Spending long afternoons volunteering is a regular occurrence for many high schoolers as they scramble to complete enough community service hours by graduation. To ensure documentation of these hours, students are now required to use Transeo, a new system for submissions.
In previous years, logging community service hours simply meant getting documentation from the organization and writing a short reflection, which would then have a counselor add the hours to a student’s record.
Now, the process has been completely digitalized as students enter their hours directly into an online log. This change is currently being implemented at all high schools.
“Naples High School did not decide to use Transeo,” counselor Ella Fravel said. “Transeo was a district decision, and all high schools are to use this program to record community service hours.”
Before students sign up for volunteering, however, it is important to note that activities need to meet certain requirements to be approved. This includes not being paid for the work provided and hours must be earned at a non-profit organization.
“There is no guarantee hours will be approved,” Fravel said. “They must meet the criteria set up by the state.”
How to Transeo
- After setting up an account, write a proposal of the planned service activity. Projects may only be done if they get pre-approved by a counselor.
- When volunteering is completed, submit a log citing what activity was completed, the dates and number of hours. This log is sent to the supervisor of the project.
*Volunteer hours will not be recorded on transcripts if students fail to tag the proposal and hours, which is especially important for the Bright Futures Scholarship.*
3. After the supervisor approves the log, a counselor finalizes the hours.
Full instructions on how to use Transeo have been posted on Canvas and may be viewed here.
Student Opinions
With change, some degree of hesitation is common, and students have already voiced their concerns about Transeo. Many believe it is challenging at first, causing difficulties in effectively documenting community service.
“At first it was difficult because I wasn’t given clear instructions on how to input my hours and how to get them approved beforehand,” Fay Ghorayeb, senior and volunteer at Harry Chapin Food Bank, said.
The extra step of asking for verifications has also proved to be especially bothersome.
“Creating a proposal and making sure everyone verifies it is a bit challenging,” Cole Perkins, sophomore and volunteer at NHS Sports Medicine Club, said.
The main complaint is the amount of time it takes for hours to be approved. Despite some initial setbacks, however, most students believe it is relatively easy after a while.
“Personally, I do like Transeo because it makes the process much easier, but the only downside is that it takes a long time for my hours to be approved,” Ghorayeb said.
Although students have said there are some flaws with the system, they say it is beneficial to have community service records available online.
“I found it a bit confusing at first but you eventually get the hang of it,” Perkins said. “Overall, I like the new system but there could be some improvements to make it better. I like how there is no paper involved, you can see how many service hours you have and it directly transfers to Focus.”
If students do have trouble logging their hours, they can contact the counseling department for further assistance.
“Counselors are available to help,” Fravel said. “It really isn’t that hard if a student takes the time to read through and follow the directions.”
