Student Service Program Up for Vote

Trustees of the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District are expected to adopt a proposal to require students at the district’s three high schools to perform 40 hours of community service to graduate.

Any decision, likely to come at Tuesday’s meeting, would stem from a two-year pilot program at the district’s Valencia High School in Placentia. Community service is already a graduation requirement at El Camino Real, the district’s continuation school.

Students would be able to opt out of performing community service, but would have to complete one research paper on a community service organization during each of their four years in high school.

“This is a win-win situation,” said board member Craig Olson. “It helps kids get into college and be involved in the community. It allows complete flexibility for students to choose the service they want to give. And it allows students who don’t want to take part, not to.”

The district’s pilot program at Valencia has received favorable response from parents and students, said Wendell Bainter, who organized the program.

“This couldn’t be more a part of the curriculum in the civics and political sciences classes,” said Bainter. “The whole purpose behind this is to get them involved in democracy. You need to be a part of it, which has always been giving back something that your country has given to you.”

Students can work their mandatory hours--at the rate of 10 hours a year--in local service organizations like Rotary clubs, at churches, libraries or other district-approved organizations, such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Bainter said.

Bainter said that to ease concerns of some parents, the research paper is a good compromise for those who don’t want to perform the service.

“But most kids will look at that and say they’d rather have some fun and do the hours,” he said.

If approved, the requirement will apply to the next year’s freshman class. This year’s freshman class will be required to complete 30 hours of community service during their remaining three years.

The district’s current sophomores, juniors and seniors wouldn’t have to meet the requirement.