Nurturing Leadership in the Lower School

As Grade 5 students gathered in early October to congratulate the newly elected Lower School Student Council, President-elect Poppy Sisko ’31 and fellow council members received hugs from peers and gave consolation handshakes to the runners-up as everyone reflected on the campaign.

“When the results were announced, we were so impressed with how the students handled it,” said Hannah Scala, Grade 5 teacher and Project-Based Learning Coordinator. “The students conducted themselves with such respect. It really reflected their level of maturity.”

Grades 4 and 5, the leaders in the Lower School, are responsible for filling roles on the Student Council. The council features two Grade 4 representatives, one for each homeroom. Grade 5 students fill the additional positions of president, vice president, outreach ambassador, and secretary.

Students campaign for these positions, hanging posters throughout the Lower School and delivering speeches. Students from Kindergarten through Grade 5 are eligible to vote.

When Poppy delivered her speech, she was calm and confident.

“A leader, to me, is someone who listens to and respects everyone,” she said. “I demonstrated my leadership skills when I gave a speech at the Ringing of the Bells ceremony.

When I see people sitting alone or feeling left out, I make sure to include them.”

Her delivery was flawless, reflecting practice. But Poppy solidified her advantage by channeling her passion for musicals. She finished with a flourish by singing her campaign slogan, “Poppy for the People.”

The moment students step into King’s Lower School, they begin to develop confidence and leadership skills. From door holders and teachers’ helpers to Student Council members and assembly speakers, these roles are designed to support the incremental growth in responsibility, self-advocacy, and citizenship necessary to prepare students for the next stages of their lives.

“Each week, children are assigned a job,” PreK teacher Jennifer Agro said. “These include line leader, caboose, meeting helper, snack helper, and a few others. Having a job helps to teach responsibility and accountability, but also fosters confidence and developing a sense of self and purpose.”

Communication is also a central component of the leadership lessons. Children initiating play are encouraged to use language like “What’s your plan?” and “Tell me about your work.” When they want peers to change course, they are taught to make suggestions like “I have a different idea.”

“Successfully negotiating conflict is hard work but is essential for young learners,” Agro said. “When children can do this on their own, it helps to build strong problem-solving skills and trust while building meaningful relationships with their teachers and peers.”

Students take on more responsibilities as they ascend through the Lower School. In Grades 2 and 3, students are assigned the role of helper for the day.

—Jennifer Agro, PreK

“They are responsible for choosing a greeting for the morning meeting,” Grade 2 teacher Emily Decker said, adding that the meeting leaders lead phonics lessons, pick up cafeteria snacks and help serve them, pass out papers, and deliver messages to the office throughout the day.

These helper-for-the-day roles continue through Grade 3. “Students take this role very seriously; they love doing it,” Grade 3 teacher Samantha Clark said. “The selected child will help me all day, whether it’s delivering something to another classroom, leading a spelling dictation, or being the buddy for a visiting child from another school.”

By the time students reach Grades 4 and 5, they have a strong foundation in leadership, communication, and collaboration, and are ready to step into the stewardship role that comes naturally with being the oldest students in the Lower School. In 2023, the Advocacy Cafe was added to the Grade 5 curriculum. This program challenges students to select a topic of personal interest and work for weeks researching, sourcing, and developing speeches that they present to an audience at the cafe. Students step up to a lectern in front of parents, teachers, and peers and address topics such as climate change, cyberbullying, and gender equality.

“Some students have a hard time overcoming the fear of public speaking,” Scala said. “Creating a safe place for them to take such a risk helps them succeed, even if they make mistakes.”

They also realize their abilities to effect change through persuasive communication.

“The cafe presents the perfect time, place, and way to mess up, be nervous, and get extra support,” Scala said. “We tackle those real emotions of stage fright in the moment to show students that they really can do it.”

And slowly but surely, confidence grows.

“I feel like I might actually be able to make a change,” Panos Kouligkas ’30 said as he stepped away from the lectern, where he had made a case for a second four-square court in the lower school playground. Though the conversation continues, Panos started the dialogue, a central component in cultivating leadership at King.