Get $450K for School Service-Learning Projects

ALERT Dear National Service Colleagues, In early April we will take another important step toward improving the speed and reliability of our technology environment by moving our production systems to new servers at the Corporation’s headquarters. In order to make this upgrade, our systems – including the My AmeriCorps Portal, Recruitment System, eGrants and eSPAN – will be unavailable from 8:00 PM Eastern, Friday, April 3 through 8:00 AM Eastern, Monday, April 6. I am alerting you to this scheduled system outage now to enable you to plan your work accordingly and to encourage you to refer to the operating status page for additional updates and to learn system status. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue the necessary process of enhancing and strengthening our systems.

Thank you. Kristin McSwain Chief of Program Operations Corporation for National and Community Service Subject to the availability of appropriations for fiscal year 2009, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) announces the anticipated availability of approximately $5.7 million for qualified organizations to provide financial resources, training, and other assistance to local partnerships to implement school-based service-learning projects. These funds will be awarded to an estimated eight to ten eligible applicants, with awards ranging from approximately $300,000 to $450,000 annually for a project period of up to three years. The Corporation’s mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.

Learn and Serve America School-Based grants are designed to involve school-age youth in service-learning projects that simultaneously support student development and address community problems in areas such as the environment, education, public safety, and other human needs.Key agency priorities for the 2009 School-Based grant competition include:(1) promoting the use of high-quality service-learning to address STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) objectives in middle schools with high percentages of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds;(2) expanding the use of service-learning as a teaching strategy to increase students’ motivation to learn, community problem solving skills, and readiness for careers and post-secondary education; and(3) engaging young people in service-learning activities that address community needs in order to build healthier communities.