SLP’s RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Looking to integrate opportunities for youth voice and leadership into your school’s curriculum?

SLP’s school-based Residency Program is a unique opportunity for students in grades K-12 to build critical academic, social, and emotional skills while having a real impact on a social issue they are passionate about.


WHAT IS SLP?

The Service Learning Project (SLP) is an action civics program for elementary, middle, and high school-aged youth. Through our in school, after-school, and virtual programs, our students become leaders and agents of positive change in their communities by working together to help solve social problems of their choice. The students are in charge at SLP – every step of the process is youth-driven – and every final project has a real and profound impact.

WHAT IS SLP’S RESIDENCY PROGRAM?

Our 12-week Residency Program, offered in both the fall and spring, has been integrated into the curriculum of schools serving diverse student bodies of all ages – elementary, middle, and high school. We have partnered with teachers in general education, ICT, and self-contained classrooms and follow the same proven effective model with all our young advocates.

During the Residency, SLP Faculty meet weekly with classes of up to 30 students, at a time determined by the host school. Working in close collaboration with classroom teachers, our experienced facilitators guide students as they work through the five phases of an SLP project:

  • Choosing a social issue which they are passionate about
  • Becoming experts on their issue through extensive research
  • Developing an alternative solution
  • Creating and implementing a plan to advocate for their solution
  • Reflecting on the experience and considering how they can continue to use their new leadership and advocacy skills

While we encourage teachers and school staff to participate in SLP discussions, and their input in planning is invaluable, there is no additional demand on school staff. SLP Faculty handle the preparation for weekly lessons and activities, arrange guest speakers, connect with advocacy and other outside organizations, collect research materials, and provide general trouble-shooting.

Our partner schools often consider the SLP Residency part of their social studies or Advisory curriculum, while some offer SLP as an elective. Our students have tackled a wide range of social issues from bullying to child nutrition to homelessness to gun violence to climate change. Their chosen solutions are varied and include direct action, changes to school policies, awareness-raising campaigns, fundraising, coalition building, and petitioning local and national legislators. Many inspiring SLP projects are described here.    

Interested in partnering with SLP? Click here to complete our Partner Interest Form.  We’ll be in touch very soon!