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deans, assistant principals, administrators and others are not authorized to approve or deny
community service hours for Duval County Public School students.
3. Your school counselor is available to counsel with you on your specific interests and work with
you to determine how to meet your needs for personal growth while also meeting the criteria
for the Florida Bright Futures service hours. Please set aside time to meet with your school
counselor.
4. Duval County Public Schools does not require submission of a written community service plan.
However, it is expected that students complete a written plan for each community service
initiative and develop contacts within the community to fulfill the plan through volunteer
services. If you are not certain about whether your volunteer hours will count for Florida Bright
Futures, you should submit your written plan for preapprovals by your school counselor.
Document Community Service Hours
Students must use the
Verification of Community Service form provided by Duval County Public Schools to document all volunteer hours for Florida Bright Futures Scholarship eligibility.
1. Students will itemize each date of volunteer service, even if the hours served were to work on
one project. Date of service must include month, day, and year, as indicated in the Verification
of Community Service form. Hours approved cannot exceed 12 hours per day without PRIOR
School Counselor approval.
2. Dates of service require a Verifier’s Signature. Written verification by way of an original letter
written on organizational letterhead is acceptable with original signature IF the letter includes
dates of service, total hours, and itemization of service performed by date. Students may attach
such letter to th
e complete
d verification f
orm. Students may
write “see atta
ched” in place
of
verifier’s signature.
3. Each community service entry must be complete and legible. This is a permanent record and
Duval County Public Schools will keep the student’s original document(s) with signature(s).
Students should make a copy of all records prior to submitting them to the school counseling
office.
Write or Present a Reflective Summary of the Community Service Experience
Students should be able to provide a summary on the community service experience(s).
1. Students should submit evidence of their community service reflection. This is a personal
statement of feelings and thoughts in direct response to the service experience and can be
achieved through group presentations, individual discussion with a school counselor, journaling
personal reactions to the service experience, or through other avenues that benefit the
individual student volunteer.
2. While creating the Reflective Summary, students may consider: a) how they might approach the
service experience differently in the future, b) who is impacted by the services performed and
whether there are better methods for making an impact and why, c) what the cost verses the
benefit is for the services provided, d) where the services were performed and if this seemed
appropriate for those who were to benefit, e) when and how often services are available and
whether this seems adequate or f) personal feelings, thoughts, concerns, surprises that were
experienced and how this impacted the student.