Last modified: Friday, March 1, 2002
IU group plans service-learning conference in Indianapolis
The Civic Literacy Project that is headquartered at Indiana University in Bloomington will present its annual conference on Thursday (March 7) at the Holiday Inn Select Airport in Indianapolis.
"Service-Learning: Connecting Schools and Communities" will be the theme for the day-long event that begins at 8:30 a.m. Approximately 300 students and educators, mostly Indiana high school and elementary school students, are expected to attend. Conference details are available online at https://www.serve.indiana.edu.
Conference officials said service-learning is a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities. Earlier this year former U.S. Sen. John Glenn, chair of the National Commission on Service-Learning, presented a report endorsing the community involvement aspect of service-learning that is a keystone of the conference. The State of the Union address in January by President Bush also addressed Americans serving their community.
Guest speakers will include Cameron Dary, a middle school student from Waupun, Wis., who served as the only student member of Glenn's national commission; Katy Ballenger of Alexandria, Va., the founder of the Help Us Give Service Club; and Melissa Helmbrecht of Orlando, Fla., who created a youth involvement project in Denver, Colo., to help respond to the Columbine tragedy.
Topics to be discussed at the conference include school and community partnerships, youth voice and youth leadership, standards in service-learning, using the Internet for youth advocacy, youth as resources, peer tutoring projects, environmental projects and intergenerational projects.
The Civic Literacy Project, located in the IU Department of Political Science, was created in 1997 to promote service-learning and civic education.
For more information, contact conference organizer Rick Cardis at 812-856-0245 or rcardis@indiana.edu.
