Community Action

• Action in support of either our local or global community to benefit the greater good of the said community.
• Direct services to individuals, groups and/or causes is recognized as service that counts toward our graduation requirement. We recognize this as work the organization needs to be done to deliver direct services that will benefit the larger community in need.
• Service addressing an unmet need. Is an underserved disadvantaged population the beneficiary of the service? Or, is delivery of the service dependent on volunteer support?

We strive to instill three key principles to encourage our students to become life-long contributors:

• The service of one individual CAN and DOES impact others. 
• As a team, together we can make a significant impact.
• Our approach to serving starts with seeking the community perspective regarding the need. We believe we can best serve by beginning with this show of honor and respect. We understand we cannot enter into a community believing we have all of the answers and know what that community needs. We believe we must listen and engage in a dialogue with community members about their needs to serve effectively.

At the middle school level, our goal is to contextualize service for our students. Through intentional and unique grade-level service activities, our students gain an understanding of the importance and value of giving back.

As part of our Service Learning goals, we challenge Upper School students to put service into action, then reflect on the personal meaning of that service. We believe this helps students gain a better understanding and sense of the value of partnering with and serving the community.

Seattle Academy has a graduation requirement of 120 service-learning hours and we recommend that students earn at least 30-hours each year to meet that requirement.

In response to COVID-19, the service-learning graduation requirement has been reduced as reflected in the chart below. 

This table reflects all of the changes for each graduating class based on the new requirements mentioned above.