In collaboration with the Cleveland Bar Association, Laurel collected over 800 books from all divisions to donate to Cleveland Public Schools libraries. Laurel students packaged
brand new books and workbooks at the Federal Courthouse with students from
Daniel Morgan Elementary School, pictured above.

 
Click to download the May, 2007 The Federal Lawyer article about the Book Project, here.

The Middle School continues the tradition of service learning established in the Pre-Primary and Primary School. The Middle School Community Council consists of two representatives from each grade 5 through 8. The representatives work with faculty members to plan and carry out service projects.

The Middle School considers service learning from several vantage points:

1. identifying and assessing need in the Greater Cleveland community;
2. assessing and evaluating how to respond to needs farther from home that have been brought to their attention, through natural disasters, current events, or by individuals in the Laurel School community; and
3. extending their studies in the classroom to the community outside of the classroom.

Middle School students are involved in a wide-array of service learning projects, from fund raising and goods collection to direct service opportunities such as working at the Cleveland Food Bank. Middle School girls also help carry out school-wide initiatives and work closely with the Upper School students.

During the Middle School years, students take on more responsibility for the planning and implementation of projects, experiencing a sense of community involvement and commitment as they work within the Middle School and the greater Laurel community. Middle School students are eager to act on their developing sense of justice and community responsibility, while they learn how to decide among competing needs, how to organize a project, and how to carry out a project.

One of the many goals of service learning in the Middle School years is to encourage girls to make connections between their lives and the lives of others. By experiencing this sense of community and civic responsibility within Laurel, students learn to reach beyond the walls of Laurel to connect with other populations and become active participants in the Cleveland and global communities.