Purpose & Philosophy of Community Service at LRUHS
Lake Region Union High School’s Community Service Requirement encourages students to explore, contribute to, and expand their “community” beyond their high school and family. It challenges students to examine their community—its strengths, organizations, and needs—and become active and contributing members. Furthermore, it allows students to develop outreach and social skills and fosters a habit of service.
Additionally, students are provided with the opportunity to investigate and pursue interests, meet potential mentors and future community contacts, and develop skills that will prepare them for life post graduation. Many community service opportunities have turned into job opportunities or allowed students to make connections in their future career fields.
At Lake Region, we believe community service can be invaluable to both the student and community. We believe that youth and adults are able to develop mutual trust and respect through meaningful dialogue and activities within the community. We believe that opportunities can and should be tailored to the student’s interests, passions, and skills while also encouraging them to interact with the broad community in new and exciting ways. Our goal is to create opportunities for reflection, growth, and selflessness.
The Graduation Requirement
Students are required to earn ½ credit (equivalent to 80 hours) of qualified community service to receive a LR diploma. Additional credits may be earned for additional hours. Community service can be started as soon as a student graduates from 8th grade.
Students who transfer to Lake Region as sophomores are responsible for 60 hours. Junior transfers are responsible for 40 hours, and senior transfers are responsible for 20 hours. If a student transfers in semester two of any given year, they will not be responsible for hours from that year. For example, if a student transfers during semester two as a freshman, they will be responsible for 60 hours of community service.
Hours!
The Lake Region Community Service Requirement was first introduced in 2010 as a graduation requirement for the Class of 2014. To date, nine graduating classes have had this requirement. In total, since its introduction, more than 70,000 hours have been completed by Lake Region students while giving back to our community!