SERVICE LEARNING
*For more Information about Serving Learning please contact Ed O'Connor, Director of Student Life

Instead of a set number of hours required for graduation, La Salle has adopted a service-learning program.  Service-learning is curriculum based community service that integrates classroom instruction with community service activities.  The difference between service-learning and community service is that community service does not require intentional preparation, curriculum-based connection, or reflection and critical analysis time.  Students at La Salle apply academic skills to studying real-world issues, linking established learning objectives with genuine needs.  The students lead the process, with teachers as partners, applying critical thinking and problem-solving skills to concerns such as hunger, homelessness, and diversity. 

One example of La Salle’s service-learning program takes place during the freshman year.  The Freshman HIV/AIDS Cross-Curriculum Service-Learning Project involves the disciplines of Biology, English, Health, Religious Studies, Social Studies, and the Visual and Performing Arts.  Along with the class work and discussion that takes place in each of these classes concerning HIV/AIDS, students are required to participate in a service opportunity through Pasadena Posada, Project Angel Food, the Pasadena AIDS Service Center, or AIDS Project Los Angeles.  After their service students are required to write a reflection about their experience and then produce a creative application that illustrates how what they did in their service learning experience connects to the larger issue of AIDS and Health Services to the community.
 
Some additional (and unique) Service Learning Projects continue through La Salle’s academic and co-curricular programs during the sophomore, junior and senior years.  Here are some examples:

• Lasallian Education Advantage Partnership Program (L.E.A.P.):  This outreach tutoring program with three inner-city Catholic elementary schools does lesson enhancements in the areas of math, science, arts, computers and English.  Fifty La Salle students participate in the program at Santa Teresita, St. Columbkille and Mother of Sorrows.

• Lancer Television Special Features:  Throughout the year, La Salle’s television studio (Lancer Television) reports on various stories important to the school community.  Some of these stories cover the service projects completed by the various student groups, teams or class councils.

Other Service-Learning Partners and Outreach Projects