Recent Lake Orion High School graduate Sharon Doyle earned part of her graduation requirement at church.
The 2008 graduate recently completed 40 hours of community service, a graduation requirement, by helping out at her church’s annual event.
‘It looks really good on a college application,? said Doyle. ‘As long as you plan it through all four years of high school and try not to do it at the last minute, it’s really not a big deal. By the time I was a senior, I was finished.?
Since 1997, Lake Orion High is one of the few schools in the area to have the community service requirement.
Similar to the Lake Orion District, Goodrich School officials are now discussing the possibility of making community service hours a requirement for their students before earning their diploma.
At the June 9, Board of Education meeting, Goodrich High School math teacher Clinton Densham asked the board of trustees to consider making 20 hours of community service a requirement for all students to earn their diploma.
Densham said acccording to the school records this year, 56 percent of the school’s population already completes community service hours, however 44 percent do not.
‘We are trying to get that 44 percent involved. We think they are missing out on something,? said Densham.
He said some students want to earn community service hours to acquire an honor service cord (worn at graduation) and/or to qualify for the National Honor Society. Both require 120 service hours to be completed.
Goodrich High School Principal David St. Aubin thinks it is a win-win for students and the community. He said the way to earn community service hours is by volunteering for an activity. As long as there is no pay involved, it counts. Contributing time and energy to organizations such as church, Easter Seals and United Way agencies, school projects like blood drives, and the Humane Society are a few of the ideas that will count.
‘Most of our students get their hours by working at their church,? said St. Aubin. ‘We are going to have to continue to work on what we want the kids to do and how we are going to accompish it with the school board. We may only start with 10 service hours as a requirement, and then work up to 20. It’s just a matter of getting our students used to the idea. We want to try to pull in the smaller population that hasn’t done community service hours before. It would be considered a part of their character development. People who volunteer in their local community are a valuable asset. More and more colleges, universities, businesses and employers are recognizing volunteerism as an important part of a well-rounded individual, whether the individual is a potential student or employee.?
Board Trustee Michael Thorp said while he likes the idea of students volunteering in their community, he said he isn’t so sure it’s a good idea to make it a graduation requirement.
‘I have a problem making volunteer work a requirement for graduation. Let’s say for instance, if a student only completed 18 hours out of the 20 hours needed to graduate. I would have a problem not being able to give that student their diploma,? said Thorpe.
Tom Svitkovich, the superintendent for the Genesee Intermediate School District said the decision to make community service hours a requirement in a school district is up to each individual school district and board of trustees.
‘I think it’s a good idea,? Svitkovich said. ‘Back in my day we had about 2,600 students at my high school. I remember the river that ran close by the parks adjacent to our school. There would be an afternoon when the administration would send all of the students to the park to clean up the river. At the end of the day the river was clean. That project centered around the notion of volunteerism.? ?