By josh davidson
Staff Writer
MATAWAN — The Board of Education has introduced a community service program for high school seniors that will be implemented next fall.
"What I am really looking to do is increase awareness that it does pay to help out in the community," Schools Superintendent Bruce Quinn said.
When Quinn first came on as superintendent, he wanted to see the schools get in touch with what is happening in the community. This program provides that opportunity, he said.
"We think it’s a good thing," Quinn said. "We think that more public schools should look at this as a requirement. I think it’s a good way to make a connection between the school and community. It ties in with our goal to connect the school with the community."
The program will allow high school seniors with driver’s licenses to have their final 47-minute period at the end of the day off. They can then take part in some type of volunteer program within the community. In total, the students will be asked to commit to five hours during the 11-week project. Students will receive 2.5 credits for taking part in the project for one-half of the school year. They can take part in this program for one-full year, if they wish, and receive five credits, Quinn said.
"A staff member will go and see that they are putting in the time," Quinn said.
The program is class-rank neutral in that it won’t affect a student’s class ranking, Quinn said.
"You don’t get a benefit for taking it, but you don’t loose anything for taking it," he said.
Possible community projects would include helping at other schools, to clean up the environment, at food banks, and helping the police and fire departments and first aid squads, Quinn said.
If students want, school officials can help them contact certain agencies to help them get a head start on finding community service jobs, he said. Quinn said he has already been contacted by community groups looking for help.
"We’ll give them some suggestions if they are interested," Quinn said. "If someone is really interested in looking for a project, we will help them."
The program will benefit students because it gives them focus and helps them develop self-esteem, Quinn said. The program is not only geared toward helping Matawan Regional’s top students, he said, it is designed to benefit children who are going through tough times who want to feel reward and recognition for the job that they do.
Students cannot be paid for the volunteer work if they want to get high school credit, Quinn said.
"But if it leads to something that they get paid for, then that’s fine," he said.
When the program begins, it will only include seniors. Quinn said if a senior does not have a driver’s license and can find a community service program they can walk to, he would consider giving them credit. If the program is successful for seniors, and juniors express interest in participating in the program and helping their community, he may extend it to them, he said.
"[The community service program] gets the spirit of volunteerism going in the community," Quinn said.