News

Russellville church, school join volunteer program

St. John accredited as service location for graduation

Published: November 7, 2023   

By Katie Zakrzewski
Associate Editor

Courtesy Cynthia Solis

Volunteers at St. John Church in Russellville paint crosses used for Stations of the Cross during Lent, March 2, 2022.

Courtesy Cynthia Solis

Volunteers at St. John Church in Russellville paint crosses used for Stations of the Cross during Lent, March 2, 2022.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:

• Pax Christi volunteers see Texas-Mexico border reality
• Teens put their social teachings boots on the ground
• St. Anne mobilizes members for cleanup after the storm
• Volunteering a top priority for justice of the peace

St. John Church and School in Russellville were recently established as accredited locations where public high school students can volunteer to meet their state graduation requirement. 

Following the passage of the LEARNS Act, students set to graduate in 2027 must complete at least 75 service hours prior to graduation. Students who volunteer at church and school events at St. John are now eligible to receive elective credit in high school. The Russellville School Board’s decision makes St. John Church and School the 12th approved location in Russellville where documented volunteer hours count. 

Following an application to the Russellville School Board Aug. 29, students and parishioners were informed Sept. 12 they had been named a community service learning partner with the Russellville School District. 

Cynthia Solis, faith formation and youth director, said Amber Mascuilli, confirmation catechist, informed her of the possibility of St. John becoming an accredited service site. Mascuilli has been a science teacher at Russellville High School for 16 years.

She said the Russellville School District employs career coaches who are focused on helping secondary students explore what they will do after high school. 

“If they're going to different places to volunteer, they're meeting new people, they're discovering new career paths,” Mascuilli said. “They're realizing that outside of their bubble, there are people out there doing things”

Solis said pastor Father Daniel Ramos was eager to begin the application process. 

“During the application, they requested guidelines that we have to follow in order to be accredited,” Father Ramos said. “Most of these very important questions were about how we are going to help get these kids involved in our community. How is our church and our community going to benefit these kids and continue growing the mentality of giving back to the community? Those were the main questions we had to answer.”

Father Ramos said the volunteer program originally started with confirmation candidates, regardless of whether they had attended St. John School or not. The volunteer program was then expanded to include other high school students in Russellville.

“We were eager to do this program because it was not only for our youth group teenagers but also those kids attending the school,” Father Ramos said. “It’s an opportunity for us to bring those kids first to serve our own community, second to take care of the spiritual aspect of who we are.”

The accreditation meant some of the volunteer hours students at St. John Church and School were already logging for religion classes would count toward the graduation requirement. Mascuilli said students have been so involved in parish events that a majority of confirmation hours will transfer over to LEARNS Act hours. 

Hannah Edgell, a career coach for the Russellville School District, assists students in figuring out their plans for the future. 

“With the LEARNS Act, starting with our current ninth graders, they must complete the 75 hours before their graduation and will receive a Community Service Learning Diploma,” Edgell said. “For their hours to be certified, there must be a preparation/planning and reflection component, which I also keep up with. This involves the students identifying a need in the community, assisting with that need and then reflecting on how their actions and involvement bettered the community.”

Solis said the elective program will work well in conjunction with religious volunteering components already in place at St. John. 

“We already require (40) hours of service so (students can learn about) corporal works of mercy and spiritual work,” Solis said. “Now, students can get credit (for graduation) if they volunteer … then later, they reflect on what they did or what their service was to the community or to our church.”

Please read our Comments Policy before posting.