Enrichment · Passion Projects

Good places to serve,
checked before students go.

Service programs live or die by their partners. This organizer keeps one record per organization: what students do there, the minimum age, slots and how students get there, eight checks that make a placement safe and countable, and each term’s students placed and hours served. It flags age mismatches and missing sign-offs before the first shift, and totals the program’s hours.

Add a partnerWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Passion projects kit, $39 for 43 items.

Partners

The worked example is made up: four partners for a high school service-learning program. Saved on this device only.

Loading the partner form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion Projects$5

What you finish with
A record per partner: organization, cause, contact role, volunteer tasks, minimum age and your youngest student, slots per month, transport, eight partnership checks, and students placed and hours served this term. Totals hours and students and counts partners with every check done; flags a student below the minimum age, no way to sign off hours, no on-site supervisor, an unconfirmed nonprofit and open slots with no students.
Who it is for
Service-learning coordinators, club and honor society advisers, school counselors and student leaders organizing volunteer placements.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per partner. Prints one partner, all of them in a table or a blank partner sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Passion projects kit ($39) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each organization after your first call with them.
  2. Enter the minimum age and your youngest student, slots and transport.
  3. Confirm the eight checks with the site, marking what is still open.
  4. Send students only to partners with no age or supervision flags.
  5. At the end of each term, enter students placed and hours served.

Add a partner

Partnerships that work

What makes a good volunteer partnerSafeA named supervisorA first-day briefingAdults screenedAges that fitCountableHours signed offA contact who repliesExpectations writtenForms on fileWorth itReal work, not busyworkA clear community needRoom to reflectStudents come backWhat makes a good volunteer partnerSafeA named supervisorA first-day briefingAdults screenedAges that fitCountableHours signed offA contact who repliesExpectations writtenForms on fileWorth itReal work, not busyworkA clear community needRoom to reflectStudents come back
Service-learning research finds the biggest gains when the work meets a real need and students reflect on it, not when hours are simply counted.

Service-learning that counts

Research reviews of service-learning link it with gains in civic attitudes, social skills and academic outcomes, with the largest effects when the service meets a real community need and students reflect on it in class.

Safety is shared

Most volunteer organizations that host young people set their own screening, supervision and minimum-age policies. Ask for them in writing, and make sure they line up with your school’s permission and transport rules.

Check the organization

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows whether an organization is a registered charity. Many school programs only count hours at nonprofits or public agencies, so check before students go.

Sources

  1. Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., and Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164 to 181.
  2. National Youth Leadership Council (2008). K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice.
  3. Internal Revenue Service: Tax Exempt Organization Search (irs.gov).
  4. AmeriCorps (formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service): youth volunteering research and resources (americorps.gov).

The worked example is made up, including the organizations. Follow your school’s policies on permission, transport and supervision. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.