students. LSAP will promote service-learning as an effective teaching method, develop strong leadership among subgrantees to promote sustainability, and assist subgrantees to align programs with state performance standards. To support this effort, LSAP will hold two statewide training and technical assistance conferences and establish mentoring relationships between new and more experienced subgrantees. As a result of this project, the LSAP expects to recruit between 500 and 750 adult volunteers.

Summary: The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development will contract with the Alaska State Commission (Alaska Commission) to administer its Learn and Serve America program. The Alaska Commission will award subgrants to Sitka Community Schools, Cordova School District, Juneau-Douglas High School CHOICE Program, and Kuspuk School District (Aniak). These subgrants will involve 400 youths and 400 adult volunteers in service-learning projects that address local issues such as drug use prevention and violence prevention. The program will also develop the civic and leadership skills of the youth participants, instill them with an ethic of service, reduce their likelihood of school failure/drop-out, and increase a sense of connection with their communities. The Alaska Commission will establish school/community partnerships, create an active service-learning peer network, and conduct training events such as an annual statewide conference and disability and diversity inclusion training.

Summary: A minimum of 7,000 Arizona youths and 900 adult volunteers will participate in Learn and Serve Arizona activities. Learn and Serve Arizona will award 31 subgrants addressing the development, enhancement, and operation of youth service-learning programs and adult volunteer programs in the schools. Linking service-learning to citizenship will be emphasized by providing youth participants with competencies that address civic knowledge, civic responsibility, and a variety of age-appropriate skills. Learn and Serve Arizona will develop a process of disseminating and training participants to use the Arizona Service-Learning Guidelines in developing meaningful service-learning experiences that enhance the delivery of the Arizona Academic Standards.

Summary: The Arkansas Department of Education (Arkansas DOE) will fund 15 subgrants involving 4,000 youths and 1,500 adult volunteers in service-learning projects with a heavy emphasis on literacy and/or math improvement. The Learn and Serve America program will be linked with Smart Step, an initiative to ensure that all students complete the 8th grade at or above grade level in reading, writing, and math. Preference will be given to subgrantee applicants that address these emphases. Subgrantees will be required to build solid community connections, make special efforts to include the baby boomer generation, address changing risky behaviors of youths, and conduct an activity in recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Subgrantees, who have received prior funding, will be required to mentor other schools and school staff.

Summary: The California Department of Education will continue its CalServe Initiative which supports more than 140,000 K-12 youths through two key subgranting programs: the California Regional Network and the CalServe Partnership. The Regional Network is supported by regional lead coordinators who provide ongoing training, technical assistance, and outreach to support service-learning throughout the state. In addition, ten to fifteen district-wide programs that have not received funding for at least six years will be funded as “developmental partnerships.” Up to 13 LEAs that were funded in 2003-2006 are eligible to apply for sustainable-institutionalization partnerships; these LEAs are making adequate progress toward the establishment of a cluster-wide, district-wide, or county-wide service-learning program.

Summary: The Colorado Department of Education will fund 5 subgrants that combine implementation grants to support development of service-learning infrastructure in areas of the state where little or low quality service-learning is taking place with classroom and mentoring grants that will be awarded to regions with existing service-learning programs to expand that infrastructure to new schools. Subgrants will target youth from disadvantaged circumstances related to being foreign-born, a member of a migrant population, and/or attending school with a high free/reduced lunch percentage. The participant development outcome pertains to academic achievement through service-learning and is based on the Colorado Student Assessment. Communities will be strengthened through the development of 500 new community partnerships and the collaboration of the Colorado Civic Canopy members.

Summary: The Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) will fund a minimum of four K-12 subgrantees to provide quality service-learning to at least 5,000 K-12 students. Fifty percent of these funded programs per year will demonstrate service-learning excellence through curriculum integration, sustainability, and capacity building. Funded projects will improve the quality of new and existing service-learning programs and address the needs of communities in the areas of education, public safety, human needs, intergenerational, and environmental challenges. Furthermore, SDE is committed to embrace engaging students in community focus area three of the Corporation as one of the priorities in the funding of service-learning subgrants. Each partnership funded by the Learn and Serve America program will be required to have a written partnership agreement. Based on our track record, SDE will continue to have a wide variety of community-based agencies involved as a school partner. Some of our stellar partners have been Youth Service Bureaus, Family Resource Centers, YWCA's, YMCA's, United Way, nursing homes, senior citizens centers, and private businesses.

Summary: The Delaware Department of Education (Delaware DOE) will fund subgrants to involve youths and adults in service-learning projects. Subgrants will be awarded to local educational agencies that partner with one or more organizations, including private or faith-based schools; engage a significant number of disadvantaged youth; design high quality service-learning projects; and include plans to promote service-learning at the local level. Special consideration will be given to innovative projects and those from new schools or communities. The Delaware DOE will conduct numerous training events and will involve its three district coordinators and an advisory board in a yearly event to celebrate and publicize service-learning projects.

Summary: Serve DC is proposing to help address the high dropout rate (35%) among DC youth through service-learning. Projects will have two elements that are designed to motivate service-learners to stay in school: students themselves will identify the community issues to address and every project will include a community education component through which the students seek to raise the awareness and affect the behavior of their neighbors. Serve DC will sub-grant to K-12 DC public schools. Serve DC will deepen and expand partnerships with universities, nonprofits, and other streams of service.

Summary: Florida Learn & Serve (FL&S) intends to address four challenges through service-learning: literacy, intergenerational interaction, environmental needs, and preparation for/response to natural disasters. Through approximately 75 sub-grants and 100 mini-grants, FLS will engage an estimated 55,000 students in service-learning statewide with the support of 500 adult volunteers. The program is designed to help participants improve academic performance, attendance, behavior, and job preparation and increase their civic engagement skills. FL&S plans to tap into and expand its extensive array of partners, including universities and nonprofits, to help districts institutionalize service-learning programs. State-level efforts will include sub-grantee awards (both competitive and non-competitive), training, site visits, technical assistance, evaluation, conferences, and the production and dissemination of materials. Awards will be given to individual schools as well as to school districts.

Summary: The Georgia Department of Education (GDE) proposes to use service-learning as a strategy to reduce the statewide dropout rate, and improve test scores and school performance. Given this focus, the GDE will target alternative schools. Through a process that will award approximately 36 subgrants, the GDE will address these broad needs by encouraging grantees to identify local strategies and programs. The GDE will provide support to it subgrants through the use of GA Ambassadors, experienced teachers with extensive service-learning background, who will provide training on program and fiscal management.

Summary: The Hawaii Department of Education (Hawaii DOE) will fund two subgrants to involve youths in service-learning projects focusing on educational, public safety, human, and environmental needs. The two subgrantees will be school complexes that consist of a comprehensive high school, a middle/intermediate school, and an elementary school. The subgrantees will design and implement service-learning projects that will develop students' knowledge, skills, and dispositions that lead to civic engagement and service to their communities. The Hawaii DOE also will conduct professional development/technical services that will include teacher workshops and network opportunities and will establish partnerships with community-based organizations.

Summary: Each of the 14 Learn and Serve Idaho subgrantee sites will develop Youth Leadership Workshops that engage teams of ten students in community asset mapping, project development training, community partnerships, and defining curricular links. Following training, student teams will work with adult community mentors to develop Strategies for Service action plans for connecting classroom learning and service in the community. Teacher training in the integration of service-learning and civic education will support the successful implementation and activities.

Summary: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has instituted and administered a competitive sub grant program supporting local and regional service-learning programs. The Learn and Serve America Program is available to all Illinois public K-12 school districts, regional offices of education and intermediate service centers. More than 45,000 students participated last year in this program, assisted by teachers and other adults. The Illinois Learn and Serve America program has identified a primary need for school districts and regional programs to incorporate service-learning as a central component of curriculum and instruction. High quality training and technical assistance related to service-learning has been provided to grantees to assist in the integration of service-learning into classrooms throughout Illinois. In their proposals, subgrantees were required to describe how the funds are used to: promote polices that institutionalize service-learning as an essential component of curriculum and instruction; support teacher efforts to integrate service-learning into their teaching practice; enhance students academic learning, civic education and social/ emotional development; and address unmet community needs. ISBE maintains fiscal and program oversights of subgrants, monitoring program process through on-site visit and the review of periodic reports.

Summary: The Indiana Department of Education/Learn and Serve Indiana program's primary mission for the upcoming year is to improve academic achievement, specifically reading and writing across the curriculum and in all grades. Through a new model of corporation-wide subgrants available to every school corporation in the state, the LSI program will reach students K-12 to engage them in service-learning to enhance academic achievement. Each subgrantee may choose to address needs in the following areas: educational and environmental concerns, public safety or homeland security, health and nutrition, or other human needs. Over 15,000 students will be participating in year one of this three year grant cycle. Subgrantees include: Brownsburg Community School Corporation, Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation, North Putnam Community School Corporation, Perry Central Community School Corporation, Spencer-Owen Community Schools, and White River Valley School District.

• Community Education:
  http://www.iowacommunityeducation.org/
• Service-Learning:
  http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/699/715/
  
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers:
  http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/567/554/
  

Summary: The Kansas State Department of Education will subgrant to ten local education agencies to involve 6,000 K-12 participants in service-learning programs. Half of the funding for subgrants will go towards rural areas, with the total funding allocated statewide. Local Partnership Councils will guide the definition of local community needs and how the subgrantee can address them through this grant. Participant development outcomes focus on academic engagement.

Summary: The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) intends to reduce the dropout rate by providing high-risk students in grades 7-9 with mentors who are in high school. Service-learners and the younger students they mentor should demonstrate an improvement in attitudes toward learning and school. Through partnerships with the state service commission and local community councils, KDE will recruit 100 adult volunteers per subgrantee and involve approximately 6,000 students.

Summary: On behalf of the Louisiana Department of Education, the Louisiana Serve Commission's 2006-07 statewide subgrants will focus on increased academic engagement of elementary and middle school students in subjects such as reading and math through peer tutoring programs. Due to the hurricanes of 2005, several programs will incorporate disaster preparedness projects. The Louisiana Serve Commission expects to fund approximately 25 subgrants in K-12 public schools which will involve 3,300 students providing 140,000 service hours to 17,000 direct beneficiaries. An estimated 600 adults will serve as volunteers. Partnerships will include local and statewide organizations, local business and industry, colleges and universities, and local, state and federal agencies. In addition to these subgrants, a no-cost extension of remaining 2005-06 Learn and Serve funds will allow the Louisiana Serve Commission to collaborate with the University of Louisiana System on an initiative that will academically assist displaced students.

Summary: The Maine Department of Education will fund nine new K-12 schools across the state as well as three experienced districts that will engage 25,000 students and 400 adults in service-learning activities over three years to address community and economic development, conservation, and poverty, among other issues. LSA funds will increase the number of schools engaged in service-learning, focus on counties with the highest poverty levels, and support experienced districts in sustaining service-learning. Two of the grant recipients this year are CTE (formerly VoTech) schools which will be able to expand on their existing practices of hands-on work in the community. KIDS Consortium will continue to provide professional development opportunities and technical assistance to all subgrantees while supporting school leadership teams and their partners in developing and implementing policies that integrate service-learning within the curriculum. The new schools receiving grants are: Union 106, Calais; CSD 13, Deer Isle; MSAD 12, Jackman; Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Region Two School of Applied Technology, Houlton; Old Town School Department; MSAD 75, Topsham; United Technologies Center, Bangor; Madawaska School Department.

Summary: The Maryland State Department of Education will continue to support the state mandated service-learning requirement through funding and technical assistance to Local School Systems. Coordinators and teachers will receive training and support to develop new partnerships and implement service-learning projects that will involve approximately 100,000 students in activities that meet the challenges of cleaning up and maintaining the Chesapeake Bay. Best practices in project development that promote student voice, teamwork, and reflection will lead to increased academic engagement for participants.

Summary: Over the next three years, the MADOE will implement a comprehensive plan to engage educators, students, and the community in implementing, promoting and expanding CSL in order to improve academic achievement and engage students in school and in their communities. A projected 29 subgrants will be awarded each year that engage close to 30,000 students in service-learning activities.

Summary: Learn and Serve - Michigan will focus on engaging disadvantaged youth to address their academic achievement and civic engagement. Approximately 30,000 K-12 youth will be engaged through 32 subgrants to local and intermediate school districts in Michigan. Local grants will promote district wide sustainability through high quality projects, the development of supportive policies and ongoing professional development. Communities will benefit from myriad community revitalization projects performed by service-learning participants. Youth program participants are eligible to receive additional service leadership opportunities through participation on Michigan's Service-Learning Youth Council (SLYC) and through participation in Michigan's annual Service-Learning Institute. A minimum of three state and local professional development opportunities will be provided for local program coordinators and pertinent school district staff including: Annual Grantee Meetings, Institute on Service-Learning and Service-Learning Sustainability Symposium. State and local partnerships with such organizations as Mentor Michigan, the Hip Cool Cities, and the Volunteer Centers of Michigan may provide additional opportunities and professional development.

Summary: The goal of Minnesota's Service-learning program is to strengthen service-learning efforts and promote the healthy development of youth and our communities.This program will deepen and sustain Minnesota's rich tradition of service and active citizenship for more than 11,000 students. The focus is to increase the civic and literacy skills of youths particularly from disadvantaged situations by engaging them in state and local service-learning programs, on project review   and steering committees, and as presenters at conferences. In order to ensure sustainability, the department and local districts and organizations will utilize adult volunteers   and will work with teachers to increase their ability to use service-learning as an instructional tool through curriculum building and teacher and administrator training. Partnerships with other education and community-based organizations will leverage funding for greater efficiency and will facilitate resource sharing. Service-learning will be further integrated into the Minnesota Academic Standards during future revision cycles and will be included as part of the state's high school reform efforts so that even more students have the opportunity to be engaged and involved with service-learning.

Summary: The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Learn and Serve America Program will engage approximately 30,000 K-12 students and 3,100 adult volunteers, specifically targeting baby boomers as volunteers, by making 15-20 subgrants to local educational agencies throughout the State of Mississippi. The subgrants will range from $24,000-$30,000 and will be awarded over a three-year period to school districts via the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. The Mississippi Department of Education will give preference in its subgranting strategy to projects that focus on raising academic achievement, improving social behavior and social skills, and diverting at-risk and disadvantaged youth from the juvenile justice system. The Mississippi Department of Education will also target programs that not only view disadvantaged youth as recipients of service, but also provide the opportunity for them to serve. In addition, the Mississippi Department of Education will focus on providing training and technical assistance to five school districts on or along the Mississippi Gulf Coast directly affected by Hurricane Katrina. Those five school districts will receive subgrants in the range of $15,000-$20,000 to engage K-12 students in disaster relief projects to restore and rebuild their schools and communities.

Summary: The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will make 29-38 subgrants to local education agencies to engage 28,357 students and 1800 adult volunteers in service-learning. Subgrants will be made throughout the state and will address the primary community needs of poverty and substance abuse. Participant development outcomes focus on civic engagement with an expectation that, particularly through the Missouri Checks and Balances Project, students will increase their understanding and test scores.

Summary: The Montana Office of Public Instruction will fund six Regional Demonstration Centers throughout the state to engage 2500 youth and 200 adults in service-learning. Subgrants will be made to high-poverty areas and will require activities that address the Indian Education for All Act. Programs will develop Service-Learning Advisory Councils to steer the local service-learning efforts. Community needs will be determined locally and programs will focus on participants' school engagement in order to improve academic achievement.

Summary: The Nebraska Department of Education will work with 30 subgrantee sites and partner with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to promote the use of Project Wild as a service-learning option, particularly for schools and districts new to service-learning. Approximately 1,500 students will be engaged in environmental and other projects designed to increase participant civic engagement and address local needs. Writing assessments will provide one method for students to reflect on the service experience, while also serving as a way to help prepare students to meet state standards in writing.

Summary: The Nevada Department of Education (Nevada DOE) will fund up to six school district subgrantees in year one. If they meet the requirements in year one and funding is available, they will continue their projects into year two. In year three, up to six subgrantees will be chosen. Each subgrant should involve at least 100 youth participants and adult volunteers in service-learning projects focused on a community need that relates to the environment, health, education, and/or other social issues and concerns. The subgrantees will use Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructors and district programs as a vehicle to implement service-learning. CTE includes secondary programs in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, trade and industrial education, information technology, marketing, and health science. Through its Learn and Serve America program, the Nevada DOE plans to increase civic engagement, and increase community involvement.

Summary: The New Hampshire Department of Education will fund up to four school districts to increase K-12 student service-learning participation through youth leadership/youth voice activities that address locally identified needs. District funding will create school/higher education partnerships that pair at-risk K-12 students with college students and their institutions of higher education to engage K-12 students as leaders. Students will identify local needs in collaboration with adult partners then design, implement, and evaluate service-learning projects to address a particular need. The school/higher education partnership will enable approximately 300 students and 75 adult volunteers to participate resulting in 240 students staying in school and graduating in addition to more students considering education beyond secondary school. NH will ensure a brighter future for all America's youth by bringing service-learning to areas in the state with higher levels of youth poverty.

Summary: The New Jersey Department of Education, in partnership with the NJ Department of State, will fund 15 local schools or districts to develop, implement, expand, and replicate service-learning throughout the state. Approximately 7,000 students will participate in meeting local educational, public safety, homeland security, environmental, and other human needs by integrating school based learning and community service into co-curricular content standards. Fifty percent of the student participants will enhance their academic achievement, develop workplace readiness skills, and demonstrate active citizenship. The strategy to support both inexperienced and experienced schools and districts will expand service-learning to more schools across the State.

Summary: The New Mexico Public Education Department (New Mexico PED) will fund two subgrants involving 300 youth and adult volunteers in service-learning projects. The subgrantees will establish and maintain a wide-ranging K-12 service-learning program within their school districts, in partnership with one or more community service organizations or agencies. They will address the four identified needs of literacy, cultural values, at risk youth, and environmental and natural resources. They will begin regional and state-wide service-learning education and expansion efforts directed at staff from other schools and districts as well as potential community partners. These efforts will include open houses, workshops, and other appropriate community-based events designed to promote knowledge and interest in service-learning programs.

Summary: The New York Department of Education will fund 35 subgrants each year to increase service-learning practice in local schools and districts throughout the state. Service-learning in New York will help address unmet local environmental, human, educational, homeland security, and public safety community needs; develop positive relationships between schools and local communities; provide positive impacts on student academic, social and personal development; foster civic participation and responsibility; decrease risky student behaviors; support teachers in achieving New York State teaching and learning standards; and address a primary focus of improving student literacy skills. Partnerships with postsecondary institutions will also be established to strengthen the K-16 service-learning connection. An estimated 35,000 K-12 students, many from disadvantaged circumstances, and 1,800 adult volunteers will participate each year.

Summary: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will use its grant to sub-grant to at least 20 school districts and charter schools throughout the state via a competitive process. This initiative will support the development, growth and institutionalization of service-learning in our state. Each subgrantee will be required to include projects that address local needs in education, public safety, human services, and the environment. Our plan will address environmental reclamation, partnership development and academic engagement. The state will support the growth and development of these programs by providing a Coordinators' Implementation Meeting, Technical Assistance Meetings, Year-in Review-Celebration Program/Meeting, site visits, and dissemination of resources, as well as establishing a listserv. The number of participants during any particular year will depend on the design and scope of the projects but the North Carolina Department of Public instruction has set goals of at least 3,000 student participants and at least 100 sustained partnerships throughout the state. The state’s partnering with local school entities will help to develop sustained partnerships with a wide array of partners including participants from community-based organizations, agencies, civic groups, faith-based organizations, parents, and families.

Summary: North Dakota will focus on engaging youth in disadvantaged situations who will work with teachers to implement programs to help their peers make healthier, less risky decisions. The key partnership in this proposal is with the North Dakota Youth Drug Court which will work to pair adult volunteers with youthful offenders for mentoring and service-learning activities. Youth will provide a minimum of 40 hours of service-learning in activities that will be tied to curriculum standards for social studies. Significant aspects include partnering with the Fargo Police Department, Youthworks (a statewide agency serving at-risk youth), and the State Historical Society in project design and implementation. RSVP and VISTA will also provide additional adult volunteers (boomers and non-boomers) to work with youth in local programs.

Summary: Ohio will fund 38 diverse local education agency programs working in partnership with local business, community agencies, and higher education that will address a variety of education and community needs. Programs will focus on enriching and improving academic achievement for disadvantaged youth in the classroom while helping students meet state educational standards; increasing student civic participation in their community while helping students become familiar with authentic needs in the community and working collaboratively to resolve them; and addressing issues of violence and crime in their communities by targeting projects that promote good will, reduce alcohol and drug use, and reduce bullying in the schools and communities. Over 32,000 Ohio K-12 students will participate in service-learning projects that will address the needs of over 140,000 beneficiaries by providing over 464,000 hours of service to the community. These activities will be supported by state-level partnerships to sustain service-learning in Ohio through the joint efforts of organizations such as Lions Quest International, Ohio Campus Compact, and Ohio’s Community Service Council, among others.

Summary: The Oklahoma Department of Education (ODE) intends to affect the youth obesity problem in the state through service-learning. Through youth action councils, projects will engage service-learners in peer-to-peer education for healthy decision making around diet and exercise. Partnerships with the Center for Civic Education, Lions Quest, and the state service commission will provide expertise and promote institutionalization.

Summary: The Oregon Department of Education will fund up to 20 district-wide subgrants in which 10,000 students in grades K-12 will participate in service-learning throughout the state. The primary needs facing Oregon and to be addressed in this program include unemployment, homelessness, family hunger, and low graduation rates, particularly for students in poverty and second language students. Community needs will be determined locally and programs will focus on participants' school engagement in order to improve academic achievement. Oregon will reach out to new nonprofit and corporate partners. The Oregon Community Education Association will continue to be a strong partner in project activities.

Summary: The Pennsylvania Department of Education targets service-learning funds for high schools with high dropout rates in an effort to increase school attendance and graduation rates. The Department focuses on business and university partnerships. Over 10,000 students and 2,000 adult volunteers in Pennsylvania participate in service-learning activities that promote a clear understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, the importance of school-community relationships, and the value of staying in high school until graduation.

Summary: The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) proposes to reduce all forms of violence by involving students in service-learning activities. In addition to reducing bullying in elementary schools by having high school service-learners tutor and mentor younger students, we propose to address environmental issues, work with the elderly population, provide food for the homeless, and provide tutoring and mentoring, disaster relief, and other services in an effort to promote peaceful living and fellowship. Services are provided after school hours and on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. PRDE anticipates awarding 32 school-based (K-12) subgrants to public schools throughout the grant’s three year period with larger amounts (up to $20,000) in year one and descending awards in years two and three. PRDE will provide extensive technical assistance for service-learning coordinators as well as training for adult volunteers, students, and program staff in each participating school. A committee of experienced Service-learning coordinators will provide mentoring to newer coordinators as well as to high school teachers at schools where SL is a graduate requisite. Approximately 1,000 participants and 400 volunteers will be engaged in SL projects throughout Puerto Rico each year.

Summary: The Rhode Island Department of Education will fund four high school service-learning leadership demonstration sites to engage students in high quality service-learning projects, provide educators with in depth training and resources to implement projects, build strong school community partnerships, and create a sustainable service-learning network of schools, advocates, practitioners, local and state organizations, and youth committed to a lifetime of service. Approximately 300 students and 200 adult volunteers will participate in service-learning. High school student participants will be active, engaged citizens long after the service-learning projects are completed.

Summary: The South Carolina Department of Education (SDE) proposes to reach 15,000 disadvantaged students by targeting 10 of 13 low-performing schools in high poverty school districts across the state. The funding will help them increase academic engagement, promotion, and graduation rates by implementing high quality service-learning programs. The SDE intends to support this project by having experienced school districts mentor new subgrantees.

Summary: The Tennessee Department of Education (TDE) proposes to use a competitive RFP process to award up to 36 subgrants to schools to develop high quality service-learning programs. These programs will target at-risk youth with a special emphasis on youth violence prevention service-learning projects. Working closely with the Tennessee Commission on National Service and the Lions Club International Foundation, the TDE Learn and Serve program will train 525 teachers to employ service-learning as an educational method to reduce risky behavior and violence in at-risk youth. To support this goal, the TDE will conduct periodic training using the Lions Quest Program to help teachers guide students in character education, conflict management, emotional control, substance abuse prevention and service-learning. In addition to training teachers, the TDE will also recruit 360 adult volunteers.

Summary: The Texas Center for Service-Learning (TxCSL), a statewide initiative of Region 14 Education Service Center and the Texas Education Agency (TEA), will administer the Learn and Serve America: S.T.A.R.S. of Texas program in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife, which will leverage its educational resources to help subgrantees improve the environmental stewardship of Texas’ natural resources. 60 school districts will participate in the program through 21 Learn and Serve America: S.T.A.R.S. of Texas grants designed to nurture and support service-learning partnerships that improve environmental stewardship and meet other identified state, regional, and local needs. Projects will engage over 40,000 students and a statewide evaluation will document program impacts in the areas of academic engagement, institutionalization of service-learning, and the recruitment of adult volunteers.

Summary: In conjunction with their Learn and Serve America formula grant, the Utah State Office of Education will provide subgrants to local education agencies in partnership with community organizations throughout the state to engage 10,000 student participants each year in service-learning. The program will focus on addressing homeland security and providing youth from disadvantaged circumstances the opportunity to engage in service-learning to improve their communities. In addition, the program will reach out to new schools to train them in service-learning. While addressing community needs, programs will focus on developing student participants' civic skills.

Summary: The Vermont Department of Education will fund six high schools to advance and sustain service-learning opportunities by linking service-learning activities to Vermont standards, curriculum, and professional development. High school subgrantee curricular models will be shared on the Department's website to expand service-learning statewide. The Department plans to reduce the high school drop-out rate while reducing risky behaviors associated with drug and alcohol abuse.

Summary: The Virginia Department of Education (VDE) will engage 3,000 students in environmental service-learning programs. Using a subgranting process that will target disadvantaged youth, the VDE will fund between 12 and 15 subgrants to schools across the state. These subgrants will be used to establish, expand, implement or operate local environmental service-learning programs that will increase youth environmental stewardship, improve student performance on statewide science assessments, and encourage all students to become active and informed citizens.

Summary: The Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction plans to use the new culminating project graduation requirement to infuse service-learning into new districts and schools. The three main objectives of the grant period will be increased civic engagement among the approximately 15,000 participants, new and stronger school-community partnerships that engage 1,500 adult volunteers, and peer mentoring through 15 subgrantee sites. Work will continue with the SaYES (Seniors and Youth Engaged in Service) initiative that joins youth and adult volunteers in mentoring relationships.

Summary: Through service-learning, West Virginia's Department of Education (WVDE) proposes to improve educational opportunities for students in the 30 poorest performing schools in the state. The 10 districts in which these schools reside will be targeted during the subgranting process, and a total of 20 teachers in these schools will receive training in service-learning from the three contractors to be hired by WVDE. 500 students per year will be service-learners, and 1,000 students will be beneficiaries of the service projects annually. The program is designed to increase the civic knowledge and skills of the service-learners.

1. provide over 14,700 K-12 students with sequential high quality service-learning experiences;
2. integrate service-learning initiatives with other school improvement efforts;
3. connect service-learning explicitly to state standards, assessments, and accountability tools;
4. engage educators in professional development in service-learning philosophy and pedagogy;
5. empower youth as active partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the initiative; and
6. develop partnerships with higher education institutions and community-based organizations.

Summary: Wyoming's Department of Education (WDE) proposes to address youth resilience through service-learning that occurs during out-of-school time. The Learn and Serve program will be administered by the WDE's 21st Century Community Learning Centers consultant.