They argue that public schools are a valuable community resource that, in terms of development activities, have been largely untapped. Schools are often the major employer in rural areas, with a large number of college graduates who have specific skills of communication, leadership, mathematics, and social studies. Further, the school facilities can house public meetings and work areas during evening and summer hours. Finally, development projects involving public schools provide excellent educational opportunities for students. Thus, community service learning is one way to provide students with knowledge and experiences that are fundamental to citizenship.
Students can learn more about their community and their role as citizens through service projects.
Service learning projects have included school based businesses, class projects to improve the community, research projects on issues or historical perspectives, and school curriculums sensitive to community needs. Many community service projects generally result in individual, voluntary efforts with local service agencies. However, they do not build effective community leadership because they lack a framework to integrate this service into aspects of community, community development, and local policy making. A model is suggested that integrates community service learning with a community needs assessment project, each building upon the other. By involving the local schools in the survey, some of the problems of conducting a legitimate needs assessment can be addressed.