partnership COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS GALVANIZE ACTION
Norfolk Academy’s Philosophy and Objectives puts “unselfishness,” “a just society,” and “responsibility for service to others,” at the heart of instilling moral character in students — a goal that the school elevates above academic achievement. Given the centrality of those ideals, it’s not surprising that the school’s approach to serving the community can seem not merely fast-paced but nearly non-stop. But when the pandemic hit, the school had to hit the pause button on many service projects, observes Bernie McMahon, who directs the Upper School’s student activities and is the founder and director of Leadership Lab. While disappointing at first, the break in the action wasn’t entirely bad, he said. “So rarely in our busy lives do we get a chance to pause. It gave us time to think and innovate.” That enforced pause created “a Covid success story,” he said. It is a reinvention of the school’s approach to community service that is still evolving, but already requires new language to capture its intent. Community service is now community engagement. “Service for some reason has a one-way focus to it — I serve the ball, I serve the food, and you receive it,” McMahon notes. “Engagement is a two-way street. We engage with our community as much as they can engage with us in what I call persistent partnerships.” The principles behind the revitalized approach arose from work done because of the school’s latest strategic plan, Creating a Just Society: Integrity, Leadership, and Pluralism. The Leadership Committee was formed to develop initiatives related to that pillar of the strategic plan. The committee’s faculty leaders researched independent schools and colleges with innovative approaches to community engagement and traveled to some of them for a firsthand look, said Linda Gorsline, Associate Headmaster and Upper School Director.
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In particular, the Haas Center at Stanford University, which Gorsline visited, had local outreach projects that drew students into sustained work with community partners. In addition, she noted, the Fellows Programs of the Batten Leadership Program have also demonstrated the educational impact of multi-year involvement with organizations that have deep roots in a community. For example, the Literacy Fellows have worked for seven years at Tidewater Park Elementary, and the Global Health Fellows worked for many years with Midwives for Haiti. Several Upper School clubs also have well-established partnerships, McMahon observes. The Happy Club, formed in 1982 to support Operation Smile, has served as the model for student-led clubs at schools across the nation. Academy has had a longstanding partnership with the Special Olympics; the Norfolk Team has practiced on campus for decades, and the Upper School’s Special Olympics Club, which started in 2012, helps with practices, assists with regional tournaments, and hosts a holiday party. This year, the Upper School structured community engagement around five broad topics with a steering committee of students to coordinate activities and develop educational presentations at Chapels: • Quality Education • Health, Wellness, and Nutrition • Global Engagement • Advancing Equity • Climate Sustainability & Environmental Action The Middle School is also retooling its model for involvement to promote more active engagement, said Middle School Director Jeff Boyd. In his first year at Academy, Boyd said he can already see the power of
