Hand dryers in local middle school bathrooms would be better for the environment than paper towels. Additional electives would keep students from getting bored in class. New textbooks and laptops would be nice, too. Local seventh graders shared ideas Wednesday to strengthen their school communities as part of an annual youth leadership program at Elon University.
Dozens of students from six local middle schools made up the ninth class 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 Alamance Middle School, Burlington Day School, Turrentine Middle School, Graham Middle School and Hawfields Middle School took part in the 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.
“It’s a community partnership that makes this happen,” said Rex Waters, associate dean of students and the Elon administrator overseeing the leadership academy. “Elon is glad it can be a partner in supporting Alamance community education.”
The presentations in Room 212 of McCoy Commons attracted dozens of supporters, including Barbara Massey, vice president of workforce and leadership development with the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce.
“This has been the most dedicated group of students,” Massey told a ceremony audience of parents, teachers and administrators from the six schools. “I’ve had a great time being here watching them interact and watching them grow.”
Southern Alamance Middle School principal Heather Ward also lauded the Alamance Youth Leadership Academy.
“I love this program because it delves into teaching adolescents how to work together and how to focus on ‘the big picture,’” she said, “and it gives an opportunity for diverse students to work together. It’s a fantastic program, a class act all the way, and the students get so much out of it.”