Montgomery Plan refers to an active student committee as well as to the guidelines for recognition on a student's transcript. Community service is entirely voluntary at our school, and done on a student's own time; there is no requirement. Established in 1974, Montgomery Plan was conceived and designed by Gaylord C. Montgomery, a beloved math teacher who wanted to motivate Burroughs students to become active volunteers in the the St. Louis area. His plan has clearly worked: In recent years, more than half of the senior class has met the Montgomery Plan guidelines to graduate with community service recognized on their high school transcripts, and the Montgomery Plan Committee is one of the most active clubs on campus.

The distinguishing characteristics of the John Burroughs community service program are: it is a voluntary program; all of the community service activities, whether by individual students or in school-sponsored groups, take place outside of the school day, on weekends, or in the summers; and to be recognized on the student's transcript, the community service must be performed in the greater St. Louis area.

In addition, the total voluntary hours of community service for a graduating class has ranged from 8,000 to 11,000 hours - all contributed to the greater St. Louis area and completed outside of school. Most of the voluntary community service is arranged by the individual student and done in the summers or over school breaks. This results in a wide variety of charitable, educational, environmental and cultural institutions where Burroughs students have volunteered, ranging from the Muscular Dystrophy summer camp to the Science Center.

The Montgomery Plan Committee is a student group that learns about and sponsors community service opportunities for young people. Students in any grade may participate. Monthly meetings are generally held on Special Meeting Tuesdays at 8 am in the Science Auditorium. The officers of the Montgomery Plan Committee are chosen by the faculty sponsors based on experience, leadership, and commitment to community service. At the monthly meetings students discuss, evaluate and plan community service activities, collection drives, etc., and learn about local charitable organizations that use teenage volunteers. Attendance at the Montgomery Plan Committee meetings ranges from 20 to 50 students.

The Montgomery Plan Committee usually sponsors at least one group service experience each month; each activity is led by experienced members of the committee and participation is open to all grades. These community service activities include "chaperoning" dances for the developmentally disabled (SLARC), helping at the ‘Senior Prom’ (for senior citizens), being buddies and helpers at the Special Olympics, selling papers on Old Newsboys Day, tending urban gardens for Gateway Greening, weatherstripping the homes of the elderly poor, etc. Every year about 25% of the student body voluntarily participates in at least one of these weekend adventures, and many students participate in several. Each activity introduces our students to persons quite different from themselves and to an organization where a teenager can be a volunteer.

Two collection drives are usually sponsored by the committee each year: the Holiday Food Drive, to collect for a local food pantry, and the Danna Drive, which is held in January and focuses on the needs of a particular charitable agency chosen by the student committee.

An annual field trip is also connected to the Danna Drive. Club members visit agencies which welcome teenage volunteers, such as Youth Emergency Service, St. Louis Crisis Nursery, and Food Outreach (AIDS). In 2002, for example, students visited the International Institute of St. Louis and delivered the books they had collected. (See calendar for details). More recently, over sixty students and faculty spent an entire day redecorating two rooms at Gateway Homeless Services, the 2009 Danna Drive agency.

Because our community service program is voluntary, participation by a student will depend on his own initiative and his interests, as well as the time he has available. Our students are very active and may only have several weeks available in the summer for community service. The faculty sponsor serves as a resource for ideas and information about many agencies in the St. Louis area, including places one might volunteer only on weekends or evenings, or just for one or two weeks during school breaks.

The Montgomery Plan committee does not place students in volunteer positions, but provides information about where teenage volunteers are needed. Students in any grade are welcome to participate in the community service activities.