Service Learning at IMSA

Service Learning at IMSA 

Service Learning provides students with an opportunity to learn about community organizations, the working world, and their role as contributing volunteers.

“Belonging to a Community Requires Commitment to the Common Good.”

– IMSA Belief Statement

Service learning can be defined as a teaching method where guided or classroom learning is deepened through service to others in a process that provides structured time for reflection on the service experience and demonstration of the skills and knowledge acquired.

Students will:

  • apply academic, social, and personal skills to improve their community
  • make decisions that have real, not hypothetical results
  • grow as individuals, gain respect for peers, and increase civic participation
  • gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their community, and society
  • develop as leaders who take initiative, solve problems, work as a team, and demonstrate their abilities while and through helping others

Class of 25 Graduation Requirement

The graduation requirement is two hundred (200) hours of community service. These hours should be completed prior to spring break of senior year. Here are some details:

  • A minimum of thirty (30) hours but no more than one hundred twenty-five (125) hours are to be completed internally, e.g. campus run programs, tutoring IMSA students, serving as a Residential Student Leader, volunteering in specific departments, etc.
  • A minimum of seventy-five (75) hours but no more than one hundred seventy (170) hours may be completed externally.
  • Fifty (50) hours of the 200 required hours may be completed out of the state/country.

Class of 26 & 27 Graduation Requirement

The graduation requirement is two hundred (200) hours of community service. These hours should be completed prior to spring break of senior year. Here are some details:

  • A minimum of thirty (30) hours and a maximum of one hundred twenty-five (125) hours of service learning may be completed internally (campus-run programs, tutoring IMSA students, serving as a Residential Student Leader, LEAD facilitator, etc.).
  • A minimum of seventy-five (75) hours and a maximum of one hundred and seventy (170) hours of service learning may be completed externally, either in-state or outside the state of Illinois. (volunteering at non-profits, tutoring non-IMSA students, mission trips, etc.)
  • Thirty-five (35) hours of the two hundred (200) required hours may be completed virtually with approved virtual opportunities.

Checkpoint Recommendations*

Checkpoint Recommendations:

  • Sixty-five (65) hours completed by the end of sophomore year.
  • One hundred (100) hours completed by the end of the student’s 3rd semester at IMSA (midway through junior year).
  • Two hundred (200) hours completed by spring break of senior year.

*Full school events (example: Clash of the Halls) ALWAYS have service learning requirements for participation

Service Learning Documentation Process

Student service must follow the guidelines below in order to be counted toward their graduation requirement:

  • Service must be for a non-profit organization.
  • Students may not receive payment, class credit, or internship credit for their work.
  • The coordinator may not be a member of the student’s immediate family.
  • The coordinator may not be an IMSA student

Once a student has found a Service Learning opportunity, the process is as follows:

  1. The student should schedule specific dates and times with the agency and get their supervisor’s direct email.
  2. After concluding the service, students must submit their hours through the HelperHelper app/desktop, fully complete the reflection questions, and provide documentation proof of completion.
  3. The hours will be validated by the site coordinator, through the coordinator’s email, and by a student’s RC. This is a 2 step process.
  4. Once the hours are validated, they will be reflected in the HelperHelper app/desktop, and on the student’s PowerSchool page. This process usually takes up to a month after the initial submission.

IMSA has moved to a paperless evaluation system through the “HelperHelper” App. This App allows students to reflect on their service-learning experience and allows their supervisors to validate their attendance all in one place. To download the app, click the appropriate links below for your mobile device:

Suggestions for Service Learning Opportunities

  • IMSA Student Groups on Campus
    • IMSA Student Productions
    • Peer Tutors
    • Residential Student Leaders
    • Leadership Education and Development Facilitators
    • ALLIES
    • EXCEL
    • Promise/SEAMS Program Tutors
  • Assisting Faculty and Staff
  • IMSA Events

All service learning opportunities on campus must be cleared prior to offering them for service learning.

We want all students to be able to reach their service-learning goals during distance learning. While some students may still opt to complete service learning hours in person, we want all to do so safely. We encourage students and parent(s)/guardian(s) to research any in-person opportunities completely to ensure health and safety.

Many service learning opportunities are available virtually*. Here are some suggestions:

  • Smithsonian Institute– document transcription
  • Zooniverse - research support
  • Vocal ID– lending your voice to those who do not have one
  • LibriVox– record chapters for audiobooks
  • Translators without Borders– translate text or journals
  • Red Cross– volunteer remotely supporting crisis relief
  • Mask Up Kane County– working to make masks for healthcare providers and nonprofits in Kane County
  • Fundraising for a non-profit, such as the American Heart Association (fundraising requires prior approval; email commserv@imsa.edu)
  • United Nations volunteerism- a variety of opportunities available
  • Make phone calls for political campaigns
  • External or online virtual tutoring
  • The Merry Tutor is a non-profit organization that provides free tutoring services to students in K-12. For further information or to verify hours, please reach out to Alayna Nguyen or Ella Xu at naperville.themerrytutor@gmail.com.

*If a virtual opportunity is located and is not on the approved virtual site list, please request permission PRIOR to completion of hours.

**Please note: For service-learning opportunities completed virtually or online, if no site coordinator is available to verify hours, please provide an alternate method to prove the number of hours completed in HelperHelper, e.g. an uploaded screenshot of the number of hours completed from the website. You may also put Emma Wilson as the “coordinator name” in HelperHelper in these cases.

Contact

43,333 hours of community service are performed by IMSA students each year.