Community Service

Community service at Cannon School is a cross-divisional, developmentally appropriate program. Our mission is to develop in our students a respect for others and a sense of personal responsibility for the environment and the broader community. Our program begins in the Lower School with outreach to build community relationships and continues to mature through the Middle and Upper divisions into a program that involves students in active and direct service.

The focus of community service in the Lower School is to build a relationship with one organization that offers opportunities for meaningful and developmentally appropriate service from junior kindergarten to fourth grade. Each year, the goal is to enrich the commitment students have with the organization as they grow and develop. Teacher-led reflection is an integral piece of the program.

The Middle School believes in the importance of reaching out and helping others in our school community as well as communities beyond our campus. By embracing a model of service learning, students at each grade level will have the opportunity to investigate service opportunities that interest them. Through guided research and reflection they will work in teams to identify a specific need and develop an action plan to address that need. Through their service learning project, students will develop a better understanding of the importance of civic participation and the way communities work. They will build critical thinking and problem solving skills, and ultimately, they will apply what they learn to improve their communities in real, meaningful, and lasting ways.

The Upper School service program strives to instill in its students a sense of personal responsibility and commitment to contribute to and serve our community. Upper School students are encouraged to use their passions, interests, and individual gifts to first identify needs and then engage in and develop relationships with organizations both within and beyond Cannon School. Students execute service projects on an individual, advisory group, or class-wide basis through direct service, advocacy, and fundraising. The goal is to give students enough autonomy to allow them to experience the altruistic and mutually beneficial sense of giving and receiving that occurs through community service.