An introduction to the team, the community, the work

This four-day orientation in a rural setting takes place before AmeriCorps members begin working at their sites. Use it for ideas for activities, icebreakers, and ways to help members get to know their new home.

This resource was adapted from material contributed by Notre Dame AmeriCorps (Apopka, FL), one of the sites of the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers National Direct Program. Program volunteers tutor and mentor youth in the public schools, staff after-school enrichment programs and youth groups, teach English as a Second Language and other youth and adult courses, and work with survivors of domestic violence.

Experience has shown that a well-prepared orientation covers these elements (most of which are addressed in this site):

• Orientation agendas
• Overview of CNCS programs
• AmeriCorps or VISTA program goals
• Your organization's mission/goals
• Ice breakers, warm-ups and team building
• Member benefits
• Allowable member activities (vs. prohibited ones)
• Assurances from CNCS
• Placement site orientation
• Progressive disciplinary procedures
• Performance measures
• Evaluation

Go on to Orientation Agendas

Using an orientation checklist is an ideal way to ensure that topics are covered in a timely manner, and that there is a paper trail showing the training members received.

The two checklists below may be downloaded and customized for your program. Use them in two ways:

• Facilitators can mark topics as they are addressed at orientation, ensuring that all are covered
• Staff can give members a copy of the checklist; during orientation, members initial each topic as it is discussed, and the completed checklist is placed in individual member's files, to document compliance with CNCS guidelines

Resources

• Member Orientation Checklist
• Member Training Checklist

Go back to Elements of an Orientation

Below are several sample agendas that various AmeriCorps programs have used successfully. Click on the link to access and learn more about each resource.

• Week-at-a-Glance Orientation Schedule
• Two Week Orientation Agenda
• Five-Day Orientation Schedule
• Three-Day Orientation Schedule
• Three-day "Daily" Orientation Schedule
• Four-day Orientation Schedule
• Sample AmeriCorps 3-Week Agenda for Health Educator
• Planning Agenda for 3-day AmeriCorps Orientation
• 3-Day Promise Fellows Orientation Agenda

Also, consider giving members an overview of the training they'll receive during their year of service. It will help them see how orientation fits into broader development opportunities. In addition, it provides reassurance that important topics will be covered after their orientation.

Go on to Orientation Checklist

A 2-page checklist of critical documents to include in a member's file

This member file checklist was created by RARE (Resource Assistance to Rural Environments, Eugene, OR), whose mission is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of 20 fulltime trained graduate-level participants who live and work in communities.

Use or adapt this resource to track documents required for a member's file.

A four-page checklist of required member orientation topics

This member orientation checklist was created by the Washington Service Corps (WSC, Olympia, WA). WSC AmeriCorps members perform service that has direct and demonstrable impact in the areas of education, the environment, human services, homeland security, and public safety.

Before using, read the form to ensure that all elements are applicable to your program and to insert your program's name at the top of the first page.

Use this resource to:

• ensure that all required topics are covered during orientation.
• provide to members, who initial each topic as it is discussed and the completed checklist is then placed in the individual member files, to document compliance with CNS guidelines.

An orientation schedule used by staff as a final reference

This schedule was developed by Kitsap Community Resources in Bremerton, Washington, an AmeriCorps program dedicated to helping low-income residents by providing resources that promote self-sufficiency.

This schedule ensures all times and dates are covered with speakers and events, and that speaker contact information is readily available in the event of changes or emergencies. Adapt this resource to:

• Use as a final check in planning and preparing for orientation.
• Provide an overview of orientation activities to members (note: delete facilitators' contact information first!).

A four-day agenda for VISTA members

This agenda outlines the topics and activities covered during the Pre-Service Orientation (PSO) provided to all VISTA members. VISTAs spend the first two days in small groups getting oriented to their role and VISTA. On the last day of the event, participants choose one of three focused skill-building sessions that best fits with their VISTA service activities.

Use this resource to:

• develop a complementary onsite orientation event

This resource was created by the Education Northwest/Bank Street College training team. Education Northwest/BSC has been a Training and Technical Assistance provider for AmeriCorps*VISTA since 1998. They design and deliver the Pre-Service Orientation (PSO) and the Supervisor Orientation (SO), as well as other events.

A detailed agenda, preceded by a one-page overview

This detailed agenda was created by the Washington Reading Corps (WRC, Olympia, WA), an AmeriCorps program focused on improving reading abilities of K-6 students. The narrative approach to this agenda can also be used to supplement the information provided on a shorter, calendar-style agenda given to members.

This document, complete with unresolved or in-process issues, can be used by staff in planning the orientation. The resource makes reference to program-specific information, including fingerprinting. For more information on this topic, check out the Checking References and Conducting Background Checks resource.

Adapt this resource to develop your own 10-day agenda.

A five-day Orientation Agenda, with each page covering one day's activities

This five-day orientation schedule, developed by Partnerships for Student Achievement (PSA, Forest Grove, Oregon), is designed so that each page can be given to members on the morning of that Orientation day. The first page can be mailed to members ahead of time, to remind them to bring required personal documentation.

Topics are useful for education programs dealing with tutor recruitment training. The resource makes reference to program specific-information, including fingerprinting. For more information on this topic, check out the Checking References and Conducting Background Checks resource.

Adapt this resource to design your own five-day orientation event.

A three-day orientation agenda used by an environmental program

This three-day orientation schedule is intended for staff use, and was created by EarthCorps, an AmeriCorps program that provides one-year intensive programs for young adults (18-25) to learn best practices in conservation techniques through local environmental restoration service and develop skills in leading volunteers. EarthCorps' activities are left intact to provide context and ideas for structuring an orientation.

Adapt this resource to:

• develop your own three-day orientation.
• see how one environmental program structures its orientation.

A three-day orientation schedule formatted as daily agendas

This three-day "daily" orientation schedule was created by RARE (Resource Assistance to Rural Environments, Eugene, OR), whose mission is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of 20 full time trained graduate-level participants who live and work in communities.

Topics are from RARE's 2005 member orientation, and were left to provide an idea of the flow of "heavy" versus "light" activities, and the time devoted to them.

Adapt this resource to:

• create your own three-day orientation event
• provide an agenda to members at orientation. If it is mailed to members prior to orientation, include a list of documentation they should bring with them
• compare the flow of activities with your current orientation schedule

A two-page description of member development an AmeriCorps member experiences during his/her period of service

This resource was created by the Oregon State Service Corps (OSSC), a statewide AmeriCorps program that provides nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations, government agencies and schools with the opportunity to sponsor an AmeriCorps member. AmeriCorps members address significant issues in the areas of education, homeland security, public safety and human needs through direct service and volunteer mobilization.

Remember, each AmeriCorps program creates specific objectives related to training and member development. Please read it carefully to eliminate and/or edit language or ideas not appropriate to your program, and to add training and member development activities specific to your program.

Use this resource to:

• identify the types of training appropriate for your program.
• compare your reporting requirements with an established program's reporting requirements.
• develop a similar handout for your members.

Discover the best practices of an experienced member development coordinator

Neil Schulman of Northwest Service Academy (NWSA, Portland, Oregon) shared some of his in-the-trenches knowledge about planning a training (both orientation and skill specific) and working with outside experts to deliver training to AmeriCorps members and staff.

Neil is the Training and Member Development Coordinator for NWSA's Lower Columbia Center, with 120 members serving in Oregon, predominately in the Portland metropolitan area. Members work for sponsors at various sites in individual placements or on teams on projects to preserve and restore the natural environment.

In this interview, Neil Schulman describes how he approaches:

• Planning an Orientation Training
• Planning a Skills Training
• Hiring an Outside Expert for a Training Session
• Handling Critical Member Development Trainings
• Conducting Post-Training Evaluations