Service Learning

Through service learning experiences in the Lower School, we introduce students to community organizations and the various social issues they strive to address. These rewarding and fun experiences teach students to identify problems and research resources to help address them. 

As students move from kindergarten to 5th grade, their knowledge of the community grows. Each grade participates in a service project that connects to both the curriculum and to communities throughout Los Angeles. Whether baking muffins for a local shelter or partnering with pre-school buddies at the Bessie Pregerson Child Development Center, each trip begins with a class discussion and ends with a reflection that helps students process and contextualize their experience.

By the time today’s kindergarteners enter Middle School, they will have had five years of diverse service experiences, practicing the skills of cooperating, helping, caring, and demonstrating civic responsibility. 

The Middle School Service Learning Program provides students with meaningful opportunities to develop and nurture a sense of civic responsibility, as they engage with others through structured, informative, and reflective experiences. Students develop a better understanding of the human condition, a desire for social justice, and an awareness of local, regional, and global diversity.

Teachers in the Middle School implement service projects that enhance their curricula, with students involved in grade-level and division-wide efforts that deepen learning and address needs of our local, national, or global community. Advisory groups also complete service projects, which support people inside and outside the school community. Recent activities have included a Thanksgiving food drive, holiday gift drive, and natural disaster relief efforts.

Students in the Middle School have a number of ways to be involved as they develop their understanding of service, including through a Service Leadership group.

Service Leadership 

Students in the Middle School must apply and be accepted into the Service Leadership organization. Formed in 2013-14, Service Leadership is a select group of Middle School students who meet weekly to discuss issues (school to global) and educate the community. The group's mission is to increase awareness through education and seek meaningful opportunities for service or action.

The Upper School Service Learning Program integrates civic responsibility and social justice into the classroom experience, connecting academic learning to real-world issues and community needs.

Goals of the Upper School Program

• To gain a greater understanding of the community and of yourself as a contributing, caring human
• To develop heightened awareness of and sensitivity to the needs of others within our community — especially those marginalized or underserved — and to inspire great conviction to serve and improve the lives of others
• To apply academic, social, and interpersonal skills toward improving the community, making decisions that have tangible results
• To engage in service and advocacy that address relevant, real-world issues
• To develop leadership and team-building skills
   

Basic Service Requirements

Rather than require a set number of community service hours each year, we incorporate at least one meaningful Service Learning project into an academic course or program at each grade level, ensuring that all students participate in civic engagement each year. Several departments offer additional Service Learning projects tied to specific course curricula. Students also participate in grade-level service days and service retreats each year.

Benefacta

To encourage students to participate in service outside of the classroom, Brentwood established a unique, service-based honor society, Benefacta, which recognizes committed volunteer work. Students generally accrue hours by working with a service agency after school or during the summer. Numerous clubs are devoted to service, including the Best Buddies Club, Interact Club, Ecology Club, and Veterans Support Club. Such service clubs are organized and led by students with faculty advisors and meet weekly during a designated activity period.