Need in Deed engages students in service-learning around community issues of each classroom’s choice.
Need in Deed’s approach to service-learning extends through the school year and is designed to
- deepen students’ connection to school,
- improve their academic skills, and
- build habits of inquiry, problem-solving, and civic participation.
Need in Deed staff supports each classroom from initial inquiry through project implementation. A unique set of partnerships makes this experience possible for more than 3,600 Philadelphia public school students grades 3 through 8 every year:
- classroom teachers in the School District of Philadelphia voluntarily elect to integrate service-learning into their practice; and
- representatives of the city’s vast network of public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and higher education and health institutions voluntarily serve as classroom resources during the students’ inquiry and design process.
Monitoring our impact
Since 2015, Need in Deed has participated with a cross-section of Philadelphia-based education and health nonprofits in the Building Agency Capacity for Program Evaluation Initiative supported by the Barra Foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation, and the Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation. Working with our partner in this program, the Yale Consultation Center, we annually monitor the impact of our work.
Teacher Network
Need in Deed teachers believe in students’ potential and the importance of student voice. They are part of a vibrant network of educators who are integrating service-learning into their classroom practice.
Community Partners
Need in Deed’s community partners bring the “real world” into the classroom. Every year, across the city, individuals from local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and higher education and health institutions step into Need in Deed classrooms.
Student Projects
Need in Deed Students learn while making a difference in their communities. Every year, the students in Need in Deed classrooms tell us what community issues they care about and why. Below is a list of featured student projects.
21st Century Waste Management
21st Century Waste Management: Keeping Tilden Middle Community School Clean and Green! What did they care about? Tilden Middle School is a community school in southwest Philadelphia, so Cheryl Padgett recognized early on that they had built-in partnerships to expand on. She knew a yearlong project would be perfect for her students with autism, as […]
Learn MoreGun Violence Prevention
What did they care about? Sarah Beverly’s 7th grade students at Lea Elementary in West Philadelphia began the year with a motto: “Change makers learn to read and write so that together we can change the world.” This motto set them up to write their own mission statements, design intersectionality identity plates, interview family members […]
Learn MoreSaving Honeybees
What did they care about? Thanks to a partnership with Fox Chase Farm Sonia Thornton’s 3rd grade class were able to make weekly visits to the farm. On an early visit, they noticed the bee hives and, of course, the bees! The children panicked, screaming and running from the bees, swatting and trying to kill them. […]
Learn MoreCUSTOMIZED SERVICES
Our workshops, trainings, consultations, and technical support are highly interactive and tailored to each setting and need.
Join Us
Need in Deed accepts new members of the teacher network from March through June annually.
As a result of joining the Teacher Network I feel excited and motivated and challenged when students get off the traditional school topics and talk about their personal lives. In that past mentioning that I allow those "distractions" made me feel unprofessional. I see now the value there, the value in helping students create real connections, connections that matter to them.
Year 3+ Need in Deed Teacher