Social responsibility has always been at the heart of the Berlin Kids International School. As a community, children, staff and parents have created a culture of participation and mutual respect. Moreover the school founders consciously chose a social, non-profit, rather than commercial for-profit governing body.
A natural outgrowth of this belief and a key component of the BKIS program is service learning. Service learning is a type of education that connects community service with learning in the classroom. It is not removed from what goes on in the classroom, nor is it an addition to the school program. Rather, it is an integral part of the schedule. Community involvement is planned in the classroom and the experiences are reported back to the classroom, a process which, in turn, provides a forum for reflection and a connection to the school curriculum. Through service learning, young people are able to practice social and democratic skills. At the same time, their hands-on experience and knowledge informs their work in the classroom.
At BKIS, service learning begins within the school. Starting in the 7th grade, students –either individually or in groups- take responsibility for a project that benefits the school or the school community (for example, reading to primary school students, recycling, participating in the student government, planting a school garden). As the students move to higher grades, opportunities for service expand beyond the walls of the school: from the school to the neighborhood, from the neighborhood to the city, from the city to the national level, from the national level to the world. Community service knows no bounds: it begins at one’s doorstep and moves on to projects of global significance.