Orange County Schools Students Build Civic Education with Disney

If it wasn't a huge sufficient perk to mature next door to the Magic Kingdom, Orange County high school students are also being sought out by non-profit organizations in their location. As a component of Disneyland's 50th wedding anniversary events, secondary school pupils from Orange County Schools have the chance to take part in community outreach jobs with regional nonprofits.

Show Your Character

The "Show Your Character" competitors motivates local nonprofits to create projects that get high school students included. Beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2006, Orange County nonprofits send task propositions created to help local teens return to their community. The nonprofits are combined with Orange County high school students and provided the resources they needed to finish a community service task in their neighborhoods if selected.

Jobs for the competition must meet the California curriculum requirements for Service Learning Projects. In this way, students earn academic credit while finding out important abilities from not-for-profit groups.

A Service Learning Project need to fulfill four fundamental goals (provided by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, www.volunteercenter.org ):

Fulfill a Real Community Need

In collaboration with your company, students should gain an understanding of how the needs of the community you serve are recognized. After establishing an understanding of these requirements, students will actively take part in a service-learning task designed to effectively fulfill those needs.

Gain an understanding of the Connection Between School and also Community

Students need to establish an understanding of the relationship between the community and the school and the worth of school-community partnerships. This will be acquired through direct interactions with your organization, staff and/or customers to develop and implement significant service activities that fulfill the needs of both the students and the community you serve.

Establish a Sense of Civic Responsibility

students must have the ability to show an understanding of civic duty through their participation in this service-learning activity. The task needs to meet a real community need and enhances the quality of life in the community.

Enhance their understanding of Core Character Traits as well as Values

Trustworthiness - Respect - Fairness - Caring - Citizenship

Benefits for Students

In addition to the school credit, participation in the competitors also benefits students and their schools in other essential methods. students will gain from a number of increased awareness of the nonprofits operating in the community. In working with a nonprofit company, the trainee will learn about how nonprofit groups help at threat members of the neighborhood and see on their own how they and others can add to constructing their neighborhood in a positive way in the future. Involvement likewise qualifies the trainee to obtain a Disneyland Resort Legacy Scholarship Award. The Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program is called Making Magic Through Community Service. It prepares to grant $50,000 in scholarships, with a minimum scholarship of $5000 each.

Advantages for Teachers and Schools

In helping their students to take part in the competition, schools and teachers fulfill the standards in character education and have the chance to build character and civic obligation in their students. Educators and students will have the recommendations of a Disney VoluntEAR Project Leader who is educated about their not-for-profit company partner as well as the character education curriculum education requirements to be met.

Disney's neighborhood outreach programs for Orange County high school students combine finding out with public service and particularly attend to the character education curriculum standards for the state of California. students in various area have been given the opportunities to learn and gain positively from Walt Disney that, "the greatest moments in life are not concerned with self-centered accomplishment but rather with the things we do for the people in requirement."

If picked, the nonprofits are combined with Orange County high school students and provided the resources they required to complete a neighborhood service job in their areas.

In addition to the school credit, involvement in the competition also benefits students and their schools in other crucial ways. Students will gain from an increased awareness of the nonprofits running in the community. In working with a nonprofit company, the trainee will discover about how nonprofit groups help at danger members of the community and see for themselves how they and others can contribute to building their neighborhood in a positive method in the future. In assisting their students to participate in the competitors, teachers and schools satisfy the standards in character education and have the chance to construct character and civic responsibility in their students.