Community Service

Maybeck requires each student to perform 60 hours of community service before graduation. Like our camping trips and Special Programs, this requirement reflects our belief that valuable education can take place outside of the classroom. We also hope that the requirement will encourage students to think about their roles in the larger community that surrounds Maybeck. In the past, students have worked for a broad variety of agencies, such as the Berkeley Emergency Food Project, Bay Area Women Against Rape, or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many students take advantage of the requirement to explore fields or issues that interest them. Students are expected to arrange their community service on their own, but the Academic and College Counselor can guide them as they choose the organization for which they wish to work. There are also several valuable resources in the Counselor’s office: information about a wide variety of organizations, a binder with past students’ accounts of their community service, and handouts that summarize the requirement and list agencies where students have volunteered in the past.

Guidelines for the Community Service Requirement

Students must complete 60 hours of community service within a twelve-month period. The service can be completed at any point during grades 9-12, but should be finished before finals of the student’s last semester. Students must work for a pre-existing community agency (not-for-profit organization or government agency). All work must be done for a single organization. Students may not work for a political organization. The student's work must be supervised. Immediate family members cannot serve as supervisors. Students cannot receive any compensation for their work. Before beginning their community service, students must make arrangements with their organization of choice and review these plans with the Academic and College Counselor. Upon completing their service, students must turn in a letter from their supervisor and a written personal statement reflecting on their volunteer work. Finally, students give the school a brief oral report on their service during the end-of-the-year camping trip.