Program Details
Service Trips
Enrichment & Access
San Francisco Friends School
In the San Francisco Friends Middle School, students participate in service trips that bridge their curricular work to service in another part of the world.
- 7th grade- Nicaragua In 7th grade, the students travel to Nicaragua to work and live in a small village. In addition to their service, the students also look closely at the concepts of hunger and nutrition. Before their trip the students conduct a number of trips to the SF Food Bank and then compare what is done at home to combat hunger with how the problem is treated in Nicaragua.
- 8th grade-Central Valley In 8th grade, the students travel to the Central Valley of California. Primarily an agricultural region, the students are able to learn about farming, food, and also social justice. Prior to their trip the students read a number of pieces including Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Harvest Gypsies as well a few contemporary pieces that address current geo-political issues including immigration, water and worker rights, and health concerns. The trip also allows the students to see first hand the science that they have been studying such as the nitrogen and carbon cycles, chemical and water issues and historical climate and tectonic cycles.
Upon return, both trips share their stories, reflections, photos, and takeaways in presentations to each other and to their parents. The goal through all of this is more than just taking them to new destinations, but rather taking them to new ideas, new understandings, and like Henry Miller says, “a new way of seeing things.”