CPS Hosts 12th Annual SL Conference

With the theme From Academics to Action guiding the gathering, teachers, SL Coaches, students and community partners gathered at the University Center in downtown Chicago for the 12th Annual Service-Learning Conference.

An opportunity to bring together both veteran service-learning practitioners and new-comers to the field, the conference highlights excellent practice in CPS and this year explored how the service experience can lead to a deeper exploration by students and teachers of social issues facing our communities.

Workshop leaders facilitated sessions enabling participants to think about ways for students to examine immigration, affordable housing, environmental concerns, community violence, and food access issues. Each session challenged participants to align service project experiences to broader social issues and Common Core State Standards. Teachers, for example, looked at how they could engage students in an examination of a 2040 metropolitan planning document and its recommendations for water use and conservation.

Adam Davis of the Center for Civic Reflection closed the conference with a session designed to guide participants in a discussion of where we hope we can take our students through the service-learning process.

It was a rewarding day for conference participants.