Students Taking Action Today: Home

What is the Students Taking Action Today program? 

The Students Taking Action Today program (STAT) is a weekly youth service-learning program for students in grades 4–8. The program consists of 8 to 10 weekly sessions (highly recommended as part of a classroom curriculum) facilitated by the participating teacher to lead students through research, action, and reflection on one of the following service topics: animal welfare, disability rights, food access and insecurity, or housing and homelessness. The program culminates with students presenting at the Celebration of Service culminating showcase in May 2026. 

Who is eligible to participate in STAT?

The 2025–26 STAT program is open teachers who have not previously participated in the STAT, Kids Action Team, Service-Learning Institute, or Race Against Waste programs and who are teaching students in grades 4–8 during the 2025–26 school year.

What is required for the program application?

Interested teachers must complete the program application by 11:59pm on Friday, October 31. To ensure your application will be considered for the program, rank the four program topics—animal welfare, disability rights, food access and insecurity, and housing and homelessness—as your first through fourth choice for service topic.

Finalists for the 2025–26 STAT program will be notified by email in mid November and will be asked to confirm their principal's support of their participation with an email template provided by Service in Schools. The principal support email is required for acceptance into STAT. 

What is expected of teachers participating in STAT? 

Participating teachers are expected to hold 8 to 10 weekly sessions with students (highly recommended as part of classroom curriculum) from December 2025 through May 2026. Additionally, teachers are expected to participate in three full-day in-person professional learning sessions that will highlight promising practices for service learning, resources and opportunities for engaging with experts and local organizations, and strategies for students to take action in their community. Teachers will also schedule planning calls and a school visit with a member of the Service in Schools team to aid in the development of a service-learning student experience. Finally, participating teachers will be expected to guide students through the completion of a service-learning project and arrange for students' participation in the Celebration of Service culminating showcase in May 2026. 

When are the professional learning sessions held? What will be covered?

1. Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 9:00am–3:00pm - Intro to Service Learning and Partners in Youth Service (in person, midtown Manhattan)
2. Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 9:00am–3:00pm - Text Sets and Media for Service Learning (in person, midtown Manhattan)
3. Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 9:00am–3:00pm - Service-Learning Advocacy/Action Phase and Preparing for the Student Showcase (in person, midtown Manhattan)

How can teachers implement STAT?

The weekly STAT sessions should be held on a consistent schedule and in as consistent a format as is possible. If you have questions about how STAT could work with your school schedule, email ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov with three times you are available for a call and a team member will connect with you. 

Can two teachers work together on STAT? 

While we encourage teachers to collaborate with colleagues and other stakeholders to enhance students' service-learning experience, STAT is designed for one teacher to lead weekly service-learning sessions for students and attend all program professional learning sessions.

What are the benefits of participating in the STAT program? 

For students, STAT offers the opportunity to help their community while gaining knowledge on an issue affecting their community from a variety of media and expert sources. The structure and content of weekly sessions support social emotional learning and high levels of engagement. The Celebration of Service culminating showcase in the spring gives students the opportunity to showcase their learning and service efforts, as well as connect with students from other schools. 

For teachers, STAT offers a supportive learning community of service-minded educators, access to digital resources, expertise and additional resources from community-based organizations, and personalized support from Service in Schools. Participating teachers are eligible to earn up to 16.5 CTLE credit hours for participation in the professional learning sessions.