"Bringing Education to Life"

Clark Montessori students, in keeping with the school motto "Bringing Education to Life", are required to go out into the world to apply skills they have learned and gain new ones in service to the community around them.

Community Service is not a part of the 24 credits needed for graduation, but the minimum number of community service hours is required before a Clark student can receive a diploma.

Teachers do not assign specific services to a student. These decisions on how, where and when are left to the student and his or her parent or guardian.
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Community Service Guidelines

The following outlines Clark Montessori Community Service requirements...

1. Through High School, 200 hours of Community Service must be performed at the rate of 25 hours per     semester.

2. All services must be performed without compensation to the student. This means of course that that a    student may not be paid for their Community Service, but also means there is no Community Service    credit for working at his or her employment even if that employment is of a community service nature.

3. Services can be performed in several ways:
    -- on behalf of not-for-profit organizations such as schools, churches, hospitals or organizations like        the Red Cross, Goodwill, Freestore/Foodbank, etc.,
    -- in participation with an outside individual if that individual's efforts are community service oriented        and not for profit,
    -- on the student's own initiative such as removing trash from parks, roadways, etc.

4. Community Service is intended to be community-oriented and therefore cannot be performed on behalf     of an individual, such as caring for a single sick or elderly person.

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The importance of Community Service is hard to exaggerate. These experiences, while obviously valuable to the beneficiary of the service, also directly demonstrates to the student that there is a world beyond the walls of their homes and school.

Very importantly, these experiences also show the student that there are needs to be met and challenges to face in this world and that as a result of their efforts, there is a chance that these needs and challenges may be met.