Some want to encourage more recycling. Others hope to start after-school clubs. Better cafeteria food. Fundraising for school supplies. Perhaps “Friday relaxation.” Local seventh graders shared ideas Wednesday to strengthen their school communities as part of an annual youth leadership program at Elon University.
Sixty students from six local middle schools made up the largest class yet of the Alamance Youth Leadership Academy hosted by Elon with the support of community agencies and businesses. The program broadens students’ understanding of leadership skills like team building and problem solving, while exploring character traits of a good leader.
Clover Garden Middle School, Southern Middle School, Burlington Day School, Turrentine Middle School, Graham Middle School and Hawfields Middle School took part in the four-day program that ended with the Wednesday morning presentations.
As a capstone, students from each school developed three proposals for what they want to improve in their school communities. During their next two years in middle school, the students will work with faculty and school leaders to implement change.
“They came in (to the program) very enthusiastic but timid, and they’re leaving on a mission,” said Rex Waters, associate dean of students and the Elon administrator overseeing the leadership academy.
“They feel empowered. They’re excited and ready to take this challenge,” he said. “They’re willing to volunteer their time and work hard to make a difference.”
The presentations in Room 212 of McCoy commons attracted dozens of supporters, including David Cooper, the new dean of the School of Education at Elon.
Addressing the audience, Lee Isley, a Burlington insurance agent who chairs the Alamance Youth Leadership Academy Advisory Board, thanked parents for making sacrifices to ensure their children were able to attend the program. He also shared his gratitude with school administrators and community businesses that have contributed to the program’s success.
“We want to see them grow, to see them expand,” Isley said of the seventh graders. “And we want to see change occur in our schools via our students.”
