Community Service FAQs

List of 10 frequently asked questions.

• Who are the Community Service Grade Level Coordinators?

  The following faculty members are serving as Service Grade-Level Coordinators for the 2023-24 school year:
  

  
  Class of 2024: Cori Eggert (ceggert@newarka.edu)

  Class of 2025: Haifa Nouaime (hnouaime@newarka.edu)

  Class of 2026: TBD
  Class of 2027: Andy Ryan (aryan@newarka.edu)

• What is the service requirement at Newark Academy?

  Newark Academy students are required to fulfill a minimum of 10 hours of service each year in Grades 9-12. Students are encouraged to go well beyond this minimum. In order to complete the minimum 10-hour requirement, students must report their hours using the MobileServe system using the five Service and Community Engagement Outcomes to guide their thoughtful reflection. Ideally, students will reflect on all five outcomes at some point during their time at NA.

• What types of service count for the requirement at Newark Academy?

  Service can be broken down into direct or indirect service, advocacy, and research all of which count at Newark Academy. However, if you are concerned about any opportunity please reach out to the Director of Community Service.
  
  

  Direct service means face-to-face contact directly with the population being served. For example, this includes tutoring students or working with animals at a shelter.
  
  

  Indirect service involves helping organizations to build capacity to deliver valuable direct service. Indirect service includes all fundraising activities as well as activities such as filing, answering phones, or event planning for organizations that will serve populations in need. One example of the difference between these two types of service relating to food insecurity is organizing donations at a food pantry, which is indirect service, as opposed to serving at a soup kitchen to distribute food, which is direct service.
  
  

  Advocacy is when you speak up for or against an issue by writing letters, attending meetings and the like.
  
  

  Research involves finding new information that informs demand for action, such as gathering scientific data to aid an environmental advocacy organization, or surveying a group to determine community needs. Newark Academy students are encouraged to engage in all forms of service throughout their time at NA.

• How do I report my Community Service hours to Newark Academy?

  Newark Academy uses MobileServe to track student participation in our service learning program. MobileServe makes it easy to document and verify students’ impact, as well as help match them with volunteer opportunities in their community. You can access MobileServe via the student resource board on the Newark Academy website or by going directly to the site at app.mobileserve.com.

  
  All NA Upper School students should sign on to the system by following the directions on the MyNA resource board. In order to report your hours, you will need to record not only the number of hours completed but also the contact information (including an email address) for the sponsor of the project. Additionally, for each project you will be asked to write a short, thoughtful reflection about your experience. Once you have reported your hours, your report and reflection must be approved by your Service Coordinator, who is responsible for verifying your reported hours with the organization you served and reviewing your written reflection.

• Why do I have to write a reflection and what is it supposed to say?

  Reflection is a key part of your Newark Academy, generally, and is especially important in the community service process. Students are asked to do this in order to make connections between the service they are performing and the impact that such service has on both the giver of service and those who receive it. Guidelines for writing your reflection may be found on MobileServe. Students who write reflections that do not meet the guidelines outlined on the reporting form will be asked to revise their reflections.

• How do I verify my hours and what does “sponsor verification” mean?

  You must have the person who supervised your project (the sponsor) certify your project and number of hours you served. When you enter the sponsor’s email address in MobileServe, a verification email will be automatically generated, which your sponsor can easily complete. If you do not have the email address for a sponsor, you will need to get a printed letter from your sponsor that includes the name of the organization, contact information for the supervisor (name and phone/email), the date of the service, and the number of hours served. You must then upload that document to MobileServe.
  
  Please note that your Grade-Level Coordinator must receive sponsor verification by the final community service deadline, or your hours may not count towards the requirement.

• When should I report my community service hours?

  Right away! You should report your community service hours immediately after you have completed the service. We encourage students to report their hours and reflect on their experiences in real time, throughout the school year, so you are more cognizant of the activities in which you are engaged and so the Service Council can keep a more accurate account of all of the service projects completed by NA students.
  
  

  Students should use the link to the MobileServe system on MyNA to submit a 150-300 word reflection, identifying the outcome(s) and answering the questions directly on the MobileServe reporting form for each completed project. Service opportunities that are one to two hours require reflection on at least one outcome. Service opportunities that are two+ hours require reflection on at least two outcomes.

• Are students required to participate in community service opportunities sponsored by Newark Academy or can I do projects on my own?

  While Newark Academy’s Service Council offers many opportunities for NA students to engage in service with their classmates, you may also choose to serve with any organization or cause you feel passionate about or an organization that you served before you came to Newark Academy. The only requirements for your service is that the organization you serve be a 501c3 nonprofit organization and that the organization does not directly benefit Newark Academy.

• Can NA parents or alumni get involved with Newark Academy’s Community Service program?

  Newark Academy’s Community Service program is designed primarily for our students; however, we do host several community-wide events each year in which alumni and parents can participate. Parents interested in the Community Service Program should contact the Newark Academy Parents Association at napa@newarka.edu. Alumni interested in hosting a Community Service project or in participating in one of our community-wide events should contact Director of Alumni Relations and Giving Evan Nisenson '99 at enisenson@newarka.edu.

• How can I learn more about Newark Academy Community Service?

  You can follow NA Community Service on social media platforms including Twitter and Instagram or reach out directly to Director of Community Service Sarah Fischer