Honing Youth Leadership Within School and Community Presented by the The Northwest School Division Leadership Academy
Who are We? The Northwest School Division s Leadership Academy is a session driven program for grades 10-12, whose aim is to help inspire young leaders and to intentionally impact leadership development within the division. The academy spans over hundreds of kilometers and encompasses 11 different schools.
Course Logistics Our course implements 21 st Century Learning techniques. The Leadership Academy requires students to be self starters The course is majorly school and community project based. Modules are posted on our online classroom, where students can access all assignments and complete projects at their desired pace, while meeting all due dates. Students meet 4 times a year to participate in session based learning at a central location, where sharing and collaboration occurs.
Rural vs. Urban Leadership
Large Groups Larger pools of values, talent, experiences, emotions beliefs Low participation amongst members Key members often overtake many of the discussion problems and allow little opportunity for others The longer this occurs, the more of a habit domination becomes Shy members fail to contribute, which may result in failure of understanding and interest
Positives Negatives Power in numbers Larger groups have less value when every member is required to accomplish a task. Naturally people want to put work on the leading member, and as a result the distribution of work is transferred greatly on a small number of people Larger groups are also difficult to control and time consuming as well as easily develop an autocratic type of leadership from compulsion
Small Groups Close relationships within the group and between the group itself Full participation is much easier to achieve Leadership is often shared or rotated Subgroups may develop, which can create both a positive and negative impact Emergence of one obvious leader who then takes on the boss role in future discussions Many theorists believe the maximum number of member benefit is 10-15 people
Positives Negatives Smaller groups allow individual attention to members. This is beneficial when a member may be struggling or refusing to help Smaller group s place the leaders action in close scrutiny of team members, forcing them to work better Smaller groups have a smaller variety of values, experiences, and beliefs as many members have been raised in the same type of culture as one another
What do Rural Schools offer? Rural schools allow an interpersonal connection Rural may provide a comfort to others that larger groups may not Easier collaboration from person to person as they will know each other s values and feel it is easier to build on topics Development of ideas can be more personally created for organizations, gatherings (Ex, Golden Age Supper, Brainstorming (Dance), Garage Sale, etc.)
What do Rural Schools offer? Closer connections with other in authority (Ex, Leadership students with principals, general students with teachers and staff, students with town leaders (SCC)) Rural and remote communities can and will offer a lot more than society believes Not only schools, but other businesses and organizations throughout the community can connect and form leaders Leaders are the life-blood of small towns and rural communities
Rural Leadership Rural schools offer a great amount of personality and uniqueness which create a wonderful place to grow in The skills we learn from rural schools will allow us to achieve many great feats in our lives Having a community which becomes your family creates a strong sense of belonging and home as we grow and accomplish our dreams
Advocacy For Rural Education
Benefits of Rural Education One on one Student teacher relationships Student involvement Staff and student dedication Centre spoke of the community Further invested interest in the betterment of the town and a well supported school
How to Make our Voice Heard: Getting Support from our School Show our commitment to the staff
How to Make our Voice Heard: Getting Support from our School Show our commitment to the staff A positive atmosphere shows the staff their hard work is impactful and appreciated
How to Make our Voice Heard: Getting Support from our Community Maintaining and strengthening mutual relationship by ensuring all the support of the Community is appreciated and acknowledged.
Maidstone Annual Golden Age Supper
How to Make our Voice Heard: Teaming up with Neighboring Schools Looking past small town rivalries we are able to team up and create larger more successful events such as a tradition our district is just beginning, the regional dance.
Northwest Leadership Academy Great outlet to collaborate with other towns, allowing us to compare innovation within each of our own buildings and brainstorm new ideas. Plays a heavy role in building the bonds between our schools and communities. Annual School and Community projects have long lasting effects.
School and Community Projects What s Happening in Maidstone Town wide garage sale Annual food drive Replying to Santa Clause Letters
MEGA VOLLEY Thirty six consecutive year annual volleyball tournament attended by forty eight teams from around our province Mega Volley 1992 Mega Volley 2015
MEGA VOLLEY Magnifies school spirit and forces lots of co-operation Mentors kids to ref and score keep Alumni students return each year
MEGA VOLLEY Immense appreciation from our local businesses Surround community events around the tournament such as the fall street fair
Annual Pink Game One NWSD Leadership Academy delegate organized an annual Pink Game to fundraise money for breast cancer.
Angie Boggust Prior to graduating in 2014 Angie was a very involved student. After graduation she was accepted into MIT where she now in her 4th year working towards her computer science engineering degree. During her first year Angie was a power on the volleyball team. This past summer she was an intern at Microsoft in Seattle. She has an upcoming internship at Google in California.
Angie Boggust How did attending Maidstone benefit you and what impact growing u in a rural community/school helped you achieve success? I think the best thing about going to school in Maidstone is that your education system is also your support system. Your teachers and classmates all know you on a personal basis so they are there to support you in all aspects of your life.
Astrid Nyame Astrid excelled as an athlete and leader within our building prior to graduation in 2015. In her last five years as athlete on the U of S track team she has had many reoccurring successes including claiming a gold medal in 60m hurdles at nationals last year. Throughout her endeavors Astrid has always stayed loyal to her roots that continue to cheer her on.
Collaborative Leadership
Leadership Academy
What is Collaborative Leadership?
My Student Representative Counsel (SRC)
My Community
What to Take Away
THANK YOU! Thank you for choosing to watch our presentation! We appreciate your time and attention. Comments and Questions?