SSL Information

The Student Service Learning Coordinator at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School is Ms. Erin Boss. If you have specific questions regarding your child's SSL hours, she may be contacted by calling the counseling office or via email at Erin_E_Boss@mcpsmd.org. Please also see the links below for helpful resources/forms, an overview of SSL, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Beginning of School Year Message:

Here is some important information about the MCPS Student Service Learning Program – SSL for short!

In the state of Maryland students must earn 75 hours of student service learning as a requirement for High School graduation. Over their time in MCPS, students will earn 45 of these hours by participating in their classroom learning experiences embedded in the curriculum. Students will then have to search and complete 30 hours of SSL outside of the classroom. They may begin completing these hours in sixth grade.

MCPS works in partnership with the Montgomery County Volunteer Center (MCVC), who helps collaborate with the outside local agencies that provide SSL opportunities to students. Students can identify MCPS SSL experiences by going to the MCVC website (www.montgomeryserves.org) and exploring over 900 opportunities that are noted with a graduation cap (symbol). Students and families may contact those approved organizations directly to inquire more about the service learning opportunity and to see if is a match for desired opportunity. Students may also earn hours by enlisting in school-sponsored clubs and organizations that have a service focus outside of the instructional day.

Additionally, students may find their own experiences through nonprofit organizations that are not on the MCVC website, but they must submit a form to have the opportunity approved PRIOR to their service using MCPS Form 560-50.

All MCPS SSL activities are:

· Listed on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center website (www.montgomeryserves.org) after the agency has attended an orientation and submitted a signed Organization Responsibility and Assurance Document.

· Provided through MCPS courses, activities, or official tax exempt, nonprofit organizations

· Secular (non-religious) in nature

· Provided in a public place

· Supervised by an adult representing the nonprofit organizations

· Eligible to earn 1 SSL hour for every hour of service outside of the school day (maximum of 8 hours in a 24 hour period)

· Focused on the 3 phases of Service-Learning: Preparation, Action, and Reflection

All MCPS SSL activities may not:

· Occur in a private residence

· Be supervised by a parent or relative

· Receive financial compensation

· Involve door-to-door canvassing or telephone solicitation

Recommended completion dates:

· Services completed during the summer: September 27, 2019

· Services completed during the summer and 1^st semester: January 3, 2020

· Services completed during the summer, 1^st semester, and 2^nd semester: June 5, 2020

· ALL SSL Forms for service completed any time during the current school year and the summer before the current school year are REQUIRED to be submitted to the school SSL coordinator no later than the first Friday in June.

Following SSL opportunities, MCPS SSL Verification form 560-51 must be completed and returned to the school-based SSL coordinator to get their credit following completion of the hours by the above deadlines.

Documentation that qualifies middle school students for the Superintendent SSL award is by April 3, 2020. This award is given to students who meet the 75 hour graduation requirement in middle school and is only awarded once.

Additional information can be found on the MCPS SSL site and in the MCPS SSL Guidebook.

All SSL forms can be dropped off in the counseling office.

This page was updated September 9, 2019.