New Service-Learning Professional Development Offerings for Youth, Educators

For thirty years, the National Youth Leadership Council has provided programs and services that develop young leaders, support educators, and advance the field of service-learning. This year, NYLC has ramped up its professional development services and now offers standard and customized professional development options for multiple audiences, including youth (K-12) and educators (in K-12, afterschool, or community-based settings).

NYLC has trained a variety of organizations to integrate service-learning and youth leadership into their work. This past year, NYLC trained 40 volunteer coordinators at the National Park Service on how to connect their work to young people and what they are learning in the classroom. Similarly, NYLC trained AmeriCorps Promise Fellows across the state of Minnesota, both in person and online, on how to integrate service-learning into the schools where they serve. In addition, NYLC trained fifty youth from around the world in youth leadership, and helped them develop action plans to make change in their communities, and hundreds of teachers and youth from Guilford County Schools in North Carolina received training on how to develop academically rigorous service-learning curriculum.

NYLC trainers understand that service-learning is not a one-time event, but rather a process that adults and youth move through to meet their goals. NYLC trainings are designed to move participants through the service-learning process, so that they will be prepared to integrate service-learning on their own.

A core component to every training event is the Service-Learning Planning Process, which focuses on strengthening the rigor of the service-learning experience, both in and out of school settings.  NYLC advocates an alternative model for planning service-learning units: backward planning. Through this model, trainees first identify the goals (both academic and civic), then plan when and how the goals will be assessed, and finally plan learning experiences that address the identified goals. 

Unlike other service-learning professional development opportunities, NYLC trainings come with pre- and post-follow up support, and robust resources to aid the learning that takes place. Included in all trainings is free membership to the Generator School Network® — an online community of youth and adults committed to providing and advocating for high-quality service-learning experiences for young people around the world. Membership to the GSN allows for learning, planning, and sharing that extends beyond the face-to-face training time.

Learn more about NYLC’s professional development services or request a training today: www.nylc.org/training