Are You a Leader?
Leadership Academy Celebrates Ten Years Lou Angelo, USCHS Principal Are you a leader? I love asking that question and watching as people grapple with an answer. The question seems to invoke a degree of uncertainty in some, while others undoubtedly snapback, “Yes!” Why is that? Why do some see themselves as leaders, while others do not? I think the answer is simple, really. Some believe they have to serve in a position of leadership in order to be a leader, and this is where the breakdown occurs for adults and students. The Upper St. Clair Leadership Academy (leadership academy) warmly welcomes all students. We believe all students are leaders because at the very least, they lead their own lives (Fertman & Van Linden, 1999), so it is important to teach our students how to lead well and positively influence others. The leadership academies are one-week summer workshops offering students grades 4–12 exposure to leadership concepts and practices. Students identify their leadership strengths and learn how these skills can be used to make them successful in all stages of life. Through experiential learning strategies, group projects, and hands-on activities, students experience the application of leadership skills, building confidence in their abilities and enhancing their capacity to serve in leadership roles. Students leave the academy with a personalized leadership plan to assist with future development of their leadership skills. The leadership academy began in 2010 with 20 students grades 9–12. The workshop was co-facilitated by Doug Kirchner, USCHS social studies curriculum leader, and me. I distinctly remember the last day of the leadership academy feeling uncertain about how well the week went. It wasn’t until we began reading the student evaluations that we realized maybe it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it went better than expected. Since that time, the leadership academy has grown significantly. Over the next three years, the leadership academy expanded to provide leadership training to students in grades 4–12. Additionally, the high school programming continued to expand to four phases of leadership training, culminating in an international experience. Phase IV Leadership Academy Belize (LAB) was launched in 2013 thanks, in large part, to the monetary contributions of Jim and Becky Berquist. The Berquists,
who have business interests in Plancencia, Belize, were looking for an opportunity to give back to a community that had given them so much. After considering several options, the Berquists decided education was the greatest gift they could give to the community of Placencia. According to Becky, “The disparity in education that was provided to the students at St. John’s Anglican versus the education provided to the students at Upper St. Clair was significant and discouraging. Due to my connections at Upper St. Clair, I felt that USCSD could provide input and services to help the students in Placencia.” The Berquist’s generosity has paid big dividends to all involved with LAB since 2013. The students, teachers, and principal from Belize were positively impacted. Stephen Whyte, principal of St. John’s Anglican school notes, “The leadership Phase I students test their courage and students from Upper St. Clair have been such a risk-taking at a ropes course blessing to our children. They are a positive influence on the children, and their leadership skills are very important. We look forward to the camp every year and are very pleased with what they teach our students.” The positive experiences for all involved has led to an ongoing relationship with continued success. “The result has been a six-year collaborative program that has enabled the St. John’s students and staff to observe and enrich their educational experience at the school. We have seen remarkable increases in leadership application, resulting in increased graduation rates, enrollment in higher level education, and overall improvement in grades and attitude,” said Becky. LAB was the culminating learning experience for leadership academy students. Phase IV students were charged with creating a leadership academy from scratch by using the knowledge gained over the past three phases of training. The difficulty for students was amplified because they were creating an academy for students in grades 4–8 who attended a private school in Placencia. Creating the academy was one challenge, but executing the academy was an experience unlike any other. Phase IV operates from the theme “Leave your legacy,” but the motto is “Figure it out.” Time and time again, the students were placed at the center of all decision making and expected to lead the effort. Ownership over the success or failure of LAB belonged ultimately to the Phase IV students. Today the leadership academy is serving more than 400 Upper St. Clair students annually in grades 4–12, and Phase IV has expanded to offer a local and regional experience as well as the international experience. The local experience enlists students to co-facilitate with the teachers during Phases I and II. To prepare, students and teachers take a retreat for team building and lesson planning. The teachers work hard to empower the students to take active roles as facilitators. Ultimately, the Phase IV students become well prepared to facilitate the Phase I and II experiences and operate as leaders in the classroom. The regional experience invites students to work at Camp Soles. Similar to LAB, Phase IV students create and facilitate leadership experiences with Camp Soles attendees. Phase IV students are also provided the opportunity to co-facilitate with Camp Soles leaders during the week. Through the Phase IV design, students create a positive impact on the local, regional, and international levels. Cont. on page 56
Summer 2019
Phase IV leaders reflect on their leadership academy experience.
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
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