A school in Iowa has come up with an ingenious way to encourage kids to help their communities by awarding them PE credits for doing yard work for the elderly and disabled.

This initiative was put in place by the Alternative Learning Center, which is a school for high school juniors and seniors who are at risk of dropping out of school. The main rule of the program is that the students need to do yard work for people who are unable to do it themselves. They do things like pull up weeds, cut grass, and clean gutters while also getting to meet new people who they otherwise would not come in contact with.

“The students aren’t typically too excited at the beginning but once they get involved and start doing the yard work they become more motivated,” said Tim Hitzler, a teacher at the school. “What they really like is A: helping people. They really like giving back to people and meeting the person. You know, in education, a lot of times, there’s so many different gimmicks and curriculum packages you can buy and things like that. And something like this all you need is a few garden tools. You know, I mean, it just makes sense. It’s so simple. And it works.”

Bring on those #FridayFeelings ?✨Here’s a story about an Iowa school changing the standard when it comes to students’ physical education credits by offering credits for students who do yard work for people who can’t do it themselves. Thoughts?
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Nick Colsn is a 17 year-old who has enjoyed taking part in the program.

“I’m more of like go-to-school-go-to-work-home-repeat kind of guy,” he said. “So to me, I probably would not have met any of these people.”

This is such a great way to inspire kids to help their communities! Find out more about this initiative in the video below.