ABSTRACT
Community service is a graduation requirement in the Atlanta public school system. Other cities and states are developing programs either to require or encourage student service. Community service programs will be examined from the perspective of the literature on the design, implementation, management, and institutionalization of innovative programs in schools. National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) published a report on community service programs, sponsored numerous workshops at conferences on service-related topics, and published articles on community service in their quarterly magazine—Independent School. Calls for schools to more aggressively address issues related to citizenship are not new. The Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education articulated its "Cardinal Principles of Education" which recommended that civic education be one of the primary objectives of secondary schools. Civic literacy and socializing students do not appear to be problem areas for most independent schools since their student bodies are homogeneous and represent the top ten percent of the nation's wage earners.
