These guidelines provide you a direction toward community service/volunteerism. You can, and should, always ask a social worker for the pre-approval to save you time and effort.
- Students are required to complete 40 hours of community service during 9th to 12th grades (prorated at 10 hours per high school year).
- Ideally, a student should serve at least 10 hours of community service per year.
- Students that complete more than 40 community service hours (41+) will receive a gray cord to be worn at graduation and receive a community service seal on their diploma.
- Community service activities must be documented on the Volunteering/Community Service Verification & Short Essay form and must contain the signature and contact information of the community representative supervising the activity.
- Community service hours must directly benefit a community or a non-profit organization.
- Students may use their community service hours to benefit another on-campus organization (SBG, JrNAD, etc.).
- Students may not use court-ordered community service hours to fulfill the graduation requirement.
- Community service hours may not profit or benefit a Wisconsin state employee or a Department of Public Instruction staff member in any sort of manner.
- Community service activities must be performed without financial or any other compensation.
- Community service hours cannot be conducted under the supervision of family members/relatives.
- Students may do their community service at their parents’ employment but they cannot directly benefit their parents or be supervised by their parents.
- Students are allowed to earn up to a maximum of 15 hours of their community service at WSD. The rest of the hours must be earned in their home community. No exceptions.
- Students are encouraged to take a picture of themselves performing the community service activity. These photos can then be used in their senior presentation.
- For students who join WSD during high school, their hours will be determined after being accepted at WSD using this guideline.
- After every community service performed, the student is required to complete the ‘Verification’ form and ‘Community Service Reflection Upon Completion’ form (both are on the same document) and turn it into the School Social Worker for a final verification. If the forms are not completed then the hours will not be counted.
- Students will not receive their official diploma until all community service hours are verified and the reflection forms are completed and submitted.
- Seniors should turn in all of their community service hours 6 weeks before graduation (to give us proper time to prepare the diploma, award and/or presentation, etc). A senior who turns in their forms late will still be counted and receive a diploma but would not be recognized in their community service ceremony of award and/or presentation due to lack of ample time.
- If students receive their diplomas from their Local Educational Agency (LEA/home district), their hours will be determined based on the LEA requirements.
- Excess of 40 hours of community service would be impressive; however, a student is encouraged to seek out a potential paid job (after school or summer job).
- Importantly, every student, as a safeguard, should check with the school social worker to see if the potential site for community service would be appropriate (follow this guideline) and would be approved. Otherwise, a student is at risk of having their hours served to not be counted (more likely because it does not fall within this guideline).