MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has awarded 16 districts, charter schools and educational organizations almost $700,000 in Innovation in Service Learning Grants to initiate or expand service-learning opportunities for students with a community partner organization.  

Partnerships consisting of youth, community-based organizations, and schools will use the funding to partner on a community need or opportunity for youth-led service learning.  

Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota legislature created this grant opportunity during the 2023 legislative session. This new grant will expand innovative service-learning opportunities for students in grades K-12 to increase student engagement and academic achievement, help close the academic achievement gap, and create a positive school climate and safer schools and communities.  

Service learning provides many benefits for students, from contributing to their personal development through enacting positive changes, to developing critical thinking skills and social skills in working with other students and adults.  

Grantees include:  

• Henning Public Schools is partnering with the City of Henning on a project to address the need to replace and repair damages to athletic fields due to safety hazards from drought and animal damage. Students will assist in the project planning, volunteer recruitment and construction. 
• The High School for Recording Arts will partner with Edvisions and the Center for School Change on creating videos for Minnesota youth on addressing mental health concerns of youth homelessness, bullying and conflict resolution. Through the project, students will explore career pathways through video production.  
• HOPE Community Academy will partner with Minnesota Zej Zog on a project on Hmong culture and community projects in student-led language revitalization. 
• Lakes Country Service Cooperative is partnering with West Central Initiative on projects to support the initiative’s collaboration around improving the community’s access to locally grown foods. Students will support the initiative’s efforts to develop a customized food processing trailer and growing facilities at Ashby and West Central Area school districts.
• McGregor Public Schools will partner with Something Cool, Inc. on a project to improve the appearance of McGregor’s main street to make it more appealing for walkers and riders through a Community Curb Appeal service-learning project. Students will plan and paint a mural and help develop garden beds along the street. 
• Minnesota New Country School will partner with Henderson Feathers Inc. on supporting the development of the National Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Center. Student service learning projects will focus on physical plant upgrades, creating displays and making artwork to decorate the space. Students will design their own learning and present their findings and reflections on the project after completing their service learning. 
• Paladin Career & Technical High School will partner with Edvisions on an outdoor learning space with the aim to transform an underused wooded area at the high school into an outdoor classroom. 
• Phoenix Learning Center will partner with Wright County Community Action (WCCA) Food Shelf, Grace Place, Legacy 2 Inspire and Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services (CMJTS) on projects to support the partners’ work around food insecurity, inspiring students through exposure to trade skills and providing training, career guidance and job placement services.  
• Red Wing Public Schools will partner with RiseUP Red Wing’s Community Youth Council on a project focused on math literacy among middle school students. High school students will help with delivery of math skills and developing community-wide excitement and responsibility for math education.  
• Sleepy Eye Public Schools will partner with a community backpack food program. Sleepy Eye agricultural program students will do service learning projects around nutritional needs of youth, how buying in bulk from non-profit organizations can help organizations provide foods at lower costs, budgeting, inventory management and the importance of health and mental wellness.  
• South Washington County Schools will partner with SoWashCo CARES (South Washington County Community Action Reaching Every Student) and Kids Club on student-led service learning projects. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students will mentor younger children, lead mini lessons for Kids Club children, and supervise Kids Club children as they design, plan and execute a project. 
• Menlo Park Academy, a Minneapolis Public School District school, will partner with East Side Neighborhood Services, Spark-Y and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization to educate K-5 youth attending Mulberry Junction, their families and the broader community about ways to protect the health and vitality of the Mississippi River. Students will work with their teacher to create developmentally appropriate lessons and activities, engage Mulberry Junction youth in weekly learning and action days, and engage in community action days. 
• Minneapolis Community Education is partnering with Camp Fire to provide Camp Fire students with student-led service-learning experiences during the school year and summer. 
• Spring Grove Schools will partner with Spring Grove Community Education on supporting four projects: developing and maintaining a community help desk, researching starting a new e-sports league in the community, creating a series of events at the Spring Grove Cinema and designing a 3D model of the city. 
• Saint Paul Public Schools will partner with Saint Paul Community Education on a project to expand on the work of its Flipside Youth Change Makers Program. 
• White Bear Lake Area School District will partner with H2O for Life on a project by elementary students from Matoska International IB World School and Willow Lane Elementary to raise awareness about the global water crisis, inspire engagement in social causes, and raise funds for water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives for a global partnering school. 

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