Many of the ills in our society today can be traced to a lack of community. A school is a community in itself, but we need to find more and better ways of connecting schools to the wider communities of which they are a part. An aspect of the Finding the Good curriculum is to bring students and communities together through shared projects. Nothing breaks down barriers between people faster than working toward a positive common goal. We have seen this enacted time and time again in our service programs (and never more dramatically than with rival gang members on the Challenge Ropes Course). We all need to know that we belong, that we have a place and a purpose in our community, and that our community values and needs us.  

Finding the Good involves the study of community, and the creation of community. Studies have found that humans are most comfortable in clusters of 10 to 12 -- family sized groups. Each semester will accept a maximum of 10 students. Students collaborate on projects, and more importantly, they learn to live together, day in and day out. They learn what is necessary to share resources – limited ones! – to live in community, work on projects together and be accountable to one another and to the community as a whole. They learn to put their skills and passions into something that serves the greater good.

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Service is the heart of Finding the Good – it exists so that young people experience first hand what it means to make a difference in the world. And, specific service projects are a component in the program of study. In many communities, we will identify needs and develop projects to address those needs appropriately and positively. The actual projects can be as varied and diverse as the interests of the students who work on them. Finding a way and a place to serve is one of the simplest things any of us can do because there is so much work to be done.