Report to Congress: Service-Learning Programs at AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps shared their Report to Congress on Service-Learning Programs at AmeriCorps with the following statement:
“This report is in response to the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Fiscal 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 117-103), which directed AmeriCorps to submit a report detailing the steps necessary to restart service-learning programs such as Summer of Service and Semester of Service on a broader scale. In developing this report, AmeriCorps engaged multiple internal and external stakeholders including from K-12 and higher education, state service commissions, and community service-learning practitioners. The input provided from these stakeholders on how reanimated service-learning programs should be designed was helpful and many suggestions are reflected in this report.
The report provides background on the agency’s longstanding support for service learning and includes research findings about the positive impact that well designed service-learning programs can have on participants’ academic achievement and educational success; civic knowledge and skills; social responsibility and self-efficacy; interpersonal development; and development of career skills. It provides context for on our current activities and existing support for service-learning, and agency priorities as articulated in our 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and FY 2023 Budget. It notes that service-learning is a valuable and effective strategy for increasing student engagement, academic achievement, and building civic skills, but is not currently a discrete and specific funded program at AmeriCorps. The report concludes with our plan to restart a discrete service-learning program at AmeriCorps if Congress chooses to fund such a program. The plan represents a practical and realistic steps and time frame using our existing authorizations for service-learning. It recognizes the need to build capacity both at the agency and in the service-learning field so that stakeholders are prepared to successfully apply for and implement service-learning programming.”
The Coalition for Service-Learning commends the work of the agency on this report, particularly Dr. Joe Follman, and looks forward to working with champions in Congress to appropriate funding for service-learning programs beginning in FY23 and to partnering with AmeriCorps to implement the plan proposed in this report if that funding is appropriated.
