The Service Learning Class got his start at Red Boiling Springs High School in the Fall of 2001.

After a successful first year, the program spread to MCHS this past school year.

As a part of the Service Learning Program, students, primarily Seniors, are given the opportunity to work in a service related industry during a portion of their school day.

Coordinators of the program attempt to match the student with a field related to the career they are interested in.

Students participating in the program do not receive any payment for the work they do while participating in the program.

A second component of the program, involves the students being given the opportunity to provide a community service or a school service.

The students participating in the program "work" at their positions for 4 days a work, with the fifth day spent in the classroom where they work on a school project or a community project.

At the end of the 2003 school year, a breakfast was held to recognize both the students who participated in the program and the sponsors and sites where the students worked.

Students at Macon County High School who paticipated in the program included Holly Andrews, Ashley Bransford, Amanda Caruthers, Rosemary Childress, Amy Dallas, Amanda Dickey, Jessica Glover, Joseph Johnson, Ashley Lamberth, Sara Beth Law, Leanne Horton, Jessica Mince, Carrie Oldham, Lindsay Patterson, Juanita Rolin, Jocosa Scott, Camilla Stafford, Kristen Stewart, Jody West, Ashley Wolfe.

Students at Red Boiling Springs High School who participated in the program included Josh Bell, Brandon Clark, Cherine Dickens, Hope Gass, Dustin Knight, Mark McClure, Ashley Porter, Jonathan Powell, Randy Rice, Kasi Shaw, Denise Smith, and Brandon Woodard.

Local businesses and public offices receiving Certificates of Merit for their participation in the program included: Citizens Bank, Cumberland Bank, Macon Bank and Trust, WEEN/WLCT radio, Macon County Circuit Court Clerk Jennifer Hudson, Macon County Times, Macon County Junior High School, The Prescription Shoppe, Lafayette Elementary School, Fairlane, Rite-Aid, Primary Healthcare, Family Care Center, Macon County Chronicle, Ben Bray Real Estate and Auction, Hollis Hardware, Lafayette Police Department, Macon County General Hospital, Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Valley Ridge Mental Health, Red Boiling Springs High School, Macon County Property Assessor Rick Shoulders, The Palace, Tri County Vocational School Director and David Porter, Macon County Sheriff's Department, Department of Human Services, Tri County Emergency Medical Services, Macon County Farm Bureau, RBS Clinic, Law Office of James Chamberlain, Smith's Motor Sales, North Central Telephone Cooperative, RBS Elementary, and Gail's Child Care .

Program coordinators are already talking to local businesses about participating in the program during the upcoming school year.