• Students Participate in Sixth Annual Summer Leadership Academies

    The Student Leadership Academies were held the week of July 26-31 with nearly 400 students participating.

    The High School Leadership Academy celebrated the conclusion of its sixth academy. Once again, Phases 1, 2, and 3 took place at the high school while Phase 4 became a three-tiered experience with students participating in a local, regional, or international opportunity. A total of 187 students in grades 9 – recent graduate participated in one of the four phases. Each phase builds upon the last, each with it’s own tagline:
    Phase 1: Who You Are is How You Lead
    Phase 2: What’s Your Tagline?
    Phase 3: Make it Happen
    Phase 4: Leave Your Legacy
    The USCHS Leadership Academy continues to grow; with higher student and facilitator numbers, and a multi-tiered culminating phase, the positive, meaningful global impact is immense. Each teacher facilitator ends the week feeling energized and excited about the work that is done and education in general. The positive energy of the students is contagious and fuels the attendees, leaders, and the academy itself. We look forward to many more years of USCHS Leadership Academy and can’t wait to see where it takes us!

    The Fort Couch Leadership Academy was an exciting week of 60 seventh and eighth grade students and a team of teacher facilitators. The theme for the week was “What is Success?” To begin the week, the students were placed in groups and created group identities. Throughout the week, they worked in their groups to focus on ten core values and other supporting values. Students completed group activities including the human knot, bridging the gap, and the clapping competition along with group discussions of the meaning behind personal success. One particularly important activity was a service project involving students preparing 300 bagged lunches for an outreach organization. The students finished the week with an individual road map to success to focus them on their goals. Overall, it was a wonderful experience for all involved.

    The Boyce Leadership Academy had approximately 80 participants this year entering either 5th or 6th grades. Throughout the week-long academy, students were introduced to all ten core qualities of leadership described in the Total Leaders 2.0 book by Charles Schwahn. At the end of the week, students were able to identify individual leadership strengths and weaknesses based on the core qualities. Fifth grade students were able to answer the question, “What is your sentence?” by developing a statement that captured who they are as a person. They also worked together to develop miniature golf courses that were evaluated by peers. Sixth grade students developed “I Believe” podcasts and assisted in packing student supply kits at the Educational Partnership. All students were given a variety of opportunities to define, apply, and reflect on the core qualities and ended the Academy by sharing with their families the variety of experiences/activities from the week.
     
    “Who you are is how you lead!” The motto for the Elementary Leadership Academy was put into full swing, as over fifty rising fourth graders were introduced to five key attributes of personal leadership. Beginning with “Commitment” and then followed by “Teamwork,” “Integrity,” “Courage,” and “Reflection,” students participated in games and challenges designed to give meaning to these qualities. Highlights included student-produced videos, which will be used at each of the elementary schools in conjunction with the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Another highlight was a field trip to The Climbing Wall to focus on the attribute of “Courage.” In fourth grade the participants will have a chance to put each attribute into action throughout the school year.