Influencing, Organizing, and Supporting: A Look at Student Leadership at Park

One of the many benefits of a PreK-8 school is that our middle school-aged students have the opportunity to be leaders. 

Leadership at Park takes many forms, from informal high fives in the hallway between older and younger students to more structured roles, including Student Government representatives and members of the Student Leadership Team.

Student Council was a mainstay at Park for many years that fell dormant after Covid.  This year, in response to strong interest from several Grade 8 students, Upper Division faculty members Lauren Dennis and Hannah McGowan revived a student government body.  After holding feedback sessions with faculty to learn what had and had not worked in the past, they developed a selection procedure that attempted to avoid popularity contests and ensure that students who were chosen were genuinely interested in doing the work of student government.  They crafted a hybrid selection process:  Upper Division students who wanted to be representatives submitted written applications that were reviewed by a group of faculty members and administrators, who in turn selected eight students from each grade to present speeches to their classmates.  The four students from each grade receiving the most votes from their peers were elected to the new Student Government.  

Student Government has met weekly since mid-February during a recess/lunch period and wasted no time getting to work.  Guided by Lauren and Hannah, the representatives elected officers and learned parliamentary procedure to use during their meetings.  The food at Park is a topic of significant interest to the group, and they have been working like legislators to conduct research, meeting with Director of Dining Services Anthony Marco and Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations Kim Boyd to gather information and data.  For instance, the students learned from Chef Marco that it takes around five hours to make lunch for the school and from Kim that food is the school’s second largest cost.  Lauren notes that the students’ perspectives have grown through their inquiries, and even minor anecdotes, such as the fact that the flavored water served at lunch is made using leftover fruit from the salad bar, have helped to broaden their thinking.  Based on their meetings and discussions, the group is in the process of creating a survey for fellow students about their dining experiences at Park.  

Lauren and Hannah have been tremendously impressed by the thoughtfulness and seriousness with which the Student Government representatives have undertaken their work.  They highlight the many benefits of the group for the students involved, including opportunities to take ownership of an issue, learn how things work, and be better equipped to discuss issues with their peers.  Lauren also observes that having a built-in representative student body makes it easier for adults in the community to solicit student perspectives on issues such as phone box locations, a question that Student Government will address in the near future. 

Lauren and Hannah look forward to continuing to oversee Student Government next year and plan to begin the selection process earlier in the year.  They were overwhelmed by the number of students who submitted applications and hope to find ways to incorporate more students in the group’s work, such as by creating task forces or committees to address certain topics.

Another opportunity for students to learn to be leaders is incorporated into Park’s curriculum:  An Upper Division elective called Student Leadership Team (SLT) is offered to students in Grades 7 and 8 who are interested in building leadership skills.  This year, Upper Division Head Jimmy Manyuru is running the course, which currently enrolls eighteen students.  

Jimmy explains to the SLT that there are different ways to be a leader, including influencing, organizing, and supporting, and he encourages them to contemplate their strengths and the areas in which they would like to improve.  Projects undertaken by students in the elective this year have included running Bingo Night, visiting PreK and Kindergarten classrooms on a regular basis to assist younger learners, making posters to advertise social events, writing cards, organizing the Lost and Found, and guiding PreK students into their first Yule Festival.  The students have also sharpened their analytical skills by contemplating solutions to challenges presented by Jimmy, such as ways to improve logistics for students riding the bus home.  According to Emily B. ‘27, “I  think that all 6th graders should think about taking the leadership elective because it gives you a way to give back to your community in a simple way.”  Zoe C. ‘27 adds, “I would 100 percent recommend taking the leadership elective because you get to bond with lower grades that you usually wouldn’t be able to talk to!”  Jimmy posits that Student Government and the SLT are complementary because Student Government representatives are focused on the influencing mode of leadership whereas the SLT tends more towards organizing and supporting.  

Upper Division students have several other opportunities to practice leadership in addition to Student Government and the SLT.  All Grade 8 students co-lead two Morning Meetings during the year, giving them the chance to stand at the podium in the front of the Theater, introduce presentations, and call on speakers.  Grade 7 and 8 students enrolled in Park’s Theater Tech elective help manage the technical side of Morning Meeting, running the soundboard and bringing a microphone to audience members who raise their hand to speak.  Students in Grades 7 and 8 can volunteer with the Admissions Office to serve as tour guides for prospective Upper Division parents, a valuable chance for them to practice their speaking and presentation skills.  Older students also have the opportunity to be elected or selected as leaders of sports teams, drama productions, and Model UN.   

While Park students will surely reap the dividends of their leadership skills for years to come, some of the benefits are evident in the short term.  Yasmeen G. ’27 shares: “I took the leadership elective this year and it has helped me to reach out to parents in my neighborhood to see if they need any babysitting help.  If I didn’t take the elective, I probably would have never thought about doing it.  The leadership elective taught me to learn how to accept discomfort and learn how to have the courage to do new things.”

By Elizabeth Prasse P’27, ’29, Park Perspectives Editorial Board

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