Foothills School 
©2003 Foothills School of Arts and Sciences |
 At
Foothills School of Arts and Sciences, the idea of community
service has its beginnings within the school as a whole. Connections
between all classes, faculty, board, and the parent body are intricately
woven. It is rare to pick up one strand and not find several other
strands attached along the way. In keeping with our philosophy
of creating a community of learners committed to constructively
and positively interacting with the world at large, our community
service is an extension of how we perceive and serve each other.Respect, tolerance and acceptance are three of the more critical components each class works towards. In helping to foster awareness for individuals--we rely on students, teachers and parents extending that awareness to larger and larger groups; creating an understanding that in several ways, we are all connected and what we do individually ultimately affects the larger community. One of our yearly community events is Leaf Day. We spend the Tuesday before Thanksgiving raking up leaves in the community as a way of giving back to the urban neighborhood that gives us so much. Every child in the school, from Early Learners to the Seniors brings in rakes and bags and spends the morning filling them up! It is a lot of hard work, but it is always a great day. Each class approaches the idea of community within and outside in diverse, yet parallel, ways. Some projects are initiated by faculty, some by students, and some by parents. The Early Learners teach from the principle that three-to five-year-olds have "ideas" and "theories" about their environment and are much more literate than classically thought. To that end, when Early Learners students found out that some babies don’t have such basic necessities as blankets, they decided to make quilts and blankets for Boise area babies in need. Students designed quilts and blankets which faculty and parent volunteers helped the children sew. At the completion of the project, students and faculty presented the finished quilts to Boise’s Community House. The Early Learners’ staff also works diligently to help students foster awareness of feelings, both in self and in others. They provide a framework for conversation between students and groups, helping students to evolve an ever-growing sense of community.  The
Primaries consistently begin their year with focus on respect--for
individuals and groups. The Primary faculty uses this philosophy
to build and encourage greater awareness of community
needs among their students. In addition, every other year the Primaries
study "Communities: What are They?" as a theme. In 2002-03, the
students initiated a "clean up the school block" project.
This came about after several students observed trash
on the walkways and parking space around school. Students then
spent an hour a week picking up trash from the area. As part of
this process, students and faculty generated discussions about why
this
was important. "What the students discover",
notes Primary teacher, Heather Irons, "is that caring for others,
respect for others and working together are principal components
of communities." The centering principle for the Junior class has been to involve themselves in projects in which the students can “see the need." Boise’s Community House presents an accessible and ideal need. Students have recognized the need of Community House’s members and have been proactive in response. For the past few years, the Junior class has gathered coats and winter wear from our school community to help those in need. They have also served food at local soup kitchens. Intermediates begin each year creating a class constitution. Students generate ideas for how they want to treat each other, themselves and the community at large. This constitution is based on self-respect and respect for diversity in intellectual and cultural forms. It becomes an underlying principle for observation, study and modeling for the entire year. From this awareness, the class reaches out to the greater community. Past examples of Intermediate projects include raising money for victims of Hurricane Mitch (donated to Red Cross), forming a towel drive for the Boise Community House, donating and boxing food at the Idaho Food Bank, and raising funds for the Idaho Humane Society. In the past, the Senior class has raised in-kind goods for a local family who lost their mother and home, and raised funds for the Idaho Humane Society and for breast cancer research. More recently, the Senior class has evolved their model of community service to include the concept that, “a healthy community doesn’t just happen”--it takes involvement by all participants. The Senior staff teach their students that community service can be achieved by channeling individual interests and strengths. To that end, they are embarking on a model of service centered on 5-10 projects in the Boise community. Examples include Ridges to Rivers, Veterans Home, working with immigrant students at Koelsch Elementary School and Head Start. Students will be allowed to select a project based on their personal interests. They will spend some class time preparing and understanding the dynamics of the project, then, as a peer group, they will design and coordinate an independent piece of work associated with that project. In the future, this model will extend to include students’ own assessment of needs within the Boise community. Return to Community main page |
