Site visits are the best part of the job. Or is it just me? Okay maybe it is me.

I will make no apologies, as one cannot help but be lifted up even in times like these, about the learning going on in our schools after you have visited a service-learning site. There is nothing like seeing students, no matter the age, actively involved, engaged, and engrossed with community and education. Whether you visit elementary school students solving local hunger issues through a co-op garden, or high school students tackling issues like bullying or distracted driving by creating PSA’s for local news media, these are indeed the leaders of today.
However, as a program officer overseeing these fantastic efforts, you must have a structured plan going into any site visit. It is not enough to simply show up expecting to be told everything you want to know about the project. There are many aspects to each service-learning project, especially if you are administrating a grant for it, which you must be prepared to inquire about when you arrive on site.
I personally have found the following steps to be vital in insuring a successful site visit to any of my twenty-plus sites around the state of North Carolina this year:
• Develop (or personalize an already existing) rubric for site visit.
• Inform your sub-grantee of your intention to visit and what you will be asking on your visit (time frame is up to you). It is a good idea to share your rubric with your sub-grantee, because should not be a state secret!
• Review all documents to date about site before your visit.
• Arrive with a flexible schedule and nothing else that could take your attention away from your visit. It is vital that students, teachers, and staff who have put a year or semester work of time have your complete attention, so that you can completely grasp their efforts.
• Take copious notes. Trust me it is a lifesaver when you get to the final step.
• Save a detailed record of strengths, weakness, discussion items, who you met, and timeline of progress when you are finished with the visit.
This is my model and it may be different for your state office’s site visit procedure due to the programs you are running. It is more important for you to have a structure that is going to play to your strengths as a program officer in conducting site visits, than it is to replicate mine!
Remember, site visits are one of the few times you actually get to enjoy these great projects, interact with the students, and have heart-to-heart discussions with your project leaders. This is the best part of the job. Don’t let it feel like another day at the office!

Submitted By: Nick DiColandrea, North Carolina