. Thetford Academy is a "private school with a public mission." Founded in 1819, it is Vermont's oldest secondary school, and has maintained independent governance while serving local communities in the role of a public school. The school's mission has always included an emphasis on ethical values and civic responsibility. The 1864 catalog promised "an effort... to excite in the mind of the pupil a love of study, and a determination to act, and to act aright."

.....As in many rural communities, the school has historically reflected an active tradition of service, with school and community members working together on projects of mutual benefit. These have ranged from informal responses to individual emergencies (mobilizing help after a house fire or flood, for example) to organized efforts for school and community improvement (meals, home-repair and firewood services; creation of recreation facilities such as playgrounds, sports fields and trails; shared cultural activities with local libraries, churches, and community theaters). Several themes characteristic of rural life have informed these efforts over the years: a sense of collective responsibility for neighbors' needs, a spirit of creativity in the face of limited resources, and a sense of satisfaction in both the process and the results of service.

.....In the 1980's, the Academy faced a period of declining enrollments and unstable leadership. As the economic structure of the community shifted away from its former agricultural base and the population grew more diverse, the traditional community service ethic suffered. Demands on the schools increased at the same time that tax-supported resources diminished. Young people were assaulted by a media culture promoting consumerism, not service, while seeing their prospects for meaningful work in the local economy reduced. Public confidence in municipal organizations, including schools, eroded.

>Service Learning in the Curriculum

Integration of service-learning throughout the curriculum began with a deliberate commitment (as an early grant proposal stated) "to strengthen the tradition of mutual support and service in our community." Since its inception in 1992 with funding through the National Corporation for Service Learning, the program has grown from a single pilot project (Kindergarten Partners, linking Academy seniors with kindergarten "buddies" in arts and literacy projects) to include more than twenty initiatives, including sponsorship of elementary-school partner projects in Thetford and the nearby community of Strafford, Vermont.

Service Learning Links

Thetford Learn & Serve (also called "Youth Co-op," the name chosen by the original student participants) is an umbrella program that supports service learning in Thetford-area schools by providing training, technical assistance and funding to projects that integrate community service with school curriculum. Projects are designed, implemented, and evaluated using a locally-developed service-learning model to ensure a focus on student responsibility for planning, action, and reflection; effective collaboration among school personnel and community partners; and wise use of human and material resources. The essentials of this model are set forth in nine principles:

• >frequent, regular service
• >meaningful work with clear goals
• >related study and preparation beyond the service site
• >student responsibility for planning activities, including preparation, implementation, and closure
• >frequent, structured reflection in discussion and writing
• >integration with the school curriculum and schedule
• >small, intensive, and manageable scale
• >frequent communication and reflection among adult supervisors
• >public reporting and/or exhibition of accomplishments in schools and the larger community

.....The program supports a variety of community-wide development activities, including local recycling programs, public horticulture and community gardens, recreational trails, community arts and drama, intergenerational programs linking children with senior citizens, and general support for schools and children. Community agencies including the Thetford Solid Waste District, Senior Citizens, Friends of Thetford Trails, Historical Society, and two village Garden Clubs have been active partners.

This year, in grades 9-12, 75% of high school students--about 190 of the 250 in grades 9-12--will participate in at least one service-learning project in a course. (As some new projects are still in the design stages for the spring, this number may prove to be higher.) The Academy also includes grades 7 and 8. While recognizing that this application concerns only the high-school level, we consider our middle-level students' experience with service-learning an important preparation for its broad-based integration in the older-grades: all seventh-graders complete a service-learning unit in their Family & Consumer Science course, and about a third of eighth-graders have additional experience through Horticulture, FCS, or Drama classes. Over half the teachers (18 of 35) participate in some aspect of service-learning. Of the five administrative team members, two (the Head of School and Director of Development) participate directly and extensively in service-learning programs linked to curriculum, while two others (the Dean of Students/ Athletic Director and the Director of Operations) work primarily with co-curricular service activities. The Business Manger has no direct service role, but assists students and teachers with financial management of projects as needed.

Service-learning has developed in concert with two other initiatives at the Academy: the School-to-Work and Thetford Arts Partnership programs. The STW Program grew out of a 1991 plan to restructure vocational programs. This included establishing a thirty-member community advisory board; developing a set of STW Student Outcomes; establishing a field-based School-to-Work course; establishing and supervising work-study placements; designing a high school career portfolio; and sponsoring Career Fair and Job Shadow Days for grades 7 and 8. In 1996, the Academy's program was featured in a Vermont public television documentary as an exemplary model for a small rural community. Like the Learn and Serve Program, STW is one of the most visible school programs in the community, involving students directly in the real concerns and work of the adult world. From the beginning, we have sought to link service-learning and school-to-work principles and practices, in order to reinforce the benefits of both experiences for students.

A more recent effort to promote service-learning has been its inclusion in the goals of an arts planning team established in 1997-98 with support from the Vermont Arts Council. Thetford Arts Partnerships provides funds and technical support for "quality arts education," with the first two quality criteria being "expectations for children and youth to act as capable, confident, original artists" and "links between community service learning and the arts." As many service-learning projects here have incorporated the visual and performing arts, this seemed a logical next step in sustaining current efforts and encouraging further broad-based development.

The Academy's primary commitment since 1991 has been to the model defined in our nine service-learning principles. The sixth one, "integration with the school curriculum and schedule," has been a key standard; the school has chosen to concentrate personnel and funding resources on classroom-based initiatives. Co-curricular service has grown and thrived in the same period, however, as parents, coaches, and club advisors have supported parallel service opportunities. Each year, over two hundred community members and students join in hosting cross-country meets that combine athletic competition with celebration. Hundreds of students provided volunteer labor in major school renovation projects between 1995 and 1998: designing, moving, building, planting, and raising funds. There is no mandated service requirement, but a Community Service Recognition program honors a wide range of activities, and students in grades 9-12 keep service records as part of the STW Career Portfolio system. Teacher-advisors sponsor small-scale service projects for their student advisee groups, and athletic teams and clubs such as the National Honor Society design their own projects, from youth sports clinics to food drives. Like the more structured service-learning in courses, these volunteer efforts show the Academy's fundamental principles in action, especially the precept: "We care about each other and about the larger community."