HCPS has long been known to actively promote volunteerism and community service through activities such as high school service clubs, Bright Futures scholarship requirements, and Five Star School recognitions.  However, although community service fosters a sense of civic responsibility in students, research has shown that by combining community service objectives with learning objectives, enhanced outcomes are achieved resulting in at-risk students being more likely to graduate.  In April 2009 President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act expanding national service programs with a call to action to increase youth engagement in service.  In June 2009 the state of Florida enacted legislation authorizing the Department of Education to not only encourage school districts to initiate, adopt, expand, and institutionalize K-12 Service-Learning programs but also to develop and adopt elective credit earning Service-Learning courses at the middle and high school levels. 

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