Get Going Workshops

by Joanne Levy-Prewitt

Public Service Academy May Be Concept Whose Time Has Come

Some columns elicit more e-mail than others, and a recent column about mandatory national service for high school graduates prompted a flood of mail. I heard from parents and non-parents alike who resented the notion of mandating anything -- work, public service, military service, even high school. One reader thought that mandatory public service was reminiscent of the paramilitary Hitler Youth. I believe the suggestion of non-military public service, even if mandatory, in a democratic society is a far cry from Hitler's conscription.

However, I also heard from readers who embraced public service after high school -- mandatory or otherwise. And with that in mind, I want to tell you about another program that might appeal to those who don't like the concept of mandatory service of any kind; this program is only for those who choose it.

The U.S. Public Service Academy (USPSA), as conceived by two former Teach for America veterans, proposes an undergraduate institution that will educate and develop civilian leaders, and like the U.S. military academies, it will be tuition-free, in exchange for five years of civilian service after graduation.

Chris Myers Asch and Shawn Raymond taught in the Mississippi Delta in the mid-1990s and later formed a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth called the Sunflower County Freedom Project. After Hurricane Katrina, they decided to address the shortage of young Americans who might become public servants and civilian leaders, and they felt the best way to educate these future leaders was at a tuition-free public service academy.

The USPSA is only a concept, but has been supported and endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats. The U.S. Public Service Academy Act of 2006 was introduced in the 109th Congress last September, and will be reintroduced to the 110th Congress this month. The lead co-sponsors are Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Jim Moran, D-Va.

Chris Asch says that the USPSA will be modeled on the military academies and will be highly selective and rigorous because ultimately, graduates will be "responsible to the American people and the Constitution. We think kids want that. We have this idea to cater to kids constantly, but when you do that, they want more. That's a hollow approach to living. A USPSA applicant will be someone who is academically successful, and who demonstrates abilities and evidence of a larger sense of self. It will be someone with a deep, abiding interest in service and community."

Asch believes that the United States has a looming crisis in public service leadership and that this is a long-term solution. "This will help recruit and retain our top students," he says. USPSA graduates will spend five years post-grad working for such agencies as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Teach for America, the Peace Corps or others, and students will be paid for their work. "It will be like having a guaranteed job for five years."

Asch admits that there will be opponents. He believes that some college administrators fear the possibility of losing top students or federal funding, and there are others who are concerned about adding programs to an already strained federal budget. However, Asch says that this is the best time for such an academy and would like supporters to contact their elected representatives to express support. "We need petitions, letters to Congress and presentations at local clubs and schools to make this happen."

President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address in 1961, "... ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The USPSA is a tuition-free academy that will provide eager young Americans an education to enable them to serve their country in a non-military way. It might be a concept whose time has come.

If you'd like to learn more about the proposal for a non-mandatory public service academy or would like to learn how to contact your representative or senator to express your opinion, visit www.uspublicserviceacademy.org.

COPYRIGHT 2007 JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT