Service Learning

Encouraging Students to Take Positive Action

Service Learning is a vital part of our curriculum. Our mission is to “inspire highly capable, creative learners to lead with curiosity, compassion, and courage in a diverse and dynamic world.” Service Learning provides an avenue to do just that.

This process begins in the classroom as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection. Our definition of service learning focuses on the building of relationships between our students and the community at large. Students learn that true service is designed to discover and meet the needs of others, and that the service they provide can educate and benefit both students and their service partners.

Every Class Has a Service Project, or Two

Service learning happens at every grade level, from 1st graders decorating grocery bags for a Thanksgiving food drive to 8th graders building brick houses in Vietnam. Our Student Council organizes a school-wide food drive for Food Lifeline each year and our 4th graders cook meals for Mary’s Place, a local emergency shelter for women, children and families. Our 5th graders belong to the Thornton Creek Alliance, an organization that works to protect our local watershed, and our 7th graders have worked with Shoreline’s Department of Environmental Programs to educate the public about stream protection. Plus, the Middle School Service Club offers interested 6th to 8th graders additional student-driven opportunities throughout the year to take a deeper dive into local service. These are just a few of the many ways that Evergreen students learn about service and contribute to their community.

Our Entire Community Gets Involved

Community service is just as important to our families as it is to our teachers and students. Since 2014, our Parent/Guardian Association has been creating opportunities for families, faculty and staff to work together to give back to our neighbors and the greater Seattle community. Our PGA Service Committee organizes events each year and all students, parents, faculty and staff are invited to submit ideas and to participate in the service projects. In the past, we’ve been fortunate to work with wonderful service organizations including Mary’s Place, Twin Ponds Giving Garden, Food Lifeline, Marra Farms and Treehouse, among others.