Aptos High School

Community Service

The Community Service requirement is meant to foster an ethic of volunteerism that is part of everyday life where the volunteering is integrated and balanced with other obligations. All students must complete 40 community service hours to graduate from Aptos High School, or any school in PVUSD. Please have your student turn in their hours to our Student Information Specialist, Albert Lambert, in the Main Office.

Students are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of community service each academic year at Aptos High School.
Students are encouraged to devote more than 10 hours per academic year.
Students who receive greater than 100 hours of community service at the end of their enrollment at Aptos High School are eligible to receive a community service cord upon graduation.
Students who are new to AHS, but have attended another PVUSD school, are still required to complete 40 hours of community service to be eligible for graduation.
Students who are new to AHS and new to PVUSD schools are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours a year for the years they attend AHS.
Community service hours are defined as hours spent working for a non-profit group, or organization that benefits the community. You cannot be paid for compensated for these hours in any way.

Community Service Activities (These count for Community Service):

Volunteering for non-profit groups such as schools, youth organizations, beach clean-up organizations, church groups, etc.;
Creating your own community service projects! Design your own and have a teacher or staff member be your advisor;
Fundraising for non-profit organizations like the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, or others;
After hours school-related volunteering, such as helping out with back-to-school night, Freshman orientation, volunteering with a teacher after-school, etc. You may only count 10 of these hours towards your 40 hour requirement.

Non-Community Service Activities (These DO NOT count):

Class assignments and field trips.
School fundraising activities for clubs, sports teams, or other group.
Activities for which you are PAID.
Working for “free” for a friend or family member’s business.
Court-mandated community service OR community service that is required as part of a class.

If you need help in finding a place or coming up with ideas, please see your school counselor. Also, if you need help with introducing yourself to an organization, here is a helpful script.

COMMUNITY SERVICE VERIFICATION FORMS

Use these forms to document your community service hours. Submit them to your tutorial teach.