Service Learning and Community Partnerships: 2023-24

Educational opportunities extend beyond the classroom to enrich learning, develop student awareness of the global community and promote intellectual and civic engagement.

Goal: Participate in Tri-State Consortium and AASA Learning 2025 National Collaborative to network with state and national educators and remain current with future-focused educational practices.

  • The district began work to address recommendations from Tri-State Consortium to grow and advance F-M’s instructional technology and its use of technology to facilitate and enhance teaching and learning. As part of this work, a Tri-State Consortium Committee, comprised of F-M administrators, teachers, library media specialists and instructional technology staff, was developed. The committee has worked collaboratively with the district’s Technology Committee to develop an action plan and assist the district with aligning and integrating technology into all classrooms, reaching a broad range of learners, and enhancing professional learning opportunities related to instructional technology.

Goal: Develop student service learning opportunities and community partnerships that extend classroom learning and support personal and social growth.

  • F-M High School students joined volunteers at Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build and assemble bunk beds for families in the greater Syracuse area. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a non-profit organization dedicated to building, assembling and delivering beds to children in need. The students assisted in building 45 beds.
  • Wellwood Middle School students helped create more than 100 ornaments to donate to the VA hospital in Syracuse. Using material donated by the Wellwood HSA, Wellwood technology teachers engraved the ornaments with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Veteran USA logos. The students sanded the ornaments to be donated to those who have served our country.
  • Approximately 60 F-M High School students teamed up with Friends Forever Animal Rescue to design and build equipment to be used at the rescue. The project included a puppy feeding divider to accommodate up to 10 puppies, a birthing/nesting box for a dog and her litter, and two rolling carts to assist rescue volunteers. Students also made custom laser engraved signs with the Friends Forever logo for each item.
  • F-M High School art students partnered with the Village of Manlius to design and provide new artwork throughout the village. Students will continue to collaborate with local professionals, including historians and biologists, to inform residents about the history of Manlius through their art work.
  • F-M High School once again hosted a Dance Marathon to benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times, a not-for-profit organization that offers weeklong summer camping sessions, weekend adult retreats, and year-round programs for families who have been impacted by cancer and other life challenges. This year, the students raised over $100,000.
  • Mott Road Elementary School hosted several fundraisers. In December, students collected food to donate to the F-M Food Pantry for local families. In the spring, students introduced a community-wide Book Swap. No purchase was needed to participate in the Book Swap, as any student was able to select a “new to you” book. Also in the spring, students hosted a coin collection ahead of Dance Marathon to help raise funds for Camp Good Days.