The Silver Cord Award is a distinguished award available to Dallas Center-Grimes students who earn at least 160 total hours of community service/volunteering by April 1 of the graduating year.
Students may begin the Silver Cord Program on the first day of school in their 9th grade year. These hours are subject to change at any time. We will do our best to communicate any updates. Hours can be completed at any time during a student’s time at DCG High School. Recipients will receive a silver cord to wear on their robes at graduation in recognition of their achievement.
Important Details Regarding the Silver Cord Award Documentation
We are using the platform called PathwayOS. Click here to begin the process. This system will eliminate the need for any paperwork. Students will be completing all forms online. Students will also be required to email the supervisors to approve all service hours provided. These hours will be approved by the DCG High School Counselors.
Silver Cord Instructions
- Click here.
- Click “Log in with Google” and select your DCG account to log in.
- If it is your first time logging in to Schoolinks you will need to complete a quick activity to start. The activity only has to be completed the first time you log in.
- Select “Engage” on the left column
- Select “Experience Tracking”
- Select “Silver Cord”
- Click the blue “add entry” box on the right to add a service log.
- You have to add the following information
- Organization name
- You will need to click the blue “Add [organization]” button below to add it.
- Supervisor Email
- You will need to click the blue “Add [Sponsor email]” button below to add it.
- Date
- If you volunteered over multiple days at the same event select “range of dates” and enter a start and end date.
- Time Spent
- What did you do during this experience?
- Organization name
- Click “Save”
The supervisor will now receive an email and will either approve the hours or reject it if there is any incorrect information given.
Summer Service
Service hours earned during the summer, may be applied to either the student’s prior year or the student’s upcoming year. However, the summer before the student’s 9th grade year cannot be used.
Acceptable School Service Activities:
Students may earn Silver Cord Hours related to school events as long as:
- A student or organization the student belongs to does not receive financial or other compensation.
- No varsity letter, school credit, or grade is given.
- The service hours are not expected as part of a membership to a group or club. For example, volunteer hours required for National Honor Society members will not count towards Silver Cord Hours.
Acceptable Community Service Activities
Silver Cord hours must be for providing a service or meeting a clear need for a non-profit agency, church, school, park, charity program, fundraiser or community event. The service should be “above and beyond” one’s usual scope of involvement.
Non-Acceptable Service Activities include but are not limited to:
- Sports teams managing/training
- Most DCG music program events
- Fundraising events
- Service to satisfy a class
- Services required by any agency, program or organization, for pay or compensation of any kind
- Others at the discretion of the DCG High School Counselors.
Silver Cord Supervisors are not allowed to be immediate family members and services provided can’t benefit the student’s family. If there is a question with supervisor approval, please reach out to your student’s counselor before the work begins.
The DCG High School Counselors make the final determination regarding service hours acceptance.
For any further assistance, please contact the high school counselors. Email Mr. Gross: nathan.gross@dcgschools.com.