Community Service

Besant Hill School requires all students to participate in the community service program by completing a minimum required number of service hours. Students are further encouraged to expand their service vision beyond the required number of hours, discovering projects of personal interest in areas of their choosing.

BHS has instituted the Community Service Program as a conduit for students to:

  • Gain a greater understanding of their community and their own personal responsibility for the welfare of others.
  • Give students an opportunity to move beyond academic endeavors and broaden the ways they experience, view and reflect on the world around them.
  • Develop the vision and courage necessary to succeed as a global citizen beyond Besant Hill School in the local, national and world community.

Required Hours

Students must complete 15 hours of service per year. These hours must be completed within the school calendar year. Community service hours completed over the summer will be considered supplementary and recorded as such. Each senior will be required to complete his/her service hours prior to graduation in order to receive his/her diploma.

The Community Service Coordinator (CSC)

The Community Service Coordinator (CSC) will direct the service learning initiative within Besant Hill School. The CSC coordinates student community service work and offers assistance to each student in finding service opportunities which support the service theme for his/her academic year. The CSC approves and monitors all community service placements. The CSC helps guide each BHS student to discover the best possible placement, matching his/her interest with community needs. Students will be encouraged to accumulate the majority of their community service hours with the same organization if possible, in order to maintain continuity and ensure a committed learning experience. The CSC will provide all students with a service evaluation form which, upon completion, will be verified and recorded in an individual community service file.

*No student will be required to perform community service for an organization or cause that is not in harmony with his/her own personal values.