Ohio’s Community Service seal

Under Ohio's graduation requirements, students show readiness partly by earning diploma seals. Some seals are defined by the state; others are defined by each school district. A Community Service seal is one of the seals a district can offer, and when it does, the district sets the rules: how many hours, over what period, what counts and how the hours must be documented.

Who decides the details

Because the seal is defined locally, the number of hours and the paperwork differ from one district to the next, and they can change. Your school counselor and your district's graduation requirements page are the sources to trust. Ask them early, ideally in freshman or sophomore year, so you are not scrambling for hours as a senior.

Questions to ask your counselor

• How many hours does our district require for the Community Service seal, and by when?
• Do the hours have to be spread over several years, or can they come from one year?
• What kinds of service count, and does any service not count?
• Who has to confirm the hours, and in what form?
• Can hours for NHS, Key Club or another club count toward the seal too?

Keeping track of the hours

The documentation question is where students most often get stuck: hours done months ago, a supervisor who has moved on, a paper log that went missing. Getting each hour confirmed when it happens avoids all of that.

On Volanee, a school counselor can set up a requirement such as the Community Service seal, choose which hours count and who must confirm them, and see each student's progress. Students see what they are working toward on their own My Hours page, including which entries do not count yet and why.