KIDS Service-Learning Awards 2003

2003 Educational Leadership Awards

Jinny Bryant and Alice Olson are grade one and two multi-age teachers at Winthrop Grade School. They have shown commitment to service-learning on two levels. 1) to integrate service-learning into their classrooms and 2) to advocate for service-learning throughout the district. Their students have been involved in implementing and promoting a recycling campaign at their school that has spread to the high school. Both teachers have served as a model for other teachers interested in service-learning and participate on the district Service-Learning Leadership Team.

Kathleen Harris is the Deering High School Drama/English teacher. For the past two years she has coordinated efforts between her students and the Portland Fire Department to create Fire Safety Skits seen by all elementary students in the city. This spring her class is working on a dramatic reenactment of a drinking and driving incident called “A Night to Remember.” Kathleen is also an active member of local leadership teams that lead Portland’s efforts to build and sustain service-learning and develop collaborations with local colleges and organizations.

Trisha Smith has been a middle school science teacher, a 5th grade teacher and an 8th grade language arts teacher at SAD 63 in the Holden area. In all of her classes, students get to solve significant community problems as part of their integrated curriculum. Service-learning is a way of life as well as instruction. As chair of SAD 63’s Service-Learning Design Team, Trisha spearheaded efforts to require service-learning projects as demonstration assessments at both the K-4 and 5-8 grade spans. Additionally, she has secured Title VI money to support service-learning projects for her district.

2003 Student Leadership Awards

Amy Eichinger, a senior at Brunswick High School, is a leader in her service-learning class that attracts other motivated students who want to make a difference in their community. The class is also responsible for promoting and sustaining service-learning in the district. Amy excels both behind the scenes and in the limelight. She works hard to motivate her classmates to challenge themselves and work as a team to accomplish great things. As a member of the district Service-Learning Leadership Team, Amy organizes the meeting agendas, facilitates and charts the minutes. Amy has also actively pursued community service opportunities.

Katie Machaiek, a junior at Rockland District High School, has used her love of and talent in video production to teach her community about a variety of issues. Created as part of her Video Production class, one video was a Public Service Announcement to help raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. In her English class, Katie worked primarily with two other students to create a video about alcohol use and teens. Over 90 students, as well as faculty, parents and community members were involved. However, Katie played a leading role as director, videographer and editor. Katie also has organized food and toy drives and events and fundraisers for Breast Cancer Awareness Week.

2003 Community Partner Leadership Awards

For the past four years, the Franco-American Center in Lewiston has worked diligently and enthusiastically with 8th grade French students at Lewiston Middle School. As part of the curriculum, many different types of service-learning projects have emerged, each involving researching, sharing and archiving Franco-American history and life in the Lewiston-Auburn area. The Center has worked with teacher Mike Courchesne to involve students in his organization and to have them appreciate the community’s rich heritage. Several hundred stories of people at work, at home and at play have already been archived. Students have also created films to share the area’s history. A film on the history of the Franco-American Center won first place at the Maine Student Video and Film Festival. Students are now working on films about the work of Franco-Americans in the mills of Lewiston-Auburn.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society (GAHS) has worked with students from Auburn Middle School for the past four years. Through this partnership students have learned about the problems of animal abuse in the community and have educated others by creating informative bookmarks and pamphlets or by working with elementary students to teach them animal care. Other students have taken on the challenge of helping the Society educate the region about the urgent need for a new shelter and to raise funds to build that shelter. Last year students created and presented a video about this to a variety of audiences. Their presentations continue. An indication of their commitment to community-school partnerships, the GAHS Board has added an education coordinator position to its staff and is thinking about developing a student position on the board.

In 2002, Tom Judge, Executive Director of LifeFlight of Maine challenged a 5th grade class from Holden to become “Agents of Change” with a mission to help minimize the number of injuries to kids. Due to the many accidents involving young children not wearing seat belts or helmets, these students formed a partnership with LifeFlight to teach others about injury prevention. LifeFlight demonstrated extraordinary commitment by putting in hundreds of hours planning with guest speakers who were medical professionals, organizing field trips and sharing stories related to seatbelts and helmets. They supported students in numerous public presentations to their school and school board, Governor King and shoppers at the Bangor Mall. Since this project, teacher Trisha Smith and LifeFlight have written a curriculum that they are now piloting with students in Orono and Belfast this spring.

Portland Fire Department’s Information/Education Officer John Beatty first thought of partnering with Kathleen Harris, Deering High School’s Drama/English teacher, when he saw her drama students performing elsewhere. Two years later, Ms. Harris’s students have created and presented fire safety skits to all elementary students in the district and this spring are working on a dramatic reenactment of a drinking and driving incident. For the past two years, John Beatty has been involved with every facet of these projects from planning with Harris to helping the students understand fire safety, critiquing skits and providing transportation to the elementary schools. One student said, “Officer Beatty and the Portland Fire Department made students feel valued and important. Each student was given a certificate in recognition of his/her service to the community.” Another student stated, “Officer Beatty ‘adopted’ our drama classes, and visited classes frequently to check on our progress and offer encouragement and suggestions.”