Jonas Jeswald, Head of Middle School & Kate Cassidy, Middle School Director of Student Life, Germantown Academy
Our experiences at the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute have fueled much of the work we have done with our colleagues in the Middle School at Germantown Academy, where we have been working to engage students by helping them to become leaders. Our experiences at the gcLi helped us craft a This We Believe statement of sorts: we believe that everyone has the capacity for leadership and that it can be taught. In order to build a culture of leadership among our students, we have to be intentional and we have to dedicate time to the work.
LeadLab
After observing that students stepping into leadership positions received extensive leadership training while those not in leadership roles received none, we worked with our colleagues to create and implement several leadership initiatives. One is the development of a leadership course, taken by all seventh graders, called Lead Lab. Taught by seven Middle School faculty members who each teach one section, Lead Lab meets once every seven days for the entire seventh grade year. Founded upon GA’s seven fundamental leadership skills, the course begins with lessons, activities, and discussions about leadership and then gives students the chance to put the skills into action through a community action project.
Lead Lab class is more about process than product and was described by one seventh grader in this way: “It was cool to have a course that makes you talk to people in order to figure things out.” During the community action project, students begin a process that helps them identify how they are wired. From this knowledge, students are challenged to combine their strengths with their interests in order to make an impact in the community.
For example, in one project, students combined creativity and an interest in helping people who are sick to implement a “Cards for Cancer” campaign. In this campaign, the students designed templates for cards, distributed them around the school for other students to decorate, and sent packages of cards containing well wishes to the pediatric ward of a local hospital. Another group combined a love of working with young people and an interest in supporting people with Autism to run workshops for fourth graders in our Lower School. During the presentation to the Lower School students, they defined Autism and shared specific ways that you can support someone with Autism in your life.
Student-Led Conferences
Another way that we have provided opportunities for leadership skill development for all of our students is through the implementation of the student-led conference. By putting students in charge of running their own parent conference, we have incorporated student voice where there previously was none and positioned students as the leaders of their own learning and experiences at school. Additionally, as part of the preparation process, students build a portfolio and practice several of our identified leadership skills, such as communicating, setting goals, and overcoming adversity. After experiencing the student-led conference for the first time, one parent took the time to send us this note:
“I just want to let you know how we enjoyed the student-led conference. The involvement of the student in the discussion was a brilliant idea, why didn’t we do this before? The amount and depth of self-evaluation and goal-setting is amazing. I believe that this will provide them accountability and keep them engaged. Overall, we were totally appreciative of the whole thing. Thank you for an excellent conference.”
Empowering Our Girls
Recognizing that, traditionally, middle school girls face unique challenges associated with leadership, we have instituted a year-long discussion-based program for our eighth grade girls. In these discussions, we provide space for them to explore how socialization affects a girl’s willingness to take charge and be assertive as well as provide tools aimed at developing self-confidence and resilience. In these lunch sessions, we discuss what it feels like to be a girl in Middle School and ways in which girls tend to be socialized away from being assertive.
We hold monthly sessions with eighth grade girls discussing the ways in which they observe issues around gender affecting their world. The themes cover a broad spectrum; some with a narrow focus such as how girls tend to feel in co-ed PE classes and some with a wider lens, such as the gender wage gap, Title IX, and how women are represented in the media. Last month, we ran a workshop for our eighth grade girls aimed at developing bravery and allowing space for girls to lean in to their fears. They practiced being confident, which is a key component of our school’s Mission Statement. As one 8th grade girls commented, “It helps for us to have the chance to acknowledge some of our obstacles. And, when it’s just girls together, it feels more focused and less judgemental, so we talk more freely.”
Crucible Moments
We will never forget Dr. Deak’s lesson on crucible moments–the idea that any moment of every day has the potential to shape each child’s future forever–and we will always be grateful for the opportunity to spend a week joining and building connections with people committed to the work of teaching leadership. We feel the impact of our time at the gcLi in our Middle School every day.
Jonas Jeswald is in his fourth year as the Head of Middle School at Germantown Academy, a PreK-12th grade school located just outside Philadelphia in Fort Washington, PA. A member of the 2012 gcLi Leadership Lab cohort, in addition to being Head of Middle School, Jonas also teaches Spanish and a section of Lead Lab, GA’s seventh grade leadership course.
Kate Cassidy is in her twelfth year at Germantown Academy. She is the MS Director of Student Life, teaches sixth and seventh grade Science, and coaches boys’ and girls’ tennis. Kate attended gcLi in the summer of 2015 and has been instrumental in the development of much of the leadership work at GA, including Lead Lab, the Eighth Grade Girls’ Lunch series, and the implementation of student-led conferences.