American International School of Bucharest focuses on service learning program

The American International School of Bucharest is planning to start a service learning program which will be incorporated into the curriculum at all grades.

“The idea behind service learning is that it’s not enough just to do a fund raising drive, sell some

cupcakes, raise some money and give it to an orphanage or hospital,” says Lynn Wells, director of admissions & advancement at the school.

He explains that this type of learning offers a more tangible understanding of service work and the various aspects involved in it.

“Let’s say the Red Cross was getting ready to start a soup kitchen in Bucharest. We might want to get involved, our students might want to get involved. The learning comes from why there are homeless people in Bucharest, why they don’t have a job, how many there are, and where they live, how they live – so you’re learning all about those aspects of society. (…) At the end you can talk about what you’ve learned from the program, if there is anything that we can do as a school to help eliminate homelessness or build shelters. That’s just an example of how service learning works,” outlines the director, adding that the school values community involvement very highly.

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In line with that, it is already involved with several projects such as City of Hope, the Victor Babes Hospital, the Back to School Foundation, Pipera House and the International Children’s Center.

The school, which is located in the Pipera-Tunari area of Bucharest, functions as a non-profit educational institution. It currently has 696 students enrolled, representing 50 nationalities.

The largest national group is Romanians (26 percent this year), followed by Americans. The school offers the International Baccalaureate curriculum and diploma.