COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR THE MICHIGAN MERIT AWARD | Policy Manual

2575 - COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR THE MICHIGAN MERIT AWARD

The Board of Education believes that actively participating in community service will enhance students’ interpersonal skills and self esteem, enable them to connect their academic learning to the real world, and make them aware of the wide range of opportunities for service that exist in any community. The Board further believes that devoting time during a student’s school years to serve others or the community as a whole may engender a life-long commitment to service, and thereby make this community or any community where our graduates eventually live, a better place.

Accordingly, the Board directs the Superintendent to provide opportunities for student performance of forty (40) hours of community service during a four (4) year high school career to meet one of the requirements for the Michigan Merit Award. Such learning through community service may be for credit in conjunction with co-curricular and academic programs of the District if approved by the District and if in compliance with requirements set by the Michigan Merit Award Board. The student may not be compensated for the service. The service is to be for individuals not related to the student, and is to be for charitable purposes, not political purposes.

There are no exceptions to the forty (40) hour community service requirements if a student wishes to earn a Michigan Merit Award.

Students are responsible for maintaining records to keep track of hours of community service and report this information to the school. Students’ completion of the community service requirement will be reported through the Michigan Merit Award Status List.

Any community service work done with the expectation of credit toward class requirements or graduation must have prior written approval from the principal.

This policy may be revised at any time as long as the requirements of the Michigan Merit Award Board Resolution 2004-1 are met.

The Superintendent will develop administrative guidelines to support this policy.