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BWBRS Guide

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Writing a Good Community Learning Agreement

Foundation Requirements for CLAs

A Community Learning Agreement (CLA) describes the student’s specific position activities for that particular term

• written by: the student

• perspective: written in the 1st person, with “I” statements or written in the 3rd person, building off the position description (but adding other details specific to the student's role)

Entry Guidelines

An effective Community Learning Agreement (CLA) should build off of the position description, adding particular details that describe the measurable impact of the service by including:

• The specific activities that are being completed or worked on during that term
• The beneficiaries (population being served) for that particular term
• The overall impact or outcome of the service for that particular term

Tips & Things to Consider

• Students serving in the same position should have distinct CLAs. This helps in defining students' individual service and learning goals.
• Think of CLAs as a way to measure, track, and plan impact through a placement. Often, students are serving in the same role across semesters; the CLA is an opportunity to articulate the learning opportunities and developmental goals.
• Students with a history of good CLAs should be able to trace their developmental progress. This could connect with senior portfolios and career planning. CLAs are also a good tool in facilitating class-based or cohort meetings.

Make it Great: Real Examples from the Network

Sample CLA (Position Title @ Community Partner)

Youth Mentor & Program Coordinator @ Trinity Jubilee After-School Program

• I am both a Youth Mentor and the Program Coordinator for Trinity Jubilee After-School Program. I work with Somali students aging from 8-16 years old. My role is to help the students not only complete their homework assignments but to make sure that they are able to comprehend the material. In addition, I not only tend to the educational needs of the students but the emotional and social needs as well. As the Program Coordinator I recruit students to volunteer, assist in programming activities, make sure students have transportation to and from the program. I pay close attention to the management of the program, the challenges, successes, and the issues that the program may be experiencing then I work on ways to enhance the over program.

Family Support Services Assistant @ Habitat for Humanity

• Habitat for Humanity of Spartanburg changes lives by building decent, affordable homes in partnership with Spartanburg County families in need. I am the Family Support Services Assistant, and I will be working closely with the head of Family Support Services, she is the AmeriCorps Vista. I work with her to develop and implement the family support action plan to reconnect them with the community. Anything the community asks for we make it happen! 

Bonner Community Learning Agreements (CLAs): Making Them Great

CLA objectives should also be developmental for Bonner Scholars/Leaders over the course of their program involvement.  Here are some examples of some service and learning objectives (one of each, though you will need two for each CLA) in a developmental schematic:

Level 1: Explore

Level 2: Experience

Level 3: Example

Level 4: Expertise

CLA Worksheet for Students:

Objective Writing Worksheet for Students

You do a Community Learning Agreement for every major project within the Bonner Program.  The Bonner Foundation has to review these CLAs to make sure that the type of service you are doing is appropriate and allowed by our funding guidelines.  In addition, we want to make sure that you have a solid set of objectives for your project and work. 

This is a simple worksheet for that purpose.

Your CLA and Objective

The importance of an objective is to describe what is the purpose and nature of your service work in a way that suggests how it will have a measurable impact. 

Part 1:  Basic CLA Information:  You will be asked to provide several pieces of information that describe what you are doing at your service site.  In order to complete the CLA, your Bonner administrator will need to have already added the agency/partner into BWBRS. An agency needs to be in the system only once (even if multiple students are working there).  Then you’ll want to put in the following:

Types of Activities (sampling of service):

Bonners can do service of many types; however, the beneficiary of the service should be the community (outside, not just campus), and the work should not be primarily administrative.  In addition, co-curricular activities (such as recreation, dance, or arts) are only allowable when they also benefit a community constituency or program.   Some typical service descriptions may involve words like:

Try to be as specific as possible, avoiding statements like ,”doing what is asked of me,” “doing paperwork,” or other things that don’t seem to describe the impact of the work on an individual, organization, or community.         

If you’re having a hard time defining your work and how it benefits the community, you should talk to your Bonner Director or Coordinator. 

Prohibited Activities:

The following titles or descriptions for service are either prohibited or will raise red flags for Bonner, AmeriCorps or both:

Specific Restrictions

Your Service Objectives:

Your two CLA service objectives should summarize the work that you are doing.  Try to make it 1-2 sentences that focus on the beneficiary of the service and what happens (rather than on yourself).  We’d advise you to make it SMART:

1)    Specific:  Describe your service work, in a sentence or two that indicates what you will be doing, for how long, with whom and for what purpose.

2)    Measurable:  Make sure to mention what will be the intended result or impact (for whom).

3)    Actionable:  Your objective should be in the active tense, including specific actions or types of work. 

4)    Realistic:  Make your objective concrete and tenable for the time period of the project and hours involved.  If you mention a specific impact, later you will be asked to report on it.

5)    Timebound:  Try to mention how much time is involved, in a summary sense (e.g., 10 weeks) or what may be achieved over a specific time period.

Your Learning Objectives:

Your two CLA learning objectives should focus on a skill, knowledge area, or learnable trait that you need to do the best possible work.  This objective can focus on yourself and what you learn.   The 1-2 sentences can start with an “I” statement, such as “I want to learn classroom management techniques,” or “I want to understand how sustainable farming works.” 

• You may also want to use this BONNER TRAINING on SETTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVESwhich includes an objective-writing worksheet.

Administrators:  

Please guide students to do the following in their CLAs:

• Be specific
• Emphasize who is benefiting from the service performed in their service objective.
• Make sure the student is doing direct work or service that enables program to meet its mission in some clear way; describe the activity in that way.  ('Indirect service' should be described in ways that make clear why that work is benefiting the community and clients.) 
• Discuss their service descriptions and objectives with community partner staff and coordinators. Integrate with conversation about the developmental model and types of service.
• When possible, use specific language to describe the impact; however, make sure the student will be able to count or measure what happens whenever that specific language is used (e.g., if you say you will improve test scores, you will need to be able to track them).
• Advise student that non-specific language like "do whatever is asked by supervisor" is not helpful.  Advise student to use active, not passive language, to describe their work.
• Advise student to find better ways of describing their program responsibilities than "doing administrative work" or "paperwork" which is not acceptable; where the student is doing administrative work, it should be a direct requirement for or result of the service work or benefit to the community.  For example, the student could be organizing a large Habitat for Humanity Build day, but the language should not say, “doing paperwork, forms, and phone calls.” How would you describe this position on a resume (e.g., planning an event, coordinating registrations of volunteers).  Utilize resume writing guides in your meetings and trainings (including the one on the Bonner website).  
• Here is a link to the BONNER TRAINING on WRITING RESUMES, which includes many helpful language activities.
• Do not frame objectives vaguely as “part of a course requirement”; instead explain the substance of the work.

Managerial Guidelines

• Read the CLA before you sign it.  Make sure that the student has written an objective that is specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timebound (SMART)
• Don’t sign it if you think it is inappropriate service or breaks one of the following guidelines, such as:
• Religious proselytizing or work that is based solely in a ministry and described in terms of God
• Campaigning for political office or influencing legislation
• Serving a segment of the campus community, but not community
• If the student is an AmeriCorps member, see additional guidelines (page 15 of the Enrollment Workbook) around prohibited activities:
• International
• Fundraising

• Also, make sure you understand (and that the CLA represents) the nuances around issues such as:
• How to count hours (and what is prohibited) when the student is also receiving course credit (AmeriCorps rules have recently changed on this in 2009, so students may in fact receive academic credit for hours they also count)
• When the student’s placement is within the center (on campus) (which is allowed for students in some positions such as Senior Intern but prohibited if it's for other offices that solely serve the campus, such as 'working at the community pool'.