Vision, Mission & Values
Vision
CACSL envisions students, educators and communities learning and working together to strengthen individuals and society.
Mission
CACSL is a national alliance established to support the active participation of students, educators and communities in Community Service-Learning (CSL) by:
- identifying, investigating and promoting best practices
- offering solutions to common challenges
- facilitating the creation of local, regional, national and international networks of individuals and organizations involved in CSL practice and research
Values
- CACSL views Community Service-Learning as a powerful experiential pedagogy. In addition, CACSL sees critical, reflective research and inquiry into the processes and effectiveness of CSL as crucial to its becoming an integral part of academic learning.
- CACSL believes that informed engagement in community issues and activities provides an avenue for social change.
- CACSL encourages the active participation of community partners in decisions about the planning, development, and evaluation of individual CSL programs and of CACSL itself.
- CACSL sees academic knowledge and community-based knowledge as complementary and mutually reinforcing.
- CACSL commits to open, inclusive communication and creative collaboration with stakeholders from all sectors: educational institutions, community organizations, students, the private sector, and individual citizens.
- CACSL will be inclusive of diversity, regardless of differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, and ability. Appropriate accommodations will be made to ensure that CACSL resources and activities and events are accessible to diverse groups and individuals.