Benefits of the KIDS Model

How the KIDS Model Benefits Teachers and Schools

KIDS projects can improve the capacity of schools and school districts to:

• foster more caring classrooms and schools
• meet various needs and learning styles of students
• reenergize teachers - connecting their ideals and values with their educational practice
• promote collaboration among teachers
• adopt new teaching structures and schedules
• encourage parents and community members to work with youth as experts and mentors
• implement teaching strategies that incorporate key school reform ideas (i.e. hands-on, experiential learning)
• provide opportunities for teachers to use alternative methods of student assessment

Over the past five years, KIDS Consortium has surveyed over 500 teachers who used the KIDS service-learning model with their students:

• 92% say that KIDS projects motivate students to work hard in class
• 92% say that KIDS projects make teaching more rewarding
• 98% say that KIDS projects help students learn to work with others
• 89% say that KIDS Projects help students become better problem-solvers

How the KIDS Model Benefits Communities

KIDS projects offer the community a way to:

• raise awareness of community needs and tackle projects that local organizations might not otherwise have resources to address
• forge creative partnerships between school and community members
• engage young people in the process of solving community problems
• focus positive media attention on community organizations and issues
• increase citizen participation now and in the future by cultivating the next generation of community leaders

Over the past five years, KIDS Consortium has surveyed over 200 community organizations that have worked with K-12 students on service-learning projects with the following results:

• 95% say that student projects met real community needs
• 93% say that projects improved community attitudes towards youth
• 92% say that projects improved school-community relations
• 95% say that projects helped provide a meaningful role for youth in the community.