L3: LIVING LEADERSHIP in the Lower School BY DONNA LINDNER AND MARIANDL HUFFORD
W
e have always believed that every girl who comes to us possesses leadership skills. But now we, a group of Lower School teachers, are working intentionally to draw out, acknowledge and celebrate the leader in every one of our girls. This effort stems from a year-long Participatory Action Research (PAR) project that we completed under the direction of Dr. Darlyne Bailey, Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College. The result of our PAR work is called “L3: Living Leadership in the Lower School,” and this year marks our inaugural year. What makes it uniquely different from any other leadership development program is that it is firmly
rooted in Agnes Irwin values and culture, and that it considers, always, what it means to be a girl who is also a leader. The process of this work consisted of several components. For months, we identified and defined the values, attributes and skills of a leader by reading current literature, observing our own Lower School environment and talking to our own students. Through collaboration, we have created a “Leadership Toolkit,” a literal toolbox that holds representation of concepts such as responsibility, flexibility, communication and independentmindedness. In order to serve girls’ developmental needs, each concept is partnered with an object that best exemplifies each trait. For example, flexibility is represented by a slinky, and
:: Pictured (l-r) are PAR faculty and administrator participants Candy Neely, Montserrat Nomdedeu, Mariandl Hufford, Carole Melvin, Suzie McInnes, Michele Kane, Melanie Slezak and Donna Lindner.
12
The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Fall 2013
independent-minded is personified by a picture of our school’s founder, Agnes Irwin. Each concept also has an accompanying sentence that defines the concept in the simplest terms. Upon entering the Lower School, a bulletin board celebrates the leadership behaviors that teachers have noticed in their girls, thus reinforcing the concept that leadership lies within all of us. Teachers are able to use the toolbox in their classrooms in a way that best fits within their daily routines. Monthly, one of the traits is discussed in the Lower School Friday assembly. The following month is dedicated to recognition on the bulletin board of that and other traits “in action” by way of notes describing observed
:: Lower School bulletin board note showing a leadership trait in action.