STUDENT SERVICE LEARNING 

In 1992, the Maryland State Board of Education adopted the student service learning graduation requirement. The graduation requirement affects those students who entered high school in the fall of 1993 and thereafter. 

Service learning provides students the experience of addressing a need or concern in their school or community. The student identifies the community need or concern, researches that issue, prepares a plan of action, carries out the plan, and reflects on the impact of that action. Student Service Learning (SSL) may be carried out as an individual or a group project.   

Several options are available to the student to complete the SSL graduation requirement: 

• The SSL program in Charles County is a four-year program, from sixth grade through ninth grade. The program requires students to complete a preparation, action, and reflection component for most of these grade-level requirements.
   
• Ninth grade – All aspects of preparation, action, and reflection are embedded in the ninth grade Local, State and National Government (LSN) class. 

OR 

• For students transferring into the system after the ninth grade, any service learning recorded on the permanent record is accepted by the school system. If the student has not completed SSL by the conclusion of ninth grade, an independent study packet that contains all the aspects of the service learning process must be completed. 

OR 

• Completion of the one-semester course. 

The following website can assist with all SSL questions: http://www2.ccboe.com/ssl/index.cfm