SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) has been awarded a $2,593,052 Learn and Serve America grant. The award is to support local educational partnerships and regional service-learning networks for training California teachers and service-learning coordinators who incorporate service into academic settings.

"Service-learning makes academic content come alive as students apply their knowledge and skills to real-life situations," said O'Connell. "Students become more engaged in their studies and see that they can make a difference. Taking an active role in addressing community needs fosters responsible citizenship and contributes to character development."

The Corporation for National and Community Service (a federal agency) awarded the grant to the CDE, CalServe Initiative for the 2003-04 school year. The grant will provide funds to foster high-quality service for students while helping to build the next generation of active, engaged citizens.

Service-learning is a teaching strategy receiving considerable attention from policymakers and educators. It is an approach to education that links community service to academic achievement while also teaching students about our country's civic institutions and traditions. Service-learning blends community service with academic curriculum, and adds opportunities for students to reflect upon their service experience, provide leadership, and perform projects that meet genuine community needs.

Through the CalServe Initiative, the CDE has been supporting a Statewide Regional Service-Learning Lead infrastructure and 29 districtwide school-community partnerships that annually involve more than 84,000 students and approximately 8,000 community volunteers in urban, rural, and suburban communities throughout the state.

For more information on CalServe, go to Service-Learning. For the national service grants, go to Corporation for National and Community Service [http://www.nationalservice.gov] (Outside Source). A list of the partners may be found at CalServe District Partnerships.