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 In 1990 Congress passed the National and Community Service Act which created the Commission on National and Community Service. Full implementation of the Community Service Act began in 1992 when the Commission began the granting process, including Serve America awards. The Cherokee Nation was the first Indian tribe to receive a Serve America grant.
In March of 1993, on the anniversary of the founding of Peace Corps, President Clinton unveiled his plan for national service and challenged the nation's youth to answer his call "to change America forever and for the better." In May of that year the President proposed legislation to strengthen and expand service and educational opportunities for all Americans through the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.
On September 21, 1993, before an enthusiastic crowd of service, education, and congressional leaders, President Clinton signed into law the National and Community Service Trust Act to engage Americans in meeting critical needs through direct community-based service.
The Act merged the Commission on National and Community Service and ACTION to form the Corporation for National Service. Over $400 million was allocated for the first round of grants. The Civilian Community Corps, VISTA and National Senior Volunteer Corps previously funded through ACTION continued to receive support from the newly formed Corporation as well as innovative programs in higher education, Serve-America and AmeriCorps. State Educational Agencies, higher education institutions, national nonprofits, federal agencies, Indian tribes and U. S. Territories all vied for grants that would bring service to their communities.
Overview and Assessment
Recognizing that community needs are best defined and met by members of a community, the Learn and Serve Program focuses on the development of school-based community projects that engage youth who reside in rural, isolated communities. The goal of the program is to develop a comprehensive, innovative service learning program within the fourteen county service area of the Cherokee Nation.
Service learning is the integration of service activities in the community with classroom learning and youth programming. Youth participants take the lead in designing, planning and implementing activities that harness their skills, knowledge and abilities as resources in addressing real-life problems.
An average of seven local educational agencies (sub-grantees) are awarded grants annually on a competitive basis. Grants vary from $3,000 to $5,000.
Training
Grantees of the Serve America Program are required to allocate up to fifteen percent of their total grant award to training and technical assistance for its subgrantees. The Cherokee Nation Learn and Serve Program provides summer training for teachers and other school personnel to help advance the service learning field. Leadership training is provided for youth participants in the fall.
Evaluation
The Learn and Serve Manager submits a semi-annual progress report to the Corporation for National Service. The Accounting Department at the same time submits a financial report.
Internal monthly reports are submitted to the Education Services Administration with a copy forwarded to the Tribal Council. The monthly report serves as an evaluation document on how well the goals and objectives are being met.
An external evaluator identified through the national service learning clearinghouse will be contracted. The elements of the evaluation will include but not limited to:
- Narrative description and measurement of the degree of completion of each subgrantee program objective.
- Compilation and analysis of service projects and student data.
- Effectiveness of methodology and community impact.
- Degree of satisfaction of participants.
- Strengths/weaknesses of the program.
- Area/s for improvement.
- Recommendations.
Additional internal evaluation procedures will provide regular monitoring of subgrantees conducted on a semi-annual basis. This will include an on-site visit of the service project. A written progress report reflecting the subgrantee's progress toward established goals and objectives will be reviewed with the school coordinator/s. The report will address problems encountered, how resolved or resolving, significant events, and any unmet needs of the subgrantee.
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