“Community service learners generally focus on projects in New York but now due to COVID-19, everything is different. When we lost our in-person opportunities in the state, we gained a way to reach the nation online,” said Ms. Topping Omodunbi, the Director of Community Partnerships at the Fieldston School and CSAB (Community Service Advisory Board) teacher.
As a student in her CSABIT (Community Service Advisory Board in Training) class, I have gotten to know her and had the opportunity to meet with her last Wednesday to discuss the change in the graduating class’ community service requirements.
The graduating class of 2021 has been put into a difficult situation surrounding community service learning. Before the change, a student would choose a project, fill out the paperwork, complete 60 hours of service, and write an essay on their experience to complete the community service requirement. A problem arose for the department when the pandemic hit as most seniors were suddenly unable to fulfill those requirements.
In response, the CSL (Community Service Learning) Department drafted a new plan. Considering that many Form VI students were at completely different places regarding the completion of the requirements, an adjustment was made to account for that: each student must now write an essay connecting a social justice issue to a community service opportunity that had wished to take part in before the pandemic.
Not only did the requirements change for Form VI but also for students in Form III and Form IV. In 2019, the model based on hours was adapted to a project-based model. The first class to experience this was the class of 2023, who are currently sophomores. This model is less concerned about the number of hours and instead concerned about thinking critically about the service work and impact on our communities.
The Class of 2023 would have also experienced the first Adler Symposium at the end of their freshman year, which is yet another aspect of the new model. This day would have consisted of meeting community partners and engaging in roundtables with juniors and seniors on their experiences with community service, in addition to many other activities. The Adler Symposium would have been an exciting new way to introduce the freshman to community service in their high school experience. However, due to COVID-19, this day was not possible for the class of 2023 and will most likely not be possible for the class of 2024 since it will only happen when in-person school resumes full time.
Although the experience of the Adler Symposium and Form VI community service might have been lost, there is now a new opportunity to help communities virtually and investigate an important cause, leading to new perspectives and experiences, unlike anything the CSL Department has offered before.
