Community Service

Our youngest students in preschool and kindergarten learn about the importance of helping others within and beyond our community and participate in a range of different class service projects monthly, including packing lunches for the New York Common Pantry’s 365 Program, which provides meals to New Yorkers facing food insecurity; collecting coins to donate to a homeless shelter to help fulfill items on their wish list; participating in an Earth Day cleanup; collecting socks and stuffed animals for migrant families coming to New York; and more. 

Taking action in the form of community service is an essential element of the PYP experience. Students grow both personally and socially, developing skills such as cooperation, problem-solving, and creative and critical thinking. 

In grades 1-5, students participate in a range of community service activities that are student- initiated, Student Council-driven, and Division-wide. These include a Thanksgiving canned food drive; a neighborhood Earth Day trash pick-up; a book drive for Project Cicero, which provides books for under-resourced public schools; a drive to collect and donate toiletry items for the Bowery Mission; and a drive to collect devices that can be recycled for veterans through Cell Phones for Soldiers.
 

In Middle School, service derives primarily from classroom learning. For example, students learn about issues of food security and hunger awareness in their math and design classes. After exploring the volume of different shapes and learning estimation skills, seventh graders visit Brookfield Place to view “CANstruction,” a design competition with sculptures made from unopened cans of food, which are donated to City Harvest post-competition. We then have our own competition; students create their own designs, vote on a winner, and build the sculpture with cans from a food drive. 

The Middle School Student Council works together to raise awareness and provide opportunities for all students to participate in service initiatives. One example is the Central Park reservoir run and water bottle sale in support of Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education Inc. (SCOPE), which provides children from underserved communities with life-changing experiences at summer camp. 

MYP students become more aware of their own strengths and areas for growth; undertake challenges to develop new skills; discuss, evaluate, and plan student-initiated activities; work collaboratively; develop global citizenship, and consider the ethical implications of their actions.

To support students’ ongoing service learning, Upper School students are encouraged to join one of several service-oriented after-school programs, such as the WISER (Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research) Club and SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education). They are also encouraged to participate in their wider communities through engagement with non-profits and service organizations in New York City and beyond. 

All students in grades 9-12 have community service requirements, which increase and expand each year. Those in grades 9 and 10 are required to complete at least one Service As Action (SA) experience per trimester and reflect on their MYP learning outcomes. 

IB Diploma Program (DP) candidates and Dwight Courses (DC) students in grades 11 and 12 are required to participate in meaningful Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS) activities over an 18-month period. Students plan and document their progress, and also reflect on their experiences and learning. All students must also initiate a collaborative project with at least one peer, sharing their time and talents.