Service

Our approach:  learning service as a way of life.  

Lives of Service

From beginning to end the Mustard Seed School seeks to structure the classroom so that service is not only an opportunity, but an expectation. In Kindergarten a child is designated each day to be "first." If Latifah is first today she will lead every line. But she goes first in order to open the coat closets or hold the doors for her classmates. And if someone needs encouragement or consolation during the day, Latifah is likely to be asked to assist.

In the Eighth Grade students receive both increased privilege and responsibility. They are allowed to eat off campus and enjoy extended free social time, but each day some of them give up part of this freedom to play with younger students in the park or serve as a reading buddy. Part of the Mustard Seed education is the lived-out principle that leaders should be servants.

We serve neighbors far and near. Within the class or school setting, tying someone's shoe, offering a tissue, picking up dropped papers, or speaking an encouraging word are simple ways in which children serve on a daily basis. Projects also are developed which reach beyond the school walls. Service is nurtured in a variety of ways but always within the context of community: school, neighborhood, state, country, and world.

Service Projects

Throughout the year students are presented with opportunities to give in a variety of ways and the projects vary in the timing from a single day collection to a six-week effort. Some service projects have become anchor points in the school calendar. In the Fall, the Kindergarten leads the school in collecting a year’s supply of baby food for a local food shelter. In last 10 years alone, Mustard Seed School students have collected over 11,000 jars of baby food for the local food shelter—with every jar counted, bagged, and organized by Kindergarteners who learn counting skills while also serving the community. Other service projects spring up in response to a current event such as collecting school supplies for the victims of Hurricane Katrina or collecting money to buy fishing boats for the victims of a tsunami. Every year the school has at least six structured, school-wide service projects.