Pea Ridge High School's Community Service Learning

CSL offers students the support and opportunity to serve the local community, all while earning credit toward graduation.

What is CSL?

Community Service Learning is a new graduation requirement created by the LEARNS Act. Beginning with the graduating class of 2027, students are required to complete 75 community service hours to earn a diploma (Act 237 of 2023, pages 38-39). The law includes that students will earn 15 hours of community service in 9th grade, and 20 hours of community service in each of the years for grades 10, 11, and 12 to equal 75 hours of service required for graduation.

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CSL Student Guidelines

  1. Students will partner with a school or community organization that provides a service benefiting our community. Community organizations should be screened and approved by parents.

  2. It is the student's responsibility to keep up with and track their individual hours. Once you have reached your acquired hours for the year, use the Community Service Log you received in CCR for tracking purposes.

  3. Once you have reached the required amount of service credits for the current school year, you will physically turn in any certificate or form documenting your service hours to Senior CCR Teacher Colby Fingerhut, as well as copy that information into the Community Service Documentation online platform. Both documentation forms (physical paper copy & online) must be completed.

The community service must be in programs or activities, either in Arkansas or outside of Arkansas, that meet the requirements established by the State Board and the District Board of Directors and include preparation, action, and reflection components.

A student must receive at least the following documented clock hours of school-sponsored community service each year:

Grade

Course (Supervising Teacher)

Hours Required

9th

Computer Science CCR

15

10th

Keystone

20

11th

College & Career Readiness

20

12th

Work Ready

20

Total Required Hours: 75

Students are encouraged to serve their community through outside organizations as well. Hours may be logged for services completed with these organizations or independent work in addition to the required school-sponsored activities but not in place of the school-sponsored time.

Transfer Students:

Students transferring into the District after grade nine (9) or students who are graduating early may receive a diploma provided that the minimum requirement for each year the student attends the District is met.

May be included as Service Hours

Volunteering in activities included in the PRSD Community Service Plan approved by the campus principal.

When supporting an outside organization with programs and activities, the organization must be tax-exempt. 

All activities must receive prior approval by the campus principal and include parent permission.

May NOT be included as required Service Hours

Donating an item to an organization in return for hours (example: 1 canned food item for 1 hour of service)

Volunteering in a classroom during scheduled class time (example: cleaning the classroom during assigned 1st period class)

Volunteering for activities through non-PRSD organizations or within your home (example: reading to siblings, completing tasks at home)

FAQs

Who do I contact with questions?

  • Contact Principal Leonard Ogden or CCR Teacher Colby Fingerhut. Staff emails can be found here.