Believing that schools and communities must work together to engage young people in service and responsible civic involvement, the Close Up Foundation is working with two school districts--one in Texas and one in Virginia--to implement the Scholastic Excellence Through Service (SETS) program in their secondary schools. SETS is a school-based intergenerational service learning program that joins students with community volunteers to solve community problems. The program supports the existing citizenship curriculum of each district--helping teachers meet the academic objectives set for their students. SETS involves schools in solving community problems and communities in school improvement.

The program emphasizes community ownership of schools, teacher ownership of curriculum development, and student ownership of classroom activities and their own learning. SETS emphasizes local decision making to demonstrate the connection between power and responsibility for all participants. SETS treats participants as community stakeholders, demonstrating that the welfare of the community is everyone's concern. The outcome is communities that support the education of their youth, students who meet academic standards and develop the habits of effective citizenship through service, and adult volunteers who strengthen the partnership between schools and communities.