In 2013, Seattle Public Schools enacted a new graduation requirement for high school seniors: 60 hours of community service. That number may seem overwhelming, but since 2013, thousands of students have met this requirement.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this requirement was been waived for the graduating classes of 2020-2022; those three graduating classes were not required to complete 60 hours of service learning.
This year, though, we are back to normal, giving the Class of 2023 a lot to catch up on.
When asked about trying to get service hours, Roosevelt senior Francesca Espey said, “[COVID] definitely made it harder. … It limited [what] I could sign up for.” Espey continued, “I probably would have done some stuff sophomore year if I had the option but everything was shut down.”
When asked about what the school could do to help encourage volunteer hours, Espey said, “talking about it more often because … I think I’ve only heard them talk about it once … freshman year.”
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, another question surrounding the service hour requirement is whether it’s just another box for students to check off on the long list of things needed to graduate, or: Does it promote genuine motivation to help their community?
When asked about this, Espey said, “It’s good to motivate students to volunteer by having that requirement, but also it … puts pressure on students to just think about that [requirement], rather than the service they’re actually doing for their community.”
Another problem with the requirement is that there isn’t a lot of outreach about volunteer opportunities. When Roosevelt High School student counselor Carrie Richard was asked about the service hour requirement, she said, “I think it would be great if it was something a little bit more district-wide supported. …It would be great instead of just throwing it out as a requirement, … being clear with opportunities that are available.” As a student, it’s reassuring that even the counselors are concerned about the requirement’s accessibility.
Although the service hours requirement often seems like a task, rather than an opportunity, the benefit this requirement has on the community is outstanding.
Heidi Osborn, a member of the Ballard Food Bank, said about 200 students continuously volunteer every year. She said, “High schoolers are important to our everyday functioning. …Without students, we would depend more on our general pool of volunteers — there would be times that we would be short of volunteers.”
Knowing that students have a huge impact on the functioning of organizations, it is clear that this requirement is extremely important to our community. This requirement is encouraging for students to reach outside of their comfort zone and physically be reminded of their role and impact in their community. With a little more support and encouragement from the district and even staff at Roosevelt High School, the required 60 hours should be an easy and meaningful experience for future graduating classes to complete.
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