Among Almaden Country School’s founding principles is the emphasis we place on citizenship, as reflected in our schoolwide Character and Competence program, our annual Patriotic Assembly and our co-curricular service learning activities.

Across the grade levels, ACS students engage in service to the school, the local community, and beyond, which we believe is integral to their formative development as learners, citizens and leaders.

Each year, opportunities emerge for ACS students to mobilize in support of various charitable efforts, such as organizations providing disaster relief or to help community members in need. Additionally, on a regular basis our students participate in school-wide service programs.

Elementary

A couple of examples of service activities in our Elementary division include:

• The BBS (Birthday Book Squad) hosts an annual school-wide book drive, coordinated by the school’s librarian. Since the event began in 2007, BBS students have collected more than 6,000 books and redistributed them locally and globally to those in need.

• Starmites is an after-school performance troupe that extends our Elementary-grades musical theater program. Participants rehearse their show for several weeks, and travel to local venues including nursing and retirement homes, hospitals and other care facilities to perform.

Middle School

In Middle School, every student participates in the service learning program.  Students in cooperative groups investigate, plan, conduct and reflect on projects drawn from five topic areas: Environment, Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Education, and Social Issues. Our Middle Schoolers lead their initiatives, with teachers serving as resources for support when needed. Working together in an area of need that matters most to them, the children contribute to their local and regional communities while learning valuable lessons in civics and leadership along the way.

In addition to the school-wide service program in our Middle School, students opt to take Service Learning and Leadership elective courses including Community Service, Global Community Service and Social Justice. Students must complete at least one class in this group as a requirement for graduation.

Students in the ACS service learning program engage in a wide variety of organized and informal service projects, and are guided to reflect that along with our privileges as Americans, Californians and residents of the beautiful Almaden Valley, comes an obligation to give back. Through service learning, we develop and perpetuate a culture of generosity among our students.

Collectively, the young people at Almaden Country School contribute more than 500 hours of service to our community every year. This is strong testimony to the high priority we place on service at ACS.