Get comfortable!

As I drive into the school parking lot, the radio newscaster announces the alarming national statistics concerning high school drop our rate's. The social and economic costs of this trend are mounting. These young people have few employable skills.

Turning off the radio, I ask myself "What's happening here?" Malcolm Shabazz City High School in Madison, Wisconsin is a public, alternative school to which many students transfer each year. They come for a variety of reasons. But the most prevalent theme is the students' fear that if they hadn't come to Shabazz, they would never graduate from high school.

As I enter Shabazz a vibrant energy is apparent. Students from the "New Visions" class are meeting in small groups in the "Center" - a student gathering place. Each group is planning their presentation to the new students who have just enrolled. The "New Visions" students discuss their teaching strategies, as Ill as the visual and kinesthetic activities which they will use to reinforce their lessons. These students take this task seriously, since they will be teaching the three main Shabazz Policies: 1) Non Harassment; 2) Anti-Drugs and Alcohol and 3) Attendance. Next week, when this task is completed, these students will begin preparations for the "Annual Service-Learning Open House", which they coordinate. During this day-long Open House, parents, interested community members and public officials will have a chance to talk with students about their service- learning classes and why they think it is a valuable educational strategy.

A room in one corner of the Center also hums with activity. Here students carefully dismantle wires, plastic and metal parts. Amid a myriad of donated, broken computers, students transform these useless objects into functional technology. Local and national coverage of this project has resulted in an outpouring of donations from the community. In the last two years, students in "ECAP" (Equity in Computer Access Program) have donated fifty of these rebuilt computers to Shabazz students and Madison families who do not have one.

Across the Center, an English class prepares to tutor at a local elementary school. Some of the students practice reading children's books aloud; others create colorful worksheets. Trained in techniques for teaching reading, these students know that they are an important part of the city-wide literacy campaign sponsored by United Way and Schools of Hope. The goal of this campaign is to help all children achieve a proficiency in reading by the time they reach third grade.

In the room next door, students in the "Women's Issues" class are engaged in a heated discussion concerning the prevalence of violence in adolescent relationships. Around the room are large graphics depicting the cycle of violence and early warning signs. The students will use this information to plan workshops on "Violence in Relationships" and "Date Rape" for the entire school. Later these young women will integrate these topics into their mentoring sessions with eighth grade girls from a neighboring middle school.

Across the hall, students in "STLP" (Student Technology Leadership Program) work quietly at computers. Some are updating the Shabazz Web Page and listing current service- learning courses. Others are editing a video about service- learning for the CD which they are creating. Several are beginning the complex task of developing Internet linkages with a school in Namibia. Before I leave these students inform me that they also are "on call" as mentors to staff and students who need assistance through the day.

After going downstairs, I find the art studio in the basement. Here English and art students sit in pairs around large work tables. Laughter can be heard as they remember the things that were important to them when they were five years old. A favorite toy, an animal, a color. Together they create a list of questions to ask their "assigned" kindergarten student next week. The answers to these questions will become the main themes of a story that the English student writes and the art student illustrates. In several weeks, a celebration will take place and each kindergartner will be presented with a personalized book. On that day many of these young children will master the reading of "their" book before the Shabazz students bid them farewell.

From an adjacent room in the basement, student voices are heard before I reach the doorway. Students in this "Health" class are learning First Aid techniques. Some lie on the floor pretending that they are injured. Others attempt to stop bleeding, take pulses, or splint broken legs. Once these students have mastered these skills, they will teach Red Cross safety units to a group of elementary students. Through age-appropriate discussions and art activities, Shabazz students help these elementary students become better prepared to handle the health and safety emergencies which may happen in their young lives.

In the library students from the "Shabazz Experience" class begin work on their Malcolm X research projects. Since the school was named for this dynamic African American activist, this is a required assignment for all new students. Some students read his autobiography. Others search the Internet. After their research is done, the students will create reports, time lines and visuals to demonstrate what they have learned. These projects will then become their teaching tools when they present a lesson on Malcolm X to a classroom of sixth graders.

In another part of the basement I discover the "Social Justice" class. Today these students brainstorm possible service projects which would utilize the information and insights they have gained. These young people have spent hours reading and discussing the culture and rights of people with disabilities. They have met with people who live with mental and physical challenges. They have heard their stories of struggle and hope. For many this is the first time they have been exposed to this topic. Others have lived this reality every day. Should I work with the wheelchair recycling program? Should I become part of the Family Support Network which links youth with disabilities with non disabled students? Should I raise money for camp scholarships? As I leave the brainstorm continues.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I pass students carrying work gloves and garden tools. When I ask where they are going, they explain that this is their day to work in the Arboretum. Several times a month, these botany students work on various prairie projects. Early in the fall they gather seeds. Then they sort and categorize them before the seeds are stored for the winter. In the spring the ground needs to be prepared and trails expanded or repaired. Excited about the opportunity to spend another afternoon in the prairie sun, these students hurry out the door.

Upstairs the "Poverty in America" students share their journal entries from their recent service experiences. Two days a week they volunteer at the Salvation Army Day Care Program, a neighborhood community center and food pantry or a half-way house for homeless men. The other three days these student study the root causes of poverty and homelessness. Some students read their reflections with sadness; others are excited about an interaction they have had; a few of the students seem overwhelmed by the stark realities they have encountered. For their final assignment, these students will be asked to integrate their academic work with these personal experiences in order to develop their own welfare plan for addressing the growing poverty in this country.

Students next door sit in diads talking quietly. They are sharing personal stories about a situation in which they experienced discrimination. Students in this "Mirrors of Discrimination" class study the marginalization of different cultural and racial groups in this country. They will critically analyze and actively debate the root causes of discrimination. Then they will engage in a letter writing campaign, individually advocating for a policy change which they feel is discriminating. At the end of this class these students prepare and teach an anti-discrimination lesson to elementary students.

As we leave that room, we see students from a local college and the university walking down the hall with Shabazz students. Some groups are going to the L.M.C., others to the "school cafe". All are looking for quiet places to study together. In this "Academic Study Skills Class," Shabazz students are recipients of a service provided by these young adults who are majoring in education. As part of their college and university course work, these students are expected to have direct experiences working with adolescents. They will earn their course credit while helping Shabazz students, who are academically challenged, do the same.

Our final stop is the "Mississippi Connection" class. This award winning program involves a semester study of the history, culture and struggles of the people of the Mississippi Delta. Today the students are working in small groups to identify the topographical regions of Mississippi, and to find the Delta where "cotton was king." In April these students and their teachers will visit that area for ten days. They interview their host families and local activists. They will visit historical sites and museums. They will experience the music which emanates from the Delta. In appreciation for the hospitality they receive, these students do work projects in each of the small towns they visit. And upon their return they prepare slide show presentations for Madison students K-12, to teach what they have learned from this cross-cultural immersion. They also prepare a meal of "soul food" for their parents and others who have given financial support to the program.

Fascinated by what I have experienced at Shabazz, I still must ask the question: "But how does Service-Learning effect academic achievement?" The response I receive is positive. In the spring of 1998, 95.5% of the student surveyed in ten classes perceived that Service-Learning classes had more components of the "Dimensions of Learning" than those classes without a service component.

"But what does that mean?", I ask. It means that, according to their survey responses, students think Service-Learning classes "increase their motivation", "help them remember what they have learned", "teach them analytical and reflection skills", "let them apply the information and skills which they are learning in class", and "give them the opportunity to be creative and put their ideas to work."

In addition, all (100%) of the students surveyed felt that Service-Learning classes gave them a greater ability "to understand and work with people from diverse backgrounds" and allowed them "to develop the skills needed to make a difference in the world."

Of last year's graduates, 60% have gone on to college or a two year technical programs. Others plan to work several years, before continuing their education. This is an impressive percentage, considering that many of these students had previously feared that they wouldn't graduate from high school!

As I leave Shabazz I remember that Jeremy Rifkin, the economist and futurist, calls Service-Learning the "silence revolution". He thinks that Service-Learning is an important strategy for fostering civic responsibility and rebuilding a sense of community. What I just have witnessed at Shabazz confirms his analysis.

Back in our car, another radio talk show host is discussing the apathy and cynicism of youth. He talks about their lack of civic concern. Their rising rate incarceration. However in sharp contrast to his message, the vivid images of my day at Shabazz floods my memory.

Now is the time for Service-Learning proponents to add a loud voice and strong presence to that "silence revolution." We need to proudly proclaim our success stories of youth activism and civic leadership. The Shabazz students are right. Service-Learning helps youth gain the information, skills and values they need to make their community a better place for all.

(Jane Hammatt Kavaloski, was the school social worker at Malcolm Shabazz City High School, Madison, Wisconsin. She retired after 20 years of service in Spring 2004. She was also the Coordinator of Service-Learning. Shabazz has been a "National Demonstration Site for Service-Learning" since 1995, and was designated a "National Service-Learning Leader School" in June of 1999.)