One School, One Community, One World

With the help of private philanthropy, St. Anne’s-Belfield is able to accelerate the launch of its comprehensive Civic Engagement Initiative, one of the School’s strategic priorities. The potential positive effects for the Saints community and our local partners are profound and long-lasting.

One of the major advantages of private schools is their freedom to create innovative, interdisciplinary curricula independent of governmental red tape. What would happen if we created that innovative, interdisciplinary curricula in partnership with community leaders?

Last year, members of a Civic Engagement Working Group set out to imagine what that partnership might look like, and the higher level of educational and moral development outcomes that would emerge for our students. After a year-long study of our existing programs, researching other schools, and identifying the characteristics of successful civic engagement programs, the group put forth this statement of purpose, adopted by School leadership in May, 2022: “With the support of faculty, families, and community partners, we inspire our students to develop authentic and innovative solutions for social impact. Through collaboration, students strive to sharpen critical thinking skills and grow toward lives of empathy, purpose, and engaged citizenship.”

Under the direction of Dr. Autumn A. Graves, a three-year plan was established that builds on the School’s existing community service activities. The detailed road map includes targets for students, families, and alumni to take our civic engagement work to the next level. Thanks to the generosity of the donors to this program, we were able to name our first director of civic engagement, Dr. Bob Troy. He will begin leading a faculty group this summer to establish our initial service-learning experiences and begin to curate a list of potential long-term community partners. Look for the work of the Civic Engagement Initiative to begin appearing in curriculum for all divisions, co-curricular efforts, and engagement opportunities through the Alumni Association and Parents’ Association.

Volunteerism

• Deficit filling

• Transactional

• Short-term, singular experience

• Student experience

Examples: Food bank/clothing/book drives, Jump Rope 4 Heart

Community Engagement

• Deficit filling

• Transactional > Relational

• School shares its resources, including academic expertise

• Service Learning

Example: Volunteer at a food bank, Salvation Army, or SPCA

Civic Engagement

• Deep, sustained, reciprocal, transformational relationships between School and community

• Highly Relational > Transformational

• School and community define problem together and co-create new knowledge/ solutions

• Students advocate for systemic change, often through democratic process

Example: Youth tutoring

Solidarity

• The problems of the community are the problems of all

• Members of the community, students, and faculty are transformed by working within the community as one with the community

Example: James River spinymussel project