Every day, Peace Corps Volunteers are making a difference through service in communities around the world. Their stories can inspire us to consider our own capacities to make a difference both locally and globally. This month, Coverdell World Wise Schools brings the Peace Corps spirit of service to your classroom with service learning resources that foster students' development as caring, service-minded global citizens.

How does the service of Peace Corps Volunteers relate to the service learning in which we seek to engage our students? Like Peace Corps Volunteers, many U.S. students and their families are involved in community service or volunteerism, from organizing food drives, to participating in community greening projects, to raising money for causes they care about. Service learning takes these types of activities a step further. As the National Youth Leadership Council describes, “Picking up trash on a riverbank is service. Studying water samples under a microscope is learning. When science students collect and analyze water samples, document their results, and present findings to a local pollution control agency … that is service-learning.”

Service learning embeds service within the academic curriculum, allowing students to build essential skills through engagement in and reflection on service. Coverdell World Wise Schools' service learning resources guide teachers through the process of envisioning and enacting service learning with students, while making key connections to standards-based curricula. By drawing from the global service experiences of Peace Corps Volunteers, Coverdell World Wise Schools' resources encourage service learning that connects students with the world and builds global and cross-cultural awareness.

Do you have a service learning success story to share? Send us an email at wwsinfo@peacecorps.gov.