Community Service

Community Service is an important part of Burke's Lower School program. Kindergarten and first grade students normally participate in short-term projects that are of special interest to them. Older students take on year-long responsibility to be of service to KDBS and to others.

Lower School students also participate in service activities and projects that are designed and led by the student governing body, Youth Voice.

Kindergarten
Students engage in activities that emerge from their own interests or relate to community interests by conducting various drives such as canned food, books, and eyeglasses.

First Grade
Students participate in activities to help out in their school, neighborhood, and home communities. Past activities have included school and beach clean-ups, recycling at home, and turning off lights to conserve electricity.

Second Grade
Students in second grade participate in a series of conversations regarding the purpose of service learning.  Based upon these conversations the students will work together to choose a community service project that addresses needs they see in their own community.

Third Grade
Students take responsibility for the school's recycling programs, including a study of waste-management.

Fourth Grade
Students assume responsibility for the Lower School Lost and Found, sorting through the clothing, making announcements, and returning labeled items to their owners. During the holidays, each girl has the option of raising money, by helping out at home, toward a gift for a child from the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. The fourth grade works closely with the Bay Area Women's and Children's Center to orchestrate this event.