Service Learning - Private School New Jersey

Pingry believes that we have a responsibility to work toward a common and greater good. But we know that this work cannot be done alone. Through deep community relationships, we are able to amplify our positive impact on our greater community.

At Pingry, it is in our mission to place highest value on honor and respect for others. Our Honor Code empowers us to act as responsible members of our community and to think critically, work collaboratively, make ethical decisions, and confront complex and real world problems. Service learning at Pingry encourages working across lines of difference and tapping into our innate empathy and humility. Our students are encouraged to find the intersection between their own individual skill sets and areas of need in surrounding communities: this is the sweet spot where students make meaningful connections and realize reciprocal benefits with those they partner with.

Student Community Engagement Page

PSPA Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Community engagement at The Pingry School is not just a commitment; it's our shared strength. Partnering with all stakeholders in our community to work towards the common good is an essential part of having a lasting impact and making a positive change."

-Bianca Cabrera
Director of Community Engagement and Social Impact

Programming

Student Programming

Hartz Day
- Named after Shelley Hartz, who started the tradition of having all Pingry students dedicate at least one school day to being of service to the greater community. This day serves as Pingry’s kick off for our year of community engagement and impact initiatives. Students K–12 engage in a day of learning about different ways that they are able to partner with local organizations to make a positive impact on our greater community.
Intergenerational Prom
- A longstanding annual tradition where we invite senior citizens from Somerset county and surrounding communities for a night of live music from our Upper School Jazz Ensemble and acapella groups, as well as dinner and dancing.
Peer2Peer
- Peer2Peer is a student-led club with the goal of fostering leadership, mentorship, and community engagement skills through meaningful partnerships with the Link School, KIPP Seek, and Pingry's own middle and lower school divisions. Throughout the year, members of Peer2Peer will be leading monthly initiatives that support community partners such as Homeless Solutions and Newark Science and Sustainability. With the support of Mr. Shangold and Ms. Sees, the club plans to continue expanding and deepening our community partnerships to ensure that we develop a diverse cohort of leaders who are empathetic, community-minded, and equipped with the skills necessary to make a positive impact in the world.
Student Union partnerships
- The Community Engagement and Impact Department works alongside our various student unions to support them in creating a more inclusive Pingry school community. The student unions also partner with local organizations that can further educate and support Pingry in becoming a more inclusive and equitable community for all students.
Affinity Group partnerships
- We support our affinity groups in creating partnerships with organizations and community groups that allow students the opportunity to celebrate and learn more about their culture.
Student Government and Student Council partnerships
- Our Upper and Middle School Student Government, and Lower School Student Council, lead several community impact projects throughout the year, especially our annual MLK Service Day and our Thanks-for-giving food drive. These student leaders also lead other community impact projects throughout the year.

Academic and Arts Programming

Crime and Punishment
- After reading the text Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson, our students have learned a lot about the criminal justice system when it comes to major crimes. We partner with Newark Community Solutions to help out students understand the criminal justice system in the local New Jersey context. Newark Community Solutions, part of the Center for Justice Innovation, is seeking to re-engineer the justice system of Newark and Essex County so that community members who have committed low-level offenses are able to receive the comprehensive services that they need to improve their quality of life.
Community Performances
- Our Drama department works tirelessly to produce impressive musicals and plays that they perform for the Pingry community each season. They also perform these works for our community partners that serve students with disabilities such as ECLC, The Rock-Brook School, and Montgomery Academy. After performing for our community partners, our students then break bread together and engage in other fun activities together.
Empty Bowls
- The Empty Bowls program is a worldwide movement to combat food scarcity. With the support of 3D Art Teacher Mr. Seth Goodwin, our students create ceramic bowls in our studio in preparation for our Empty Bowls event. On this night, we invite community members to purchase a handmade bowl to then have a simple meal of soup, bread, and water. All of the proceeds are then donated to a local organization fighting food scarcity.
Intergenerational Prom
- This annual event invites close to 200 senior citizens from the surrounding area for a night of dancing, dinner, and fun. Our jazz ensemble and acapella groups perform for our attendees and other students from grades 6–12 support by providing food service, serving as a dance partner, or taking part in polite conversation. It is a night to remember for all who participate.
Independent Senior Projects
- Seniors in their last month of school have the opportunity to complete a month-long project. If students choose to work with the community engagement and impact department, they have the opportunity to work alongside and support our non-profit partners. The deliverable at the end of the experience is typically something that would be useful for and benefit the non-profit in a way that outlasts the student’s time there.

Community Programming

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
- Annually on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we at Pingry do not see this as a day off, but a day to be of service to our greater community. The Pingry School Parents Association (PSPA) partners with the Community Engagement and Social Impact Department to bring the entire Pingry community together to support local organizations through small acts of service.
Pingry Car Show
- The Pingry community hosts a car show where we showcase many different types of cars, and individuals can then contribute funds to support the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.

Curriculum

Lower School

Students focus on understanding their own identities and communities before expanding to recognize what the needs of our global community are. Grades K–2 focus on learning about themselves, our Pingry community, and how they can be strong and supportive members of their Pingry community. In our upper grades we begin to explore problems that our greater local and global community face and partner with organizations to help our students develop more context about these issues. In Grades 4 and 5, our students explore how to become the change-makers that our community needs. Lastly, there is a culminating capstone project in the fifth grade focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals where students learn about these goals and what they look like in the global and local context, and how they can take action to support those goals.

Middle School

In the Middle School, students are focused on becoming kind and compassionate community members and leaders that support our local community. In the 6th grade, we focus on creating a caring, inclusive, and welcoming community among the members of the class. While 6th graders do not have a community impact requirement, they have the opportunity to take part in our school-wide community impact programs such as Hartz Day and our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. In Form I, students first have their community impact requirement of 10 hours and they are able to focus on supporting the Pingry or local community. All Form I students are also expected to support the Pingry farm and composter at some point during the school year. In Form II, students have more opportunities to demonstrate their leadership by working with different community populations that they might not otherwise interact with.

Upper School

In the Upper School, we are pushing our students to think about how they can be the impactful change-makers that our world needs. For this reason, we limit the amount of Pingry-related community impact work that they can complete, and instead encourage students to think about the impact they can have on the greater community outside of Pingry. We also have grade-wide community impact projects that are part of the student experience to help students learn about different ways they can support their greater community. In Grade 9, all students will support our sustainability efforts at our campus farm, and by volunteering to support our composter. In Grade 10, all students will visit The Community Food Bank of New Jersey at some point during the school year. These community impact projects ensure that all of our students have the opportunity to make a positive impact in our community not only individually, but as a collective. In Grades 11 and 12, students are urged to take more leadership on our annual community impact projects, as well as think about innovative ways that they can support important community issues. Upperclassmen are encouraged to explore their passions, talents, and interests so they can craft their own narrative regarding what they want their legacy of impact to look like both while at Pingry and beyond.

Community Partnerships

In This Section...

Community Engagement and Impact