College of Southern Nevada Education Department’s

Service Learning Assignment (10 Hours) EDU 280 - Valuing Cultural

Diversity

Imagine the difference in the Las Vegas community, when you become a part of it!
Teachers make our community better... outside the classroom too.

Whether seeking employment with a local education agency, applying for an education scholarship, or writing a proposal for
grant funding, it is important that an applicant show a genuine commitment to their community.

The Service Learning component of your CSN EDU 280 class gives you the opportunity to build upon your existing community
service commitment, or set the foundation for many years of community involvement and service to others. As a matter of fact,
statistics show that most teachers began thinking about education as a career after volunteering in some capacity with local
schools, religious groups, or community organizations.

Your Service Learning is not the same as your 10 hour CSN Field Observation requirement within your EDU 201, 202, or 203
course.

How it works... On the next page, you will read about approved ways to satisfy the Service Learning component of your
EDU 280 class. These suggestions can be used alone, or in combination, to arrive at the minimum 10 hour Service Learning
requirement. This assignment is worth 10% of the total grade of our EDU 280 course

Use the Service Learning Pre-approval form (page 3) and submit to your EDU 280 instructor to get pre- approval for your
project before you begin. Use the Service Learning Log (page 4) to document your hours of service, along with any supporting
material required by your instructor. A letter on agency letterhead from an organization administrator is the typical
documentation needed to validate your hours. Your instructor will provide you with more information about how they will
want these documents submitted, and their specific due dates during the semester.

This documentation should be also archived for use in your EDU 299 course.
Service Learning Component (10 Hours)
EDU 280 - Valuing Cultural Diversity Approved Service Learning
Choices

Community Service Option in which the student works in a volunteer capacity at any non-profit agency that allows
volunteers, and that serves the betterment of school age children in the community. This agency is one in which
the student solicits and can obtain a verified letterhead of participation or certificate from the organization’s
leadership that documents their participation and hours of credit once completed.

Private School (non-CCSD) The student must arrange contact and obtain written permission from the private school’s
administration prior to visitation, and must have an officer of the school provide signed verification upon school
letterhead of the type of service performed, and duration of the community service to the private school.

Organized Field Trip Your CSN instructor may be able to organize an educationally based field trip in which all
members of the class meet at another location, instead of attending class at the regular scheduled time to earn
service credit. Students must fill out CSN’s Field Trip Waiver and provide it to the instructor before traveling to a
sponsored off-campus event. Credit hours and verification for this experience will be determined by your
instructor.

“CSN Serves” Volunteer If you have no idea where to start, consider visiting the CSN Serves website and signing up
there https://www.csn.edu/csn- serves CSN Serves already has a number of agencies that you can volunteer at,
and also earn transcript credit along with meeting

the requirements for this EDU 280 course.

Other Service The student can design and present a unique service oriented educational experience to their
instructor. The proposal must be in writing and agreed upon by the CSN student and CSN instructor prior to
accumulation of hours.

YOU MAY NOT list any CCSD public school as the agency for this Service Learning Proposal. Why? First of all, the 10
hours for Field Observation you completed during your EDU 201, 202, or 203 courses is independent of the 10
hours serving the community at a non-profit agency. DO NOT cold call any CCSD school to ask permission to
volunteer there. No CCSD schools will be pre-approved for this EDU 280 course.
Service Learning Pre-approval (10 Hours) PAGE 3 Complete this form and submit to your CSN
instructor before proceeding with your contact hours

Your Full Name: Kyrstin Dean

CSN Professor: Professor Flowers

Agency Name: Spirit Therapies

Agency Address: 9140 W. La Madre Way, Las Vegas, Nevada 89149

Agency Phone: (702) 219-1728

Agency Contact Person: The website’s email address is: info@spirittherapies.org. I talked to the Volunteer
Coordinator, Cindy Schott, about which days worked best to come in and her email address is:
cindy@spirittherapies.org

DIRECTIONS: Complete the following 3 sections and submit to your instructor so they are aware of your service learning
requirement plan.

NEED/PURPOSE: - Why is this service needed? How will it help the community?

This service is needed because it provides an opportunity to discover adventure and

responsibility for children and adults who are physically disabled. It allows these children and
adults to connect with the horses and staff on a level that feels normal to us, but feels like
different to them. It is a form of therapy for physically disabled members to do something
different and exciting.

ACTION: - What specifically will you be doing during the 10 hours at this agency?

Volunteers help clean the horse stalls, groom and wash the horses, saddle them up, and
have the chance to be a “side walker.” A side walker is more involved with the horse and client.
They are there to ensure that the client is stable and doesn’t fall off the horse and helps lead
everybody, including the horse, to safety around the arena.

NEED/PURPOSE: - OUTCOMES: - What positive impact will this service have on the community? What do I
personally hope to gain from the experience? What evidence will I be able to collect from the agency/contact
person to verify my participation?

This agency impacts the physically disabled community. It allows for them to gain a
sense of independence, responsibility, and a new form of excitement. You can see that they
really connect to their assigned horse and gain a new appreciation. I hope to gain a new
perspective on life. I am fortunate enough to do these types of things on a daily basis, whereas,
some people are not. This is what they look forward to and get excited about. I want to be
reminded why life and the things we were given are a blessing and why we shouldn’t take
advantage of something as simple as being able to ride a horse.
SIGNATURES: I have reviewed this service proposal and request to proceed. Any future changes to this proposal
must be submitted to your instructor.

The service will begin on September 3, 2018 (approximate date)

CSN Student: KDean (Kyrstin Dean)

CSN Instructor Approval: ______________________________________________________________

Service Learning Log (10 Hours) PAGE 4 EDU 280 - Valuing

Cultural Diversity
Complete service learning components to equal 10 hours or more. Be sure to attach specific additional documents required by
your instructor for each type of service listed below.

Community Service: Option in which the student works in a volunteer capacity at any non-profit agency that allows volunteers, and that
serves the betterment of school age children in the community. This agency is one in which the student solicits and can obtain a verified
letterhead of participation or certificate from the organization’s leadership that documents their participation and hours of credit

Private School Service: The student must arrange contact and obtain written permission from the school’s administration prior to visitation,
and must have an officer of the school provide signed verification upon school letterhead of the type of service

Organized Field Trip: Your CSN instructor may be able to organize an educationally based field trip in which all members of the class meet at
another location, instead of attending class at the regular scheduled time to earn service credit. Students must fill out CSN’s Field Trip Waiver
and provide it to the instructor before traveling to a sponsored off-campus event. Credit hours and verification for this experience will be
determined by your instructor.

Other Service The student can design and present a unique service oriented educational experience to their instructor. The proposal must be
in writing and agreed upon by the CSN student and CSN instructor prior to accumulation of hours.

YOU MAY NOT list any CCSD public school as the agency for this Service Learning Proposal. Why? First of all, the 10 hours for Field
Observation you completed during your EDU 201, 202, or 203 courses is independent of the 10 hours serving the community at a non-profit
agency. DO NOT cold call any CCSD school to ask permission to volunteer there. No CCSD schools will be pre-approved for this EDU 280
course.

YOUR FULL NAME: Kyrstin Lee Dean

Agency/Type of Service: Spirit Therapies – Volunteer Video / Interaction with horses / Tour / Able to do some volunteer work that day

Date(s) Date(s) Date(s) September 3, 2018

Total Hours: 3 ½ hours

Supervisor Name (print): Cindy Schott

Supervisor Signature: (email for approval) (I wasn’t sure how to send you a hand-written version)
Supervisor Phone: (702) 580-7816
Supervisor e-mail: cindy@spirittherapies.org

Agency/Type of Service: Garehime Elementary School – Teacher Interview / Observation of a Multi-Cultural Classroom

Date(s) Date(s) Date(s) October 15, 2018

Total Hours: 6 hours

Supervisor Name (print): Alexandria Hecht
Supervisor Signature: (email for approval) (I wasn’t sure how to send you a hand-written version)
Supervisor Phone: (702) 622-1681
Supervisor e-mail: hechtaj@nv.ccsd.net

Agency/Type of Service:

Date(s) Date(s) Date(s)

Total Hours:

Supervisor Name (print): Supervisor Signature: Supervisor Phone: Supervisor e-mail:

Dear Community Service Agency Representative:

The Education Department of the College of Southern Nevada is pleased that you have chosen
to partner with our pre-service teacher education program to provide a community service
learning opportunity for our students.

We are pleased to present you with CSN STUDENT_______________________

who is currently enrolled in our EDU 280 Valuing Cultural Diversity course at CSN. Service
learning experiences help our preservice teachers be successful in their future careers. Our
faculty believes that this experience provides “real” hands-on learning, which allows our
students the opportunity to understand the challenges and necessary problem-solving skills and
needs inherent in the community we all live.

The CSN student providing you with this letter has agreed to follow the policies of the
department and must conduct themselves appropriately while volunteering with your agency.
The Service Learning packet includes a Pre-Approval form that was preapproved by their CSN
instructor, and also a Verification Sheet. That section is provided to the agency so the student
can earn credit for their service. The verification sheet includes agency information and spaces
to log contact hours before ultimately obtaining an agency administrator’s signature for
verification. A company letterhead correspondence is also encouraged, because it can be
included in the student’s professional portfolio.

We are confident that our students will perform well with your agency. They understand that
they are interfacing with a very busy operation, and we expect them to represent our
department and our college appropriately.

We know that from time to time issues may arise. We want you to know that you are free to
contact the CSN Instructor at any time to assure things are being correctly managed. The
following contact information is available if you find yourself in need of assistance from CSN.
CSN Instructor: __________________________________________________

Phone: (702) 651-__ __ __ __ Email____________________________@csn.edu

Department of Education, College of Southern Nevada Phone: (702) 651-4400

Department Chair: Dr. Rochelle Hooks
Email: rochelle.hooks@csn.edu