Program Purpose:

• Why does your organization want to work with student volunteers?
• What type of partnership does your organization want? How complex? How formal? How long-term?
• How does your organization involve student volunteers now? Is it working?

Service Goals:

• Do you seek to fill existing service slots? To expand these slots? To devise new ways students can serve? Do you want long-term placements, one-time projects, or some combination?
• Identify unmet needs of your organization and its clients. To what degree are you able to help teachers and students find ways to meet these needs?
• How will you know whether students are effective? How might you give feedback to students improve?

Scheduling Student Volunteers:

• How will you match students with service tasks? Are job descriptions in writing?
• Do you want to work with group projects, individual volunteers, or both?
• What is the minimum useful number of hours for a student to volunteer?
• How many student volunteers do you want? What ages?
• What days and hours can you use student volunteers? What are the priorities?

Student Learning Goals

• What knowledge, skills and experiences can students gain from working with your organization and its people? What do you want them to learn?
• What prior skills do students need?
• What orientation and training is needed? What will you provide? What must the school provide?
• To what degree are you able to work with teachers on curriculum? Under what circumstances would you be willing to help assess what students are learning?

Logistics

• Who will supervise students? What will that consist of?
• How will you ensure student safety? Does your organization have adequate liability insurance? Do you have adequate background checks on staff and volunteers?
• How will you communicate standards for dress and behavior?
• Where will service take place? How might students get to and from sites?
• Do you have other logistical concerns? (Sign-in procedures, etc.)
• What are your questions for the teacher?

From Partner Power and Service-Learning: Manual for Community-Based Organizations to Work with Schools (2002 draft). Author Rich Cairn and publisher, ServeMinnesota!