Community Service

One of the graduation requirements for Stratford Academy is that each student will complete 75 hours of community service by the end of his/her senior year. This total breaks down to twenty hours in 9th , 10th , and 11th grades and fifteen hours for 12th grade. These hours must be submitted on or before May 1st by 5:00 p.m. each year. Hours served but not submitted by 5:00 p.m. on May 1st will not be counted toward a student’s required hours. Due to COVID-19 disrupting the 2019-2020 school year, all community service requirements for the 2019-2020 school year were dropped.  Therefore, the classes of 2022 and 2023 will only be required to complete 55 hours to be eligible to graduate.  The 75 hour requirement resumes as normal for class of 2024 and all classes following.

Students who fail to complete the required hours for the year will enter into penalty, in which case they will owe the number of incomplete hours, plus half that number in penalty hours. For example, if I did not complete 10 hours of service and submit those by May 1st , I would owe 15 hours in order to complete my hours for this year. Students who are in penalty are not permitted to participate in summer sports/arts camps or sports practices until their hours are completed. All hours must be completed by the first day of school the following school year. Students are not promoted to the next grade until all hours for the previous year have been submitted and accepted.

Community service hours should be completed through non-profit organizations (organizations classified as 501(c)(3) organizations). As stated in the community service brochure, “Volunteering is not necessarily the same as community service. Simply working without payment does not qualify.” Students may count 5 hours of Stratford service and 5 hours of service with faith-based organizations each year (NOTE: Students may petition to receive credit beyond the five hours for service organized and sponsored by a faith-based organization, as long as that activity provides a service to a larger community and serves a constituency, more than 50% of whom are not members of the sponsoring organization). Hours, beyond the required hours, earned at Stratford or with faith-based organizations, will be tallied and added to a student’s career total. Extra Stratford or faith-based hours earned this year do not roll over to fulfill the required hours in the following year. Hours earned in general service to the community may count towards the next year’s required hours.

If you have any questions regarding Community Service, please contact Stratford Academy Director of Community Service Alex Minor at alex.minor@stratford.org.