August/September 2014 Hands-On Leadership Important Dates Sept 26: Student Executive Council Applications DUE Sept 29—Oct. 3 : MS Fall Regional Workshops Oct. 10: Advisor Workshop (FREE), Century HS Nov. 2-3: HS Fall Conference in Seaside OASC Summer Camp by the #’s . . . In case you didn’t make it to one of our camps this summer, here’s a quick break down of what you missed out on during the weeks of fun . . . 2 Weeks 4 Camps 337 High School Students 43 Middle School Students 25+ Activity Advisors/Leadership Teachers 87 Schools Represented 7 States Represented 3 Countries Represented 63 Staff members/Alumni 7 Tech Crew 4 Bicycles 13 Times "thank you" was said to Valsetz staff member per person per week Hundreds of new friendships made Millions of laughs and tears A lot more than Sara - The amount of mail that Custodian Ron and The Drone received! Continued on page 2 In this issue . . . MS Camp is Back!, pg 2 Building Inclusivity, pg 3 SEC President, pg 3 Board Chair Notes, pp 4-5 Working with Admin, pg 5 Advisor Institute, pg 6 SEC News, pp 7-9 Updated Calendar, pg 10 Save the Dates!, pg 11 Meet the Speaker, pg 12 Community Service, pg 13 Advisor Tips, “Pump Up the Volume on Student Leadership,” pp 14-15 Lesson Plan: “6 Word Memoirs for Teens and Leaders,” pp 16 Julie Kasper Board Chair Century HS, Hillsboro Kelsey Bowers Tualatin HS, Tualatin Leigh Church Hazelbrook MS, Tualatin Sarah Cole Hillsboro High School Jeremy Crowin Brown MS, Hillsboro Morgan Hubbard Connections Academy Cathy Kay Armand Larive MS, Hermiston Hillary Kirk Redmond PA HS, Redmond Noland Peebles Thurston HS, Springfield Heather Ransom South MS, Grants Pass OASC Board Members OASC Executive Director: Sara Nilles “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” ~John Seaman Garns Jake Halbakken President Oregon City HS, Oregon City Victoria Blanger At-Large Representative Gresham HS, Gresham Ana Parvankin At-Large Representative Sam Barlow HS, Gresham Mica Annis Metro Representative Glencoe HS, Hillsboro Lizzi Cox Eastern Representative Echo Sr HS, Echo Nathan Geissel Southern Representative Grants Pass HS, Grants Pass Ally Gibbons Central Representative The Dalles Wahtonka HS, The Dalles Amanda Kelley Mid-West Representative South Albany HS, Albany Joe Stuart Northwest Representative McMinnville HS, McMinnville Zeke Medley Mid-Level Representative South MS, Grants Pass Corina Romero Mid-Level Representative Brown MS, Hillsboro Student Executive Council Sara Nilles OASC Executive Director OREGON ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT COUNCILS 707 13th Street SE, Suite 100 Salem, Oregon 97301 503-480-7206
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August/September 2014
Hands-On Leadership
Important Dates Sept 26: Student Executive Council Applications DUE
Sept 29—Oct. 3: MS Fall Regional Workshops
Oct. 10: Advisor Workshop (FREE), Century HS
Nov. 2-3: HS Fall Conference in Seaside
OASC Summer Camp
by the #’s . . .
In case you didn’t make it to one of
our camps this summer, here’s a
quick break down of what you
missed out on during the weeks
of fun . . .
2 Weeks
4 Camps
337 High School Students
43 Middle School Students
25+ Activity Advisors/Leadership Teachers
87 Schools Represented
7 States Represented
3 Countries Represented
63 Staff members/Alumni
7 Tech
Crew
4 Bicycles
13 Times
"thank you"
was said to
Valsetz staff
member
per person per week
Hundreds of new friendships made
Millions of laughs and tears
A lot more than Sara - The amount of mail that
Custodian Ron and The Drone received!
Continued on page 2
In this issue . . .
MS Camp is Back!, pg 2
Building Inclusivity, pg 3
SEC President, pg 3
Board Chair Notes, pp 4-5
Working with Admin, pg 5
Advisor Institute, pg 6
SEC News, pp 7-9
Updated Calendar, pg 10
Save the Dates!, pg 11
Meet the Speaker, pg 12
Community Service, pg 13
Advisor Tips, “Pump Up
the Volume on Student
Leadership,” pp 14-15
Lesson Plan: “6 Word
Memoirs for Teens and
Leaders,” pp 16
Julie Kasper
Board Chair
Century HS, Hillsboro
Kelsey Bowers
Tualatin HS, Tualatin
Leigh Church
Hazelbrook MS, Tualatin
Sarah Cole
Hillsboro High School
Jeremy Crowin
Brown MS, Hillsboro
Morgan Hubbard
Connections Academy
Cathy Kay
Armand Larive MS, Hermiston
Hillary Kirk
Redmond PA HS, Redmond
Noland Peebles
Thurston HS, Springfield
Heather Ransom
South MS, Grants Pass
OASC Board Members OASC Executive Director: Sara Nilles
“Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”
~John Seaman Garns
Jake Halbakken
President
Oregon City HS, Oregon City
Victoria Blanger
At-Large Representative
Gresham HS, Gresham
Ana Parvankin
At-Large Representative
Sam Barlow HS, Gresham
Mica Annis
Metro Representative
Glencoe HS, Hillsboro
Lizzi Cox
Eastern Representative
Echo Sr HS, Echo
Nathan Geissel
Southern Representative
Grants Pass HS, Grants Pass
Ally Gibbons
Central Representative
The Dalles Wahtonka HS, The Dalles
Amanda Kelley
Mid-West Representative
South Albany HS, Albany
Joe Stuart
Northwest Representative
McMinnville HS, McMinnville
Zeke Medley
Mid-Level Representative
South MS, Grants Pass
Corina Romero
Mid-Level Representative
Brown MS, Hillsboro
Student Executive Council
Sara Nilles
OASC Executive Director
O R E G O N A S S O C I A T I O N O F S T U D E N T C O U N C I L S 707 13th Street SE, Suite 100
Salem, Oregon 97301
503-480-7206
OASC Hands-On Leadership
August/September 2014
Page 2
Continued from page 1, “OASC Summer Camp by the #’s,” by Sara Nilles
A huge THANK YOU to all the staff, campers, parents, and sponsors who
supported our camps this summer—can’t wait to see you next year!
Middle School Camp is Back! After 8 long years, OASC middle school camp returned with a blast!
An amazing 43 campers and 18 staff members rocked an energy-packed,
enthusiastic four days filled with leadership activities, lessons, and fun! Over
20 middle schools from throughout the state attended the camp, with every region being
represented.
From Council Junior Olympics to Boundary Breaking to the “Game Time Dance,”
every activity was met with excitement and eagerness. We identified leadership styles,
created vision statements and “6-Word Memoirs” (see lesson plan on page 16 of this
newsletter edition), discussed current leadership topics during “Ask an Expert,” and
learned how to fill our own and each other’s “buckets.” We “shook” it, “shuffled” it, and
“followed the leader.” We listened to and talked with Dr. Monte Selby, a Grammy award-winning musi-
cian and motivational speaker. We connected with each other, laughed and cried together, and made
life-long friends.
OASC Middle School Camp—Building leaders for tomorrow while making memories that will last a life time.
Hello, OASC! I hope your summer has been filled with times of adventure,
laughter, and leadership; I know mine has! This June, fifteen student leaders and
I, along with three advisers, took a trip to Orlando, Florida to attend the National
Association of Student Councils (NASC) conference. For the first two days of
the trip, we toured a few Disney World parks. My personal favorite was Holly-
wood Studios! The rest of the week was spent at Ocoee High School at the
conference. As a group we represented Oregon and bounced around ideas with dele-
gates throughout the nation! We ended the week with some boundary breaking after a day at Universal
Studios. All in all, the trip was a ton of fun and definitely worth it! If you are interested in attending na-
tionals next year, the conference will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico! We will have more infor-
mation about NASC at Fall Conference!
Speaking of Fall Conference, I am pleased to announce our theme this year: Passport To Leader-
ship! We are focusing on embracing and celebrating diversity in our world! Keep the dates saved in
your calendar - November 2nd and 3rd. Fall Conference is where we hold elections for our Student
Executive Council positions! If you are a student interested in applying to join the SEC, or if you are an
adviser who knows someone with great potential, please check out the SEC application on our website
OASC.org.
Aside from Fall Conference, the Fall Season is coming up quick, and that means school is starting
soon. I recently heard of an idea to boost Senior spirit at your high school. During registration, block
off a certain amount of parking spots in your lot and sell them to Seniors to have their own parking spots
for the whole year! This is something we will be trying at Oregon City High School for the first time and
we are really excited for it! We talked to our administration and a few other key people and we
will be getting started in just a few weeks! This is just one idea to kick off the school year and
get the Seniors excited! Have a great rest of your summer OASC!
Jake Halbakken
2013-14 President
Oregon City HS, Oregon City
Bri Vega has been involved in leadership for five years and will be ASB President
for Hilhi. She is determined to raise the level of inclusiveness at her school with her
leadership class. Vega realizes the lack of spirit and participation from her student
body over the years has increased. Their goal for the year is to make their events
more diverse for the student body that has a wide range of preferences.
Every school is different and the majority of schools are filled with a bunch
of different people. Tailoring your events to help fit to more than just the majority
of your student body's wants and needs can increase participation for school events. "...In order to
include everyone in an event, the event needs to include the various kinds of fun," said Vega. If you
have ever created an event you know you can't please everyone, but Vega believes you can try.
Try keeping in mind all the various clubs and groups at school and their preferences when
creating the event because when you start publicizing the event, more people will become drawn to
attend, knowing they just might enjoy it.
Victoria Blanger
At-Large Representative
Gresham HS, Gresham
“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”
~Harold S. Geneen
Focusing on Relationships
From the Desk of Your NEW OASC Board Chair . . .
As teachers go back to school feeling refreshed, comfort can be found in those
things that remain the same and excitement can be found in all that is new. In many
cases, new classroom supplies can be found along with full Kleenex boxes and dry erase
markers that are not yet dried out from use. Sometimes we are greeted back to our
schools to find freshly painted walls, newly applied and polished wax on the floors and,
most importantly, new faces. Whether the changes are large or small, there is a certain
excitement that can be only found at the beginning of every school year as we experi-
ence the end of summer weather, the leaves beginning to change and our communities gathering as
football season commences.
Thinking about the childhood song “Make New Friends But Keep the Old,” I am reminded that the
Fall is a good time for focusing on relationships. It is key for every activities director and every student
council to create and build new relationships with new staff members and to renew and recommit to those
relationships with staff who are returning. Public relations should be an ongoing effort for leadership
groups and that effort should start in our own buildings. No one’s activities program can afford negative
press, an unsupportive and (worse yet) vocal staff member or an unsupportive administration.
My school depends on additional staff members to help contribute to the success of and support
our events. And, later in the year, their “word of mouth” recommendations to our student body can be
great pieces of free marketing. In formal or informal ways, it is a good idea to welcome and connect
with the following people back after a much needed and hopefully restful summer vacation:
Administrators - New administrators often depend on activities directors to help answer key
questions about the school’s culture and traditions. All administrators should be filled in
about a student council’s (or specific student council member’s) achievements from the
previous year and summer. If you haven’t had a conversation about expectations, take the
lead on scheduling that meeting. And, if you have never had an administrator accompany
you to a state or local leadership workshop, now is the time to ask. Bringing an assistant
principal with my group to spring conference not only helped her get to know my student
leaders, but it really opened her eyes to all that my students take on throughout the year.
(Speaking of sharing council accomplishments… the fall is a good time to contact local media and
request a story to be run. It is also a good opportunity to share upcoming dates with media so that your
key events can be covered. And, if you have not applied for OASC and NASC recognition in the past,
this is the year to do so. Review the standards set forth by both OASC and NASC, set some goals and
deadlines with your councils and plan to apply in 2015.) Take the opportunity to review your student
governments page on your school’s website. Is it updated? I read somewhere that you (your council in
this case) are what you put out there. Take time to review any and all social media accounts and make
sure they are what you want them to be.
Administrative Professionals - Our office managers and support staff are really the eyes
and ears of our school. Thank them for any and all the work they put in at the school over the
summer. Not all of their work is visible or obvious and (due to budgetary cutbacks) they often
have more duties than they have time to complete. I always offer my students to complete non-
confidential projects during teacher in-service week. We benefit all year from this type of “paying
it forward”.
Custodians - Don’t forget to thank the custodians for all of their hard work throughout the
summer. Custodians can be the most visible and least appreciated adults in the building. Not to mention,
they address some of the unintentional “damage” we leaders inflict upon our building (can anyone say
Continued on page 5
Julie Kasper
OASC Board Chair
OASC Hands-On Leadership
August/September 2014
Page 4
Working with Your Administration Have you or your leadership class ever had a wonderful idea for an event, but
when you go to your administration you get denied? This is a sad reality to every lead-
ership class or student council. While no matter how hard you try, there are some ideas
that will be denied regardless, I have some methods that will help you effectively work
with your administrators and get your events and ideas approved!
Always remember that the #1 priority of the administration at your school is to
keep the students safe. If there is any possibility that students could get hurt, your ad-
ministrator will most likely deny your idea. The 2nd priority of administration is to har-
bor a safe and effective learning environment. While not every leadership event is go-
ing to be educational, you have to make sure that it isn’t going to interfere with classes, because if they
do, your chance of being denied goes up astronomically!
Once you have your event or idea planned out, use some of these tips to boost your success rate:
Put everything in writing! Type a proposal detailing your idea, what supplies will be needed
and the costs to give to your administrator.
Schedule an appointment. If you just drop in, they may not have the time to fully listen to and
consider your idea.
Make sure that you are prepared! Rehearse what you are going to tell your administrator,
and be prepared to answer any questions that they may have. Do not go in without knowing
what you are going to say!
In conclusion, don’t be discouraged if you get an event or idea rejected! Ask why they made that
decision, and take it into account for the next time you present an idea. Remember that your administra-
tion is not out to cause trouble for you, you just need to be flexible and work with them!
Nathan Geissel
Southern Representative
Grants Pass HS, Grants Pass
August/September 2014
OASC Hands-On Leadership
Page 5
Continued from page 4, “Focusing on Relationships,” by Julie Kasper
Sharpie soaked through the poster and onto the floor?). We give our custodians treats throughout the
year to let them know how much we value their service.
Teachers and staff - Have school swag? Give it away! There is no better way to make a new staff
member feel like a part of your school’s community than to have at least a t-shirt to wear on those school
spirit days. Small purchases like t-shirts will provide dividends throughout the school year. Back-to-
school time is also a good time to confirm commitments from teachers and staff members who serve as
class advisors, judges, club advisors and committee advisors. Inevitably, change will have happened
over the summer and you will need to recruit additional help. Take advantage of acquiring this new help
while everyone is rested and still feeling positive.
The students - It is important to make every student feel like a valued member of your student
body. Inspired by motivational speaker Mark Scharenbroich, my students make posters with every
student’s name on it. These adorn the walls of our school when the students return in September. If you
don’t get these done by the time school starts, Homecoming is another good time for these posters to be
hung. And, if you haven’t ordered you free spirit gear throw-out items for pep assemblies, make sure
you do so right when you get back to school.
Your leaders’ parents - Was the last time you saw parents at the officer induction last spring? If
so, host a meet-and-greet during Back to School night or invite everyone to a BBQ. Your leadership
students will spend a lot of time with you, and it is important for their parents to know who you are.
And remember, connections are key. Just letting people know that they matter can make a world
of difference with the climate and culture of your schools.
OASC Hands-On Leadership
August/September 2014
Page 6
For the 2014 OASC Advisor Institute, there was a Grammy award-wining
presenter . . . Dr. Monte Selby. He spoke about teaching youth with song, and how
music can affect the brain by sticking to patterns,
which helps to remember content and creates
meaningful learning within a classroom setting.
Throughout the entirety of the institute, he went
over many different strategies that work for all types
of students, not just student councils, but also focused
on how specific strategies can work well for students for multiple areas.
The one strategy I really liked for meetings was the “line
continuum.” This is a strategy where you have a different type of
continuum, like “agree/disagree” or scale of numbers. The options
when using this strategy is vast and it can be manipulated for multiple
areas within a council or any class for that matter.
One way this can be used is with parliamentary procedure.
Implementing this in meetings can be pretty simple. Before the first
official meeting have a few mini-lessons of which should be modeled;
what each thing should look like in meetings. One could be expectations
of meetings, what the kids expect of each other and the advisor when
meetings are conducted. Second, could be how parli pro actually looks in
a well-structured meeting setting. This should be a bit longer than the first to
highlight a ten-minute skit of what a structured meeting with expectations looked like so all students
understand.
Another way to use this strategy would be consensus building; why it’s used, how it can be used,
and again another short skit of what that would look like. Finally, one would go into the line continuum
strategy and how it’s another way to build a consensus or vote. Explaining verbally, and visually, then
have a few practice rounds with something that was related, maybe what happened in years passed,
such as whether or not to have an executive council, or anything else that would be relatable. After a
continuum has been used, there would be a time to debrief and discuss different ways it could be used
throughout the year for different topics.
The great thing about this strategy is that the evaluation part is relatively easy. The evaluation
of this would be the level of engagement by the students (who is always at the same place, who follows
others, who’s not taking it seriously etc.), and whether or not the students can effectively make
decisions about something after completing the strategy.
It was a worthwhile experience going to the advisor institute, and although this is only one
strategy, there were many more that I took away from the three days of hearing Dr. Selby present and
sharing ideas with other advisors. I would recommend this institute to any advisor, new or veteran.
From the OASC Advisor Institute . . .
Kelsey Bowers
Board Member
Tualatin HS, Tualatin
Dr. Monte Selby
August/September 2014
OASC Hands-On Leadership
Page 7
From Your Student Executive Council . . . From Ana Parvankin, Your At-Large Representative: Hello to all the great student leaders across Oregon!
I hope you all have had an absolutely fantastic summer, and hope you are gearing up already towards
planning a great year for your school!
It’s super important that your leadership class gets along with each other, and that all starts with
some bonding! Of course, you can do the simple BBQ during the summer, but what better way is
there to do bonding by giving back to your community at the same time? There are many different
events that you can sign up to volunteer as a group. The Oregon Food Bank (OFB) has 4 different loca-
tions around the state: Portland, Washington County, Southeast, and Tillamook County. Towards the end
of August, the OFB will release their online application for volunteers for this next school year which you
can find on http://www.oregonfoodbank.org. I’ve volunteered at the Portland location several times, and have
mostly helped package frozen food, such as peas. While you’re helping out, you’re with a group of people so it’s
fun to talk to them and get to know them more.
For all the seniors out there, I’ve heard other schools do this and I think it’s such a cute idea… You “start”
the school year by watching the sunrise all together on your school’s football field on the 1st day of senior year
and then you “end” it the same way you started it, except with a sunset on the last day of senior year. The sunrise
represents a new beginning to your year, and the sunset represents the ending to all your required public educa-
tion years. You could even do this with a couple of friends, or with your entire senior class. The best way to adver-
tise is definitely through word of mouth and social media over summer. If anybody would like to share an awe-
some idea that their school has done, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. I would love to
hear them and write about it! Best wishes to everyone for an amazing year!
From Mica Annis, Your Metro Representative: I write this newsletter as I try and avoid post camp depression. Recently, I was at my third year of OASC summer camp, surrounding by 200 of the most inspiring,
best leaders in the state. This past week I laughed, I cried, I danced. As Jon Bullock would say, “It
was awesome.” A problem I have always had with summer camp is learning how to bring every-
thing I learned back my school and the “real” world.
I know this is something that many fellow campers struggle with. Over and over again
people kept telling me that “no one understands what OASC summer camp is really about.” One way people can
have a dose of OASC in the real world is with awesome retreats and back to school activities. A tight knit ASB will
work better together. At Century HS, their retreat is 3 days long and filled mainly with fun activities and ice
breakers. At Wilson HS, one fall tradition they have is to go as a Student Council to a corn maze. Plan activities
together! Hang out! One reason our councils at summer camp work so well is because we emphasize bonding and
getting to know each other. As a student, I think this must happen in any leadership class in order to produce
good work and leaders.
From Nathan Geissel, Your Southern Representative: Happy summer, OASC! While most of us are out relax-ing in the summer sunshine, school is sneaking around the corner, and you know what that means for any-
one in ASB! Time to start planning your events for the beginning of the year! With school coming, many go
on Leadership Retreats. Retreats are a great opportunity to unite your leadership class together for the
upcoming school year, as well as to begin to brainstorm and plan the first events for the school year. My
school had a retreat earlier this month, where we began to plan our Freshman Orientation days, as well as
the beginning of Homecoming. Early planning is key to the first events of the school year, so make sure that you
start early! Remember, the higher your school spirit and morale starts with, the better year your school will have!
Schools in the Southern Region: I would love to hear from you! Send me an email at [email protected]. Enjoy
the last part of your summer, OASC!
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
“To know what to do is wisdom. To know how to do is skill.
To do things as it should be done is service.
Most of us are wise and skillful, but its service that prospers—service.”
~Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
From Amanda Kelley, Your Midwest Representative: It’s crazy to think that in just a few weeks school will be starting again. It is almost like we had no summer!! This summer I got the chance to attend OASC Session 1
summer camp and it was the best week of my life. If you get the chance, let your students know to start
fundraising early so they can go next year!
Schools like to do summer retreats before the school year begins. Sweet Home
High School got a beach house for a weekend! At their retreat they talked about who
would be chairing what, and how it would be funded. Their main focus was Homecoming because,
like most schools, it is their first big event they have. The overall theme for Homecoming Week at
Sweet Home is TV. They are hoping to recreate game shows, and TV shows as well. Sweet Home
holds activities like “He Man” (boys playing volleyball) and their powder puff during their
homecoming week.
Central High School has also been working hard this summer to prepare for their freshman orientation
day. This is the first day of school when it’s only the freshman class. The leadership students at Central take the
freshman on tours, and they play games with them as well. Welcoming your freshman is a very important part in
making them feel a part of the family. I hope everyone’s school year starts off great and I can’t wait to hear what
kind of amazing things you all have going on.
From Joe Stewart, Your Northwest Representative: Wow, it’s hard to believe another summer vacation has already
gone by this quickly! One of the things I did this summer was return to the always amazing OASC summer
camp at Western Oregon University. My roommate at camp this year at camp was Trahern Sundling, the
incoming student body president at Tillamook High School, one of the schools in the OASC Northwest
region. He told me about an awesome fundraiser they do at Tillamook High School called “Charity Drive,”
an annual event in which they partner with the organization Kids Making Miracles to raise money for
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Tillamook High School raises an astonishing amount of money through this fundraiser. They
usually raise $300,000 to $400,000 each year for Doernbecher! That is more money than I have ever
heard of from any school raising money for anything. How do they do this? During Charity Drive,
they have a ton of different mini-fundraisers. From stuff we’ve all heard of like concessions at sporting
events and car washes and a walkathon to great ideas I have never heard of before like Donkey
Basketball and a Boxing tournament and Jell-O wrestling! I was very impressed and will try to bring
some of these fundraisers to my own school here in McMinnville.
From Zeke Medley, Your Mid-Level Representative: For most students, summer doesn't end until about a month into the school year. For student councils and their advisors,
summer never truly begins! Many Oregon middle school councils are setting up for
this coming year by checking lockers and more to make sure the equipment is ready for
incoming students. Additionally there are loads of exciting programs being planned to
help welcome incoming 5th graders. Oregon middle school councils are geared up and
ready for this next exciting year!
And More SEC News . . .
OASC Hands-On Leadership
August/September 2014
Page 10
JANUARY, 2015 Jan. 23 : Camp Staff Applications are DUE Jan. 10: SEC Retreat at Sara’s house Jan. 11: OASC Executive Board Meeting (Portland Metro area) Before or on Jan. 29: Winter Energizer Early-Bird ($140) Registration
FEBRUARY, 2015 Feb. 9: Winter Energizer Last Day to Register! (Based on availability) Feb. 14-16: Winter Energizer at Valley Catholic HS Feb. 19: Camp Staff notifications Feb. : COSA Scholarship Applications DUE Feb. : Nominations for Advisor of the Year closed Feb. 25-27 : CADA Conference for Advisors in San Diego, CA
MARCH, 2015 Beg. of March: Camp Scholarship Applications become available March : Deposit to attend NASC due (based on availability) March : Advisor of the Year DUE March 20-28: Potential OASC Service Learning trip to the Dominican
Republic (9th-12th grade)
SEPTEMBER, 2014 Sept. 19 : Last day to register for the MS Fall Regional workshops at
the early-bird rate Sept. 22 : Last day to update #’s for the MS Fall Regional workshops
without penalty Sept. 26: SEC Applications need to be in the mail and postmarked no
later than this day! Sept.29 – Oct. 3 : OASC Middle School Regional Workshops
September 29: EASTERN REGION – Hermiston at LDS church, hosted by Sandstone M.S. September 30: METRO WEST – Broadway Rose Theatre, hosted by Hazelbrook M.S.
NOVEMBER, 2014 Nov. 1: SEC Retreat / Executive Board Meeting Nov. 2-3: OASC H.S. Fall Conference in Seaside DECEMBER, 2014 Dec. 5-7: National Conference on Student Activities – Scottsdale, AZ Mid Dec: Camp Staff Applications are posted on the website
If you would like to learn more about any of the events listed above, please visit http://oasc.org/?page_id=65
for links to more information. You can also contact Sara Nilles, OASC Program Director . . .
707 13th Street SE, Suite 100 | Salem, OR 97301-4035 | 503-480-7206 voice | 503-581-9840 fax | email: [email protected]
OASC 2014
“Successful leaders embrace the power of teamwork by tapping into the innate strengths each person brings to the table.”
Ten Ways to Pump Up the Volume on Student Leadership
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success will take care of itself.”
~Henry Ford
"I don't know how we are going to do this, but we are going to do it," I told my 25 Peer College
Leaders (PCLs) on the first day of class last August. The Peer College Leaders program was designed to
create a greater college-going culture at our high school. In the process, it has come to mean so much
more: a vehicle for student voice and leadership.
Through the course of the year, PCLs have developed the capacity to take action with a purpose, improve
their school community, and develop leadership skills. All while filling a deep school need.
Positioning students at the center of change is good practice. Students gain the space and structure to
actively shape their educational experience. Meanwhile, schools creatively leverage human resources to achieve
more. Our school found the following ten elements to be essential to building a student-centered approach to
leadership:
1) Cultivate a sense of purpose. The goal of our program is clear: to increase college information and access. When I once mentioned that our school had no college counselor, a PCL, Melony, corrected me, noting that we
now have 25 college counselors. Students feel the weight of responsibility and know that the work they do can
improve the opportunities their peers have in life.
2) Encourage investment and ownership. Students own the program. They choose to be part of the class, identify our goals and priority areas, and carry out meaningful tasks. Students are accountable for specific
projects, with rotating leadership opportunities for students. One student wrote in a survey, "Every day I feel
great coming to this class, knowing I'm here to aid my community, leaving my comfort zone and really becoming
someone different, becoming a CHANGE!"
3) Focus on a genuine need of the school community. Increasing college access and completion is a high priority for our inner-city school, but our staff resources are stretched thin. Many of our students will be the first
in their families to go to college, and need help navigating the system. This is where the PCL program comes in.
It is not to say that a student-leadership program should be the sole component of an essential school need, but
that it can deeply add dimension and effectiveness to a systemic effort.
4) Give students responsibility. Knowing exactly which responsibility to pass onto which student is key to our program. I had to learn about students' strengths and interests, then match school needs with tasks that students
were both interested in and had the capacity to lead. It's a delicate balance: setting students up for success while
providing them with space to take risks. I had to be flexible as they tested their limits and strengths. And I had to
identify multiple pathways to success. But they stepped up. As one student said, "The job of teaching others about
college made me more responsible and matured my way of thinking. Being in this class overall changed my
perspective of what we are all capable of."
5) Be visible. The idea of college-going is now visible at our school. It is plastered on the walls and evident in everyday conversations. A PCL recently said, "I have noticed that the culture of the school has changed with the
implementation of the Peer College class in this school. I hear people talking about college and the academic
life more often now than before." From creating posters to mentoring peers to leading college workshops with
families, the PCLs have been visible in their efforts. They've even reached out beyond our school community:
presenting to teachers and principals at a district conference, serving on a Common Core community panel,
Continued from page 14, “Ten Ways to Pump Up the Volume on Student Leadership,” by Linda Yaron
6) Involve enough students to make a difference. Only 25 students are PCLs. But since we are a small school of 450, the PCLs represent a third of our senior class. We involved enough students to make it cool to know about
college—easily extending outward into the school population. A junior applying to be a PCL next year wrote in
her application, "the word college excites me."
7) Build Community. The PCLs designed and made group shirts and went on university field trips together, cultivating a greater sense of unity and community. In a presentation about our program, my student Steve
referred to his fellow PCLs as his brothers, and to our class as a family.
8) Develop an accountability system. At the most basic level, accountability means that the future of the program—whether it will exist next year and beyond—is based on the results we produce.
PCLs hold each other accountable. Students worked together to create a rubric of follow-through, leadership,
and impact. PCLs rotate point people for tasks. They create reports that detail bimonthly efforts in the areas of
college awareness, visibility, community, family, and university connections. Committees lead each area, and
students periodically reflect on their measurable impact on the school. Which brings us to ...
9) Measure impact. We tracked success along the way: setting up some "early wins," conducting student and family surveys and sharing results school-wide.
One student wrote that our Advisory Talks made her "look at college more carefully," helping her to pick a
college that she would want to go to. Another wrote, "They really get to us. They know what we are going
through." Students across grade levels have won local and competitive national scholarships, due in part to the
work of the PCLs. Once it became clear that tangible change was occurring, PCLs became even more engaged.
10) Celebrate success. Just as we all do, students want to see the fruits of their impact. Whether with clapping or cake (or preferably both), it is vitally important that we celebrate the success of our efforts. Our "Superstar
Wall," "College Knowledge Newsletter," and school-wide announcements of accomplishments motivate future
successes.
When the PCLs walk the stage in June, they will leave a lasting legacy of leadership: proof that students
themselves can produce change through their actions. This change can be structured to maximize impact, and
it can yield meaningful and tangible results that meet school needs. Though we still have a long way to go until
we succeed in creating the college-going culture that we want at our school, we are on the way.
Interestingly, the most significant changes seem to be those within the lives of the students who have
served as PCLs themselves for being part of this process. As one student commented, "The experience has
motivated me to be someone in life to pass down the knowledge I have gained and what I will gain in the future.
The experience has impacted me to pursue a career or dream that will help others in my community."
Whatever your school situation is, it's worth taking time to teach students to lead and involve them in the
solution.
Linda Yaron is a National Board-certified teacher in an inner-city high school in the Los Angeles Unified School
District. She is a former U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellow and a member of the CTQ
Collaboratory.
“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in their leader.
A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.”