Are you willing to pass on valuable knowledge and experience to a high school student?

At Wagner Community school, we strive to connect students’ learning to their future. This spring of 2024 we are offering a new course for high school upperclassmen called Service Learning. During this course, students will partner with community members to identify a need within the Wagner area and provide a service alongside the community partner. I, Megan Fischer, will be the instructor for this new course. Service Learning has been a passion of mine since focusing on it while I was in undergrad. I’ve been teaching in Wagner for ten years and am excited to finally bring this opportunity to our students and community.

Students will work closely with community members to gain experience with the specific needs of the business or organization, as well as the wider community. Starting January 3rd, the students will focus the first few weeks on classroom work. However, between January 22nd and February 9th students will begin to partner with business associates and community members that could offer expertise and insight into a community need in which the student has shown interest.

I know our community strives to provide services when there is a need in our community. This fall was a great example of the many businesses and organizations that stepped up to help the Wince family. I’m hoping to instill this in the young adults, who are the future of our community, so that they can identify and provide services for others now and in the future.

Some project ideas could include but are not limited to form a mentoring program, visit elders, plan and execute a food drive, volunteer at the food pantry, advocate for the backpack program, assist with the community garden preparation, or organize a meal train for a family.

Would you be willing to host a high school student for an agreed upon number of hours to help our young adults to gain knowledge in helping our communities?

If this is something that interests you, please reach out to me by January 15th. I can be reached at megan.fischer@k12.sd.us or 605-384-5426.