From kindergarten on, students learn that their actions matter and their voices carry weight.
Service learning helps students develop empathy, purpose, and a lifelong understanding that they can be helpers, advocates, and change-makers.
By applying what they learn in hands-on ways, students come to see themselves not just as learners but as contributors: people who know how to engage, collaborate, and care.
Service is woven across the curriculum and grounded in the belief that students learn best by doing. Through the year, classes take on projects that support organizations across Santa Monica and Los Angeles. These projects introduce students to local needs, encourage problem-solving, and build a sense of agency.
Partners our students have worked alongside over the years.
Service here is a shared effort between students, families, and the school.
Led by parent volunteers, it partners with local organizations and coordinates school-wide drives, donation efforts, and hands-on opportunities for families. Their work keeps the connection between PS1 and the wider Santa Monica community thoughtful and responsive.
Brings student voice into the work, so the projects the school takes on are chosen and shaped by the children who carry them out.