7 minute read
Learning to LEAD
LEAD LEAD Learning to
new program that brings together eighth and ninth grade students from Horizons and NCCS is far surpassing the expecta
tions of the educators who helped bring it to life less than two years ago.
Why has it been so successful? According to Horizons at NCCS Executive Director Nancy von Euler and the team that helped get it launched, the answer is simple: When the adults step back, the students will take the lead. The result is an organic,
(Above) NCCS and Horizons students in Grades 8 and 9 start their meeting with an ice-breaker activity.
authentic collaboration. “It is truly student-centric,” said Mrs. von Euler. “It is truly student-centric.The students “The students helped design it from the ground up, and when they meet, they run the show.” helped design it from the ground up, and when It started from an observation Nehemie Moise, Family and Program Director for Horizons, made during they meet, they run the show.” —Nancy von Euler, Horizons a training session that paired older students with at NCCS Executive Director younger buddies. Ms. Moise noticed that the dynamic among the eighth and ninth grade students was very different when no younger students were around. religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, hometowns and
“It was more genuine, more connected. There was synergy schools, on Saturdays throughout the school year. and energy we hadn’t seen before,” she said. She saw that the From the beginning, educators overseeing the program knew students were eager for leadership training and excited about their goal was to build capacity within the students to lead their shared purpose. “The students were having conversations through personal development, the creation of authentic and about what leadership looks like.” trusting relationships, and a shared exploration of issues facing
That was the seed that grew into the LEAD (Leadership, their communities. Exploration, Action, and Development) Program, which now brings “In the past we have struggled to find ways to authentically together a group of 20 students in Grades 8 and 9, an equal mix bring two communities together. This felt like an important from NCCS and Horizons, representing a variety of racial, ethnic, step forward. That both communities benefited and one is
blew me away.” —Nancy von Euler
1
not servicing the other,” said Mrs. von Euler. “Each person is a valued member of the team with a common cause.”
Organizers, who also included Marshall Johnson ’04, an NCCS Upper School teacher, and Tremaine Gilmore, a Horizons academic coach, were intentional about creating the right environment in which the students would flourish.
“We wanted to have a space where every participant felt they belonged, were represented and could feel safe speaking their mind,” said Ms. Moise. “When we facilitated conversations, we made sure that every voice was included,” added Mr. Johnson. “In that way, we succeeded in creating an equitable and inclusive environment.”
Beyond that, the shape and structure of the program would be designed by the students.
Currently in its second year, the program has followed a deliberate sequence — conceived by the first pilot group of nine participating students — which began with a session on identifying one’s leadership style. They took a self-assessment that would identify their leadership style as north, south, east, west, and then buffalo, bear, eagle and deer.
“They put themselves in the quadrants and then discussed what surprised them, what resonated, and reflected on what they would need from others in a group. I was so impressed by how incredibly thoughtful and reflective they were. It blew me away,” said Mrs. von Euler. “They really internalized it.”
Ben Balsley, an eighth grader at NCCS, fell into the “buffalo” leadership category.
“I’m the type of person who tries to take control and lead the group, and when I don’t get my way, then I back off too much,” 2
said Ben. “I’ve been learning to combat that and make it so that I take more of the group’s ideas into account, listening and factoring them in.”
Megan Mitchell, an NCCS ninth grader, was not surprised to find out she was more of the “deer” leadership style.
“I don’t really think of myself as a leader. If there is a group of people, I’d rather listen to what everyone else wants to do,” said Megan. Ironically, during the third session, when it was time for one person to lead, her peers chose her. By the end of the second year, Megan said she had a noticeable increase in confidence. She was not nearly as nervous to give her ninth grade “This I Believe” speech as she thought she would be.
“I have learned that I can really do anything that I set my mind to. Now I feel like my voice is heard more. I know that my opinion counts, that everyone’s voice counts, because we are all equally important,” she said.
Understanding their own personal leadership styles was a good foundation for the work that came in the following sessions, when they collectively decided which causes they wanted to support.
In one session, the students shared with one another causes they cared about, and through a collaborative process narrowed their focus to five, then four: poverty, animal welfare, women’s rights and climate change. Everyone was asked to choose an area where they felt most aligned and then worked in groups of five to research the issue — in under 45 minutes — and develop a “Shark Tank”-like pitch to persuade the others to ultimately choose their cause. Jason Beltran, a ninth grader attending Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, came into LEAD with a commitment to address hunger and poverty and argued for that issue. “I just see a lot of people on the streets who don’t have food and are always asking for food and people who don’t have homes, and it’s just a need I want to see fixed,” he said.
The result was a tie between animal welfare and poverty and they voted to keep both. Next, speakers from local organizations working on these issues, Person-to-Person and
—Megan Mitchell
3 PAWS, did presentations about their organizations and how the students might be able to help. They also shared their personal leadership philosophies and gave the students advice about leadership.
Finally, the students devised plans to engage with both organizations through service projects they would design themselves. The group has begun to plan for what LEAD will look like next year, and the adult facilitators are hopeful that it will continue to grow and evolve.
“One of the things I hope will be a piece of development in the next phase of LEAD is that the students begin to look at the issues they care about not just through the lens of service. When I think about some of the most untenable issues we have in our country and in our world, part of what prevents us from making progress on them is the lack of civil dialogue and the lack of relationships between the people who experience injustice and those who wittingly or unwittingly perpetuate the injustice. One way forward is to develop leaders who understand how important it is to develop relationships, dialogue and understanding among diverse people,” said Mrs. von Euler.
Ms. Moise agreed. “We asked ourselves: In our bubble here, what can we do that will trickle outward? If we can work with 20 future leaders — who could not come from more different backgrounds — this could be the foundation for something bigger.”
Nancy von Euler and Nehemie Moise presented on the topic of “bridging communities” at the Horizons National Conference in February. See Faculty News, page 55.
1.
2. This year’s LEAD cohort at a rewarding volunteer day they planned at Person-to-Person LEAD participants Jaeon Anglin, Jamie Staniar and Ryland Strine work together to develop a proposal to present to the group. Megan Mitchell presents her team service proposal to the full LEAD group.
