This project is expanding throughout the community, campus, and region. Students in a literacy education course, are school and after-school tutors, work in family resource centers, in adult education facilities, detention homes, nursing homes, and conduct storyhours in bookstores and libraries. They provide support for the blind by reading newspaper over the radio, and work with disability services. Benefits for the community are as multitudinous as benefits to students. Local agencies are provided energy, ideas, and one-on-one attention to clients that the agency can t provide. Students learn experientially the psychological constructs of literacy, diversity of their local community, career clarification, and civic responsibility. A business education athlete tutored battered women at a shelter, in computer skills, earning their trust and recognizing his own gifts. We found agencies wish to participate in developing placements and understand the instructor s course objectives. Challenges are finding time for people to meet, and for students to honor their commitments. As an institution, we recognize the benefits and challenges of service learning. We are working on curricular developments to integrate service throughout our pre-service program, as well as to provide support to teachers state-wide, using service learning.

Website: http://www.soe.umt.edu/grants/slate/