By Tricia Chan, Girls Program Director
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Twice each year after a fall of paddling and a winter of skiing, we shift into what we lovingly call “Place-Based Learning Season.” This is when our field lessons get even more rooted (pun intended) in the local landscape and community. Think hiking and climbing, behind-the-scenes tours of local organizations, and most meaningfully, community service.
Each program has a teacher who additionally undertakes the role of “Head of Community Engagement”, partnering with local organizations to plan service learning field lesson days. These are the days when students roll up their sleeves and really get into it- We’ve planted trees and cover crops with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, learned about ecosystems with the NPS at Purchase Knob, chopped veggies and packed food boxes at Manna Food Bank, wrestled with invasive species at the Marshall Native Gardens, supported local rebuilding efforts with the Helene Rebuild Collaborative- and that’s just scratching the surface. Altogether, our students log over 1,000 hours of service each academic year!
In addition to program-led service days, each student participates in a fall and spring “advisory field lesson day” with their six-person, cross-grade advisory group and teacher. These days often include a waterfall swim, a student-led potluck, and- of course- a stop at Dolly’s for ice cream (which, according to students, is non-negotiable). And for the past two years, we’ve had a delightful “problem”: more advisories requesting community service projects than we have space for. And yes, they still want the ice cream. It’s a magical combo.
So what’s different?
I’ve been thinking about how rare it is for middle school students to be given real opportunities to help. For them, service work is fresh. It’s novel. It’s real. They’re just beginning to understand what it means to be part of a larger community, and they are hungry for action. They are all in for justice, connection, and purpose. Giving students a chance to roll up their sleeves and actually do something meaningful is not just welcomed; it’s wildly embraced.
This shift didn’t happen overnight. It’s been nurtured, step by step, by the staff and students themselves, especially our current and recent 8th grade classes. FBRA’s approach is all about progression and growth: Sixth grade is the learning stage (How do we do this? Why is it important? What does it look like to do this well?). Seventh grade focuses on mastery: building confidence, independence, and consistency. And eighth grade is when students step into grade-wide leadership. They lead by example, model thoughtful engagement, and help foster a community culture rooted in service.
To our 8th graders: you’ve led with joy, grit, curiosity, and compassion. You’ve entered service days with a beyond positive mental attitude. You’ve helped make service a looked-forward-to and valued aspect of the school. And that matters so much.
My hope is that our students never lose that shiny, big-hearted energy around helping others. That they carry it with them, wherever they go. That they become the kind of people who make others want to serve too (and enjoy the process). That brightness, it’s a lighthouse, And it’s guiding us toward a better future.
Pictured below: river cleanup with Mtn. True, crop cover with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC), painting a desk in Pacayitas, Costa Rica, tree planting with SAHC, working with Helene Rebuild Collaborative to provide relief supplies, restoring trails destroyed by Helene with Carolina Climbers Coalition
