South Lake High School Service-Learning Program
Lake County
This
dynamic vision for youth in service began in 1993, with Evelyn Robinson
leading an after-school community service program at Groveland’s
South Lake High School in Lake County. By 2001, her vision expanded to
a network of 27 student designed service-learning projects, involving 2,800
students and 25 in-classroom partnerships with teachers.
The South Lake program consists of student volunteers who engage at various
levels of the design, leadership and tracking of dozens of service-learning
initiatives. Students participate in trainings that promote teamwork, leadership
and creativity before leading workshops for other students on the development
of individual projects. Completely owned by
the students, each project’s facilitators develop agendas, determine
leadership roles, produce materials, document outcomes, forge community
and business partnerships, provide logistical support to projects and throw
much-deserved celebrations at the completion of each one. In this model,
students are assigned to help teachers in their project development and
execution as part of their leadership classes. This approach provides the
program with the key to its scale and success. 
Students
are empowered as partners in the entire process, from in-classroom training
to the implementation of service. Designed to distribute much of the instructional
load from already overburdened teachers to excited and engaged youth, the
South Lake High School program is innovation at its best. Past projects
have included ESE art students making bowls in cooperation with Empty Bowls,
a homelessness action group. At-risk and traditional students have built
parks and gazebos, made flower arrangements to deliver to local nursing
home facilities, and improved community spaces with several murals. students
have been invited to speak and provide trainings all over the world, including
Lithuania, Spain, and at this year's National Service-Learning Conference
in Denver. This is truly a program whose singular goal is to empower youth
and challenge them to succeed. Ms. Robinson's vision has been to give students
the authority and skills to be thoughtful, successful citizens, and she
adds “the more you expose kids to serving others, the more they see
they are worth something”.
