Teens set for intensive leadership training
Later this month, students in school districts throughout the region will begin an annual leadership training program.
This year's goal is simple: help student leaders to gain input on the school administration decisions governing their lives.
Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, a regional school resource serving Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties, hosts an annual program known as Extreme Leadership for Students.
The program is a crash course in leadership lessons. Two students from most of the unit's school districts gather five times per school year for a day's worth of training and networking.
Each year, participants must complete a group project known as a “leadership in action project.” Last year's projects centered around spreading word of unique school programs, such as a special club or charity drive.
David Zupsic, former superintendent of the South Butler County School District and the program's coordinator, said this year's projects are based on informal surveys of participants conducted last year.
They learned, he said, that traditional avenues for students to provide input on school activities and changes aren't seen as such by the students actually involved in them. Student councils, he said, were seen more as teams to organize homecoming events, rather than student representative bodies.
“We're going to focus on building avenues for students to provide their viewpoints and ideas to school administrators,” Zupsic said.
The first session is Oct. 22. Students throughout the region will gather in Grove City.
At Knoch High School, the pair of participating students are hoping for a hands-on experience. Caroline Tanner, 17, of Saxonburg said she enjoyed the program last year, but wanted more challenges out of the project. Her group produced a video featuring the school's coffee shop operated by special education students in the Life Skills class.
Caroline said one of the best parts of the program last year occurred when she and other students worked outside its boundaries: She met students from the Butler Area School District, and together they organized a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, raising about $6,000.
“Last year, we didn't get to engage quite like that,” Caroline said. “Hopefully, this year will be a little more hands-on.”
Typically, a junior and a senior participate in Extreme Leadership. The senior is involved in picking the junior, and then the cycle repeats the following year.
Caroline helped select Jacob Mock, 17, of Penn Township. After hearing the concept for this year's projects, he said he could see the need. He said the recent roll-out of metal detectors in his high school could have benefitted from student involvement.
“I feel like sometimes a school rushes to implement something without getting much student input on it,” Jacob said.
He said he was excited to develop his leadership skills further. He's in the process of becoming an Eagle Scout. For his project, he installed a flagpole in Harcrest Park in Penn Township.
Zupsic wasn't able to immediately provide the full list of participating school districts, as it's still changing, but said about 20 of the 27 school districts in Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV are signed up, including several Butler County districts.
