1. The Purpose of This Presentation: To provide an overview of the Corporation of National and Community Service’s Learn and Serve America Program.

2. 8 Established in 1993 to engage Americans of all ages and backgrounds in community-based service 8 Supports a range of national and community service programs, provides opportunities for participants to serve full-time and part-time, with or without pay, as individuals or as a part of a team 8 Encompasses AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America

3. 4 Education 4 Environment 4 Public Safety (Including Homeland Security) 4 Other Human Needs (e.g. health and housing)

4. Learn & Serve America To build the field of service-learning in schools, community- based organizations, and in colleges and universities across the country.

5. Learn and Serve America …gives grants to fund programs at K-12 schools, community-based organizations, and institutions of higher education that engage participants in structured, hands-on projects that meet community needs while helping participants develop personal, civic, and academic skills

6.  “students or participants learn and develop through… service that is conducted in and meets the needs of the community”  “coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community”  “foster[s] civic responsibility”  “integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the educational components of the community service program in which the participant is enrolled”  “provides...time for...reflect[ion]” *Source: National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 The Definition* of...

7. Distribution of LSA of Grant Funds, 2003-2006 $ 20 M Formula Allotment Grants to State Education Agencies $ 6.5MSchool-based Competitive Grants $ 4.5MCommunity-based Competitive Grants $ 10.75MHigher Education Competitive Grants $ 800KTribes and Territories for School- based Grants Total

8. Grant Distribution for Higher Education Grants

9. Eligibility for Higher Education Grants å Institutions of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Amendment of 1998 å A consortia of such institutions å Partnerships composed of higher education institutions and other public or private non-profit organizations Eligible organizations :

10. Elements of Higher Education Programs Service may be integrated across an entire academic department, a school, an entire year and into the core curriculum or throughout the entire institution Teacher education programs train pre-service teachers in service- learning concepts which impacts K-12 education Engaging faculty can impact promotion and tenure systems Equal service-learning partnerships maximize benefits to both campus and community

11. Examples of How Grants Money May Be Used + hire program coordinators to work with local agencies in linking students to meaningful service opportunities + train teachers, staff, faculty, and community members + develop service-learning curricula and projects related to civics + partnering with community to identify and address local needs

12. For the 2003-2006 grant period, Learn and Serve America made 133 awards reaching over 1500 colleges and universities, K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations

13. Resources www..gov. You can locate national service information from www.nationalservice.gov. In addition you can obtain information on service-learning from www.servicelearning.org

14. gathers and disseminates information about service- learning across all streams of service. has several partners who have expertise in all areas of service-learning. collects and abstracts current articles, research and other publications, making it easily available to anyone who needs it. www.servicelearning.org

15. For any additional information: Elson B. Nash Associate Director, Project Management 1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20525 enash@cns.gov-enash@cns.gov- 202-606-6834