Community Service
Bethlehem Area School District
Community Service Program
Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement and Waiver
[View This Letter in Spanish]
Dear Parent/Guardian,
This letter is to inform you of the Bethlehem Area School District Community Service graduation requirement. This requirement states that all students must complete 60 hours of Community Service with a non-profit organization. Once the sixty hours of Community Service have been completed, the student will be awarded .5 (1/2) credit. This is a mandatory requirement for graduation.
Working together with your child's School Counselor, our office provides information about meaningful opportunities for service and documents the student's hours towards the graduation requirement. The BASD Community Service Program provides students with the opportunity to explore careers, develop leadership skills, acquire life skills, and foster community participation and responsible citizenship their service hours. This program is an invaluable experience for students, regardless of their future plans.
Our office gathers information from over 200 non-profit organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. This information is available to you online at bit.ly/BASDCommServiceHome. In addition to our website, we also have open office hours where students are invited to meet with us find out more about upcoming opportunities.
Please be advised that while we attempt to collect information about these nonprofit agencies and their volunteer needs, we do not verify the accuracy of this information, nor do we oversee these agencies. Rather, it is you and your student's responsibility to research and identify a Community Service site that meets your student's needs.
Prior to your student participating with an agency, we must receive a completed copy of the "Request to Volunteer". If you choose to complete Community Service Hours at an agency not listed on our website, you will need to have Section B and the rubric completed by the agency and submitted prior to your volunteer work.
Please also see Bethlehem Area School District Policy 139, located at http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/beth/Board.nsf/Public, which outlines the Community Service Program in further detail.
Please note that this is a new procedure starting in the 2015-2016 School Year. All students must have the "Request to Volunteer" signed and submitted prior to volunteering with an agency in order to receive credit for their hours. Please contact our office with any questions.
Alicia Cruz
Community Service/Service Learning Coordinator
acruz@basdschools.org
610-867-5843 ext 53172
610-691-7200 ext 50172
www.beth.k12.pa.us./ParentsStudents/CommunityService
Sign up now to receive Community Service reminders right to your phone. Use any of the following codes to receive information on new opportunities and reminders!
Text @misskleinr, @CSHours1 or @CSHours2 to (484) 821-3424
Want to receive Community Service Opportunities directly to your e-mail? Sign up using this link - it takes less than a minute! Upcoming opportunity lists will be sent every other week and urgent requests for volunteers will be sent as needed.