Every Menlo student needs to submit at least 10 credits each year, for a total of 40 by the time you graduate. You need to earn at least 10 credits per year, which means you cannot complete more credits in one year to cover for future years. However, if approved by the Director of Community Engagement (Mr. Young), you can complete more credits in one year to make up for a deficit of credits from a previous year.

The purpose of the CE graduation requirement is ultimately to encourage every Menlo student to participate in community engagement. (The purpose is not to make you dread community engagement.) It's critical for high schoolers to explore beyond their personal environment, to learn how to empathize with different communities, and to work toward benefiting the lives of others. It also provides a structure to help you to grow as a responsible citizen! From Mr. Young: CE is a requirement at Menlo because its four areas of focus are essential skills for a life of active citizenship, in line with our school mission and values “to become ethical, responsible, and engaged members of ever wider communities” and “commitment to purposes greater than ourselves.” We don’t simply want students to be ready for college when they graduate from Menlo. We want them to be ready to take a leadership role in changing the reality of the world for the better.

August 25. For summer CE experiences, anything you do between June 1 and August 25 can be submitted for either: the previous academic year: submit your reflections by August 25. the coming academic year: submit your reflections after August 25. Experiences you had before June 1 no longer qualify for credit if you have not written a reflection by August 25.

A Unique Experience (UE) refers to any time you engage with your community in a new way. In addition to the 10-credit requirement, you must simultaneously fulfill the UE requirement: 3 UEs per year. The UE requirement exists to encourage students to learn through a variety of experiences. As an example, attending a two-week service trip during on your Holiday Break might fulfill more than 10 credits, but it only counts as one UE. Or, though you might tutor for a few different organizations and record reflections for each in Fortress, they will not be counted as unique experiences. If you choose to participate in and successfully complete the Year-Long Engagement (YLE) program, your UE requirement will be waived. See the next question for an overview of YLE!

If you're a sophomore, junior, or senior -- or if you've participated in our CASE summer program -- you have the option to apply for a Year-Long Engagement (YLE). The Year-Long Engagement (YLE) is an alternative to the 10-credit CE system. It's intended as an option for students who have a specific passion related to a higher purpose they would like to pursue over the course of an entire school year. Through the YLE, you'll learn more about, become involved with, and make impacts on an issue of your choice. YLE projects can involve (but are not limited to) volunteering, creating, and advocating. Learn more about the YLE.

Thank you for asking! :) There are so many ways for you to find enjoyment in engaging with the community, and we really hope that you do! The first step is to consider CE a privilege and not a requirement. It really is rewarding to be able to learn, interact, and grow with people outside your normal sphere! Also, almost always we can find ways to meaninfully contribute to our communities or learn in new cultural experiences that combine with your interests. In fact, Knight Vision offers the service of helping you to find cool CE experiences! Just fill out this form. :)

From Mr. Young: In order to earn credits for an experience it must qualify and you are required to submit a reflection on your experience through Fortress. Check out the Fortress tutorial below for more details. A qualifying CE experience is any service activity you take on outside of an academic class and for which you are not paid. It does not need to be sponsored by Menlo. There are also some cultural or community activities that qualify. In this case, only the ones promoted by the Director of Community Engagement qualify. If there is a cultural or community activity that you think should qualify and/or would like to promote as a CE opportunity, email KV or Mr. Young!

In order to earn credits, you're required to submit a reflection on your experience through Fortress. Check out the Fortress tutorial farther down on this page for more details! From Mr. Young: To earn CE credit, a student must engage in a qualifying CE experience, write a reflection on Fortress (how-to video), then have that reflection approved by a faculty member on the CE faculty committee, with final approval by the Director of Community Engagement. We require reflections because it is only through thoughtful reflection that students truly extract learning and growth from any experience. Students should write a reflection after the experience within a week. They can submit later, but to gain the most from the reflection process, we recommend students do it within a few days. Note that the reflection must include the contact email and/or phone number of a supervisor or adult outside of your family that can verify your participation. If you are doing something continually or repeatedly, such as tutoring or interning at a non-profit, wait until near a semester deadline or when you are finished with the experience to write your reflection for it. Fortress now allows you to enter more than 10 credits at a time.

Mr. Young ultimately decides how many credits you earn for each experience, based on factors like your learning, impact, and (most importantly) time spent. However, you get to suggest the initial number of credits when you enter an experience into Fortress. As a general rule, one hour of work is equal to 0.5 credits -- so 2 hours of work earns you one credit. This number can change slightly based on the experience's impact or significance, or if the need for volunteers is unusually significant in that particular situation. You can also earn bonus credits for engaging in especially meaningful ways and reflecting on the four areas of CE. (Read more below!) If you're unsure about how many credits to submit, contact us (knightvision@menloschool.org) or Mr. Young (cyoung@menloschool.org). From Mr. Young: In some cases, the Director of Community Engagement will make clear how many credits an experience earns a student. Otherwise, credits are calculated by a new formula beginning the 2020-21 academic year: For every hour of activity, you earn .5 credits. So, let’s say a student tutors twice a week for an hour for six weeks. The student has thus earned twelve credits - upon writing a reflection in Fortress and approval of that reflection. Bonus credits might also be applied by the faculty reflection reviewer. See below for an explanation of bonus credits.

You can earn bonus credits in two ways: either Mr. Young will offer them upfront as a way to encourage you to participate in certain activities, or your Fortress reflection reviewer will award them based on how many areas of CE you have engaged with. These four areas include getting out of your comfort zone, building empathy, growing your social consciousness, and taking leadership. If your reflection reviewer (Mr. Young or another faculty member) believes you have fulfilled any of these areas, they will give you bonus points following the formula 0.25 x N x Credits. (N is the number of CE areas engaged, and Credits is the number of credits you would have originally earned for that experience.)

No; you cannot count extra credits from one year to the next. It's important for you to continuously participate in CE as you and your world views evolve throughout high school. Ultimately, we hope that CE will become a lifelong commitment and source of fulfillment for you, which is why you're required to engage at this 10-credits-per-year minimum. However, if you go above and beyond in earning credits in a single year, you'll be eligible for a CE award! Continue reading to learn more.

From Mr. Young: As you earn credits, there are different levels you can achieve: At 25-49 credits: CE Exemplar At 50-74 credits: CE Action Taker At 75-99 credits: CE Change Maker At 100 or above credits: CE Champion of the People Each of the above will result in a certificate of recognition as well as recognition at a school assembly. We will also recognize students who demonstrate extraordinary contributions in particular areas of CE. The following prizes, offered annually, will not be solely based on credits earned, but include consideration of exemplary engagement, commitment, and impacts made. The names of the prizes change year to year to feature various historical or contemporary exemplars. The Eleanor Roosevelt Global Citizen Prize: awarded to a student who makes significant contributions to a better world beyond the borders of the United States. The Carl Sagan Patriot Prize: awarded to a student who makes significant contributions on a major contemporary issue (ex: gun control) within the borders of the United States. The John Lewis Social Justice Prize: awarded to a student who makes significant contributions to address issues of injustice or inequity in the U.S. or global society. The Favianna Rodriguez Activist Artist Prize: awarded to a student who uses art (performing or visual) to create awareness around important issues in our society and/or in the context of protest or demonstration. The Greta Thunberg Global Cooling Prize: awarded to the student who makes significant contributions towards the mitigation of global warming.

If you volunteer or engage with your community over the summer, you have the choice to use those credits for either the previous year or the upcoming year. For example, if you volunteer during the summer after your freshman year, you can count the experience toward either your freshman-year CE requirement or your sophomore-year CE requirement.

Multiple reflections for the same experience, or even reflections in the same category of experience, are likely not to count as more than one unique experience. The goal of the UE requirement is for you to engage with your community in a variety of ways!