High school students at PK Yonge DRS are required to perform 75 hours of community service as a requirement for graduation. Many PK Yonge students have served more than 100 hours in various service roles. Students have volunteered at such places as Shands Hospital, St. Francis House, Teen Court, Tacachale, and Habitat for Humanity, to name a few. Through Service Learning has also been developed through collaboration with the College of Education which provides a compilation of assessment strategies directly applicable for teachers to use in the classroom. The first level of the program interfaces with the science curriculum in grades 3-5.
Students visit the lab with their class rooms once each week.
Students may return to the lab for at least one extra hour per week where they complete more extensive explorations. The P.K. Yonge Science Lab has directly addressed one of the most serious problems associated with current science instruction, namely limited direct experience with scientific concepts and processes. In addition to meeting the needs of P.K. Yonge the laboratory fulfills a valuable role for other segments of the science teaching community. The science lab is open to visitation and more than 300 visitors, including school teachers and administrators from other states as well as Florida have toured the facility. College of Education students observe and intern in the lab.