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 E very spring, Eureka’s city streets look a little nicer after 300 sophomores clean up the neighborhood around Eureka High School. This year’s Sophomores in the Streets event will be held on May 19 and is a partnership with the Keep Eureka Beautiful committee. Winship science teacher Rita Orlandini’s classes collect native azalea seedlings, propagate them in the school’s greenhouse, and plant the seedlings in Humboldt County’s two azalea reserves. The class activity is in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, California State Parks, and the California Native Plants Society. What do these programs have in common? They fall under the heading of service learning. Service learning activities connect students with their school, themselves, and their community. The district’s service learning program is credited with enabling students to stand a better chance of finishing school and becoming positive, productive members of society. When Eureka City Schools developed their strategic plan in 1995, school and community members felt so strongly about integrating service learning in all grades, they made it the plan’s first strategy. During the last five years, service learning projects have been fully integrated at all school sites. Each school site maintains a service learning portfolio showcasing activities and lessons that can be shared with staff members across the district. According to Marge Crichton, counselor in the Special Projects office at Eureka High School, “at Eureka High, students expect to be involved in service learning, they want to participate.” One of the many benefits is that these partnerships have blurred the line between Eureka schools and the local community. “People tend to lose sight of the positive qualities that students have. In the past, the community has been nervous about coming onto our campus. We make it comfortable so the schools and community can come together. I feel that we aren’t seeing the line of separation between our schools and our community anymore,” Crichton said. Eureka High School was recently recognized as a state leader for its efforts in service learning and other student–support activities. On December 11, Eureka High’s Special Projects office was cited as an outstanding educational program and received the prestigious Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association. The office also manages Project STEM, an academic mentoring program that has served more than 700 students. In addition, a Community Challenge grant, TAPESTRY, encourages students to develop healthy relationships and make positive choices about their future. The office is also in the process of developing a Career Center at Eureka High in conjunction with a major School–to–Career grant. And the College Knowledge program brings eight Humboldt State and College of the Redwoods student advisors together with 250 Eureka High students with the goal of assisting them in their transition to college. 
Crichton praised the 20–member Special Projects staff and the support
the programs have received from the schools, the district, and the community.“It’s an honor to be recognized statewide. The people who work here are wonderful. There is a real sense of teamwork. We really think out of the box. We’re not afraid to try something different. Our StraightUp AmeriCorps members are like student–teachers,” Crichton said. This year, 13 AmeriCorps members are assigned to Eureka High School. Other educators from around the state are now visiting Eureka High to learn about service learning opportunities. “U.C. Berkeley is coming next week to observe how we integrate service learning into the curriculum,” she mentions. The Special Projects office is a busy place and it’s clear that sometimes there are no lines of demarcation between programs. The office is hard at work organizing Y2K Job Shadow Day on March 15. The event will link Eureka High students with city and county governments, the health community, the education community, and the police and fire departments. The students will job shadow participants the entire day. Last year 125 high school students participated. This year Crichton expects that number to increase dramatically to 300 students. “What makes us so successful is that we’re able to integrate and share our many programs’ resources and goals,” Crichton adds. Thanks to the Special Projects office and the staff at Eureka High, students have a wealth of learning opportunities that will connect them to the community and help them become lifelong learners.
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