On Monday, Aug. 22, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Maria Lizarraga sent out a district-wide email informing all high schools in Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) about the reduction of community service hours for the class of 2023 and 2024. After a well thought out decision seniors are not required to have community service hours to graduate  and juniors must have a minimum of 15 hours. 

“A committee of history, social science teachers review the [graduation] guidelines every year. During the 2020-2021 school year, they’ve reviewed our board policies and our administered regulations,” Lizarraga said. 

The decision to reduce the number of service hours for upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) is largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented students from volunteering in person. The lack of volunteering opportunities for students created a chain reaction that is still affecting upperclassmen two years later. 

“COVID [had] such a big impact. I knew from the beginning that the requirement of 30 hours has been a challenge to maintain because of the lack of opportunities for students to volunteer,” BVH Principal Roman Del Rosario said. 

Because distance learning limited upperclassmen’s opportunities to volunteer it was much harder for them to meet the 30-hour requirement. Even now, the availability of opportunities would not equate to students who were able to experience a whole four years of in-person high school. 

“There were students that probably had difficulty trying to identify where they could gain those hours and knowing that the requirements have been amended, I would imagine that was a source of relief for students,” Del Rosario said. 

Though service hours have been reduced for upperclassmen, performing community service is still essential. Both Del Rosario and Lizarraga stress the importance of completing community service hours for college and career benefits. 

“As you leave high school it is important to show universities that you care about the community,” Lizarraga said. “The colleges look at those community service hours and how involved the students are. If a student is going into a career, it’s also important to see that they are active and interested in the community.” 

Although BVH Counselor Lorena Mata shares a similar value of the importance of community service hours, she believes that they should not have been reduced. She finds that it is crucial for students to get involved within the community. 

“I think we should have continued at least 15 hours [for seniors]. I understand that with the pandemic it was difficult to complete all hours, but I feel like 30 could have been achievable and doable,” Mata said. 

In general, Mata understands the problems that BVH students have faced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she points out that upperclassmen are able to earn community service hours now because the amount of volunteering opportunities has increased for students.

“It’s been a few years now [since distance learning]. I think we can start going out to [volunteer]. Maybe even just reducing them to 15 [hours] would have been fine, but to completely erase the whole 30, I don’t think it was completely necessary,” Lizarraga said. 

Returning  to school has allowed upperclassmen to access more volunteering opportunities safely. Del Rosario explains the importance of community service and the long-lasting effects it has on the lives of students. 

“I think if there’s an opportunity to [volunteer] in a safe way, then it’s always meaningful when students are able to volunteer. It’s a practice that will be carried on into adulthood in many cases,” Del Rosario said. “Just that opportunity to serve, I think helps develop a sense of agency. That’s an important lesson for students to learn when they’re young because it just leads to higher levels of gratification and more empowerment.”