FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 3, 2014

Atlanta Educator Receives State Farm® Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grant to Link Classroom Learning to Community Problem-Solving

Glenda Bonds to lead class in a “Semester of Service” designed to enhance student engagement

ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Glenda Bonds, a Business Computer Science teacher at Cross Keys High School in Atlanta, Georgia has received a State Farm Student Achievement Grant to lead her students in a semester-long service and learning project to address the issue of senior citizens’ hunger.

Bonds’ project begins on October 5 and continues through Global Youth Service Day, April 10-12, 2015. Throughout the school year, students will partner with Senior Connections’ Meals on Wheels program to assist in preparing and distributing meals to the elderly. “Service-learning,” noted Bonds, “enhances academic achievement and serves as an avenue for civic involvement for students.” Bonds hopes that through participating in this service-learning project, her students will develop their confidence, realize their strength as leaders, and achieve a deeper understanding of their ability to transform the world around them. Consequently, Bonds’ students will play a substantive role in developing, organizing, and leading the project.

Bonds is one of 130 State Farm Student Achievement Grant recipients for the 2014-2015 academic year. The competitive grants, offered by State Farm in partnership with YSA (Youth Service America), support educators in YSA’s Semester of Service™, an extended service and learning framework that engages students in addressing real-world needs in their communities by connecting service activities with intentional learning goals and academic standards. Independent evaluations confirm that Semester of Service has a positive significant impact on student engagement and related measures of academic achievement.

“Many congratulations to Glenda Bonds as she and her class embark on a Semester of Service; it is one of the most effective ways we have to enhance student achievement and improve communities,” said Steven A. Culbertson, president and CEO of YSA. “Thanks are due to State Farm, who for thirteen years has partnered with YSA to support high-impact, high-quality service and service-learning.”