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Overcast North High students learn leadership skills
Students are breaking out in a major way, learning how to be effective leaders at Valley Stream North High School.
As part of the school’s Leadership Academy, students and administrators are working together to build a strong group of tomorrow’s trailblazers. “The mission is to develop and inspire students to lead effectively, communicate and to be positive role models,” said group advisor Jennifer DiMaio, “and demonstrate courage just not while a part of an activity, but also out of school.”
The three c’s — confidence, communication and courage — are valuable attributes that North administrators have encouraged for years now. Principal Clifford Odell envisioned this idea five years ago, said DiMaio, a Spanish and ESL teacher. She said it took a year to work with faculty to develop ideas and create goals. Their plan was to completely turn the program over to students, who are now taking the reins as facilitators this year.
The change is a very rewarding one for both the teachers and student-leaders, like senior Andrew Jacobs, who joined the Leadership Academy as a sophomore. “I love to see different people from different walks of life work together,” he said.
Nearly 10 student-facilitators teach between 40 and 50 eighth- to 12th-grade students. They have already met for this school year’s first leadership session, focusing on communication, courage and being positive role models. There will be two sessions focusing on team-building, understanding personality types, and sharing leadership experiences later in the school year.
The student-facilitators have, and will continue to develop PowerPoint presentations, lessons and lead communication-building activities each session. For example, students-leaders played a “role model” guessing game driven by identifying positive personality traits. The students, who are selected by their advisors, teachers and coaches to join, learn how to be leaders from other students. Teachers just help to plan and monitor each session.
“We are able to take more of our opinion and develop our own program,” said senior student-faciliator Anna Lebedeva. “It’s more of a hands-on experience.”
Sometimes, things do not always go according to plan, despite a caring approach to teaching students, said Charles Sanky, another senior facilitator. “Students get to talk to people who they are more familiar with, and have a connection to,” he said.
The student-facilitators teach a number of groups, who may react differently to the material, and say it is important to be ready for any challenge. “You have to be prepared when up there,” said Megan Piccirillo, a senior. “If you do the lesson three times, stick with it. I felt so comfortable by the third one.” Piccirillo added that she likes the group’s field trip to Project Adventure, a Nassau BOCES outdoor facility, where the teenagers complete team-building activities.
There are several opportunities to build character, noted advisor and teacher Vanessa Coppeto. “I hope students open up, learn from the academy, and identify their own personality characteristics,” she said. “I think that helps them become leaders.”
The student-facilitators say they would like the program include more people and develop more students who continue as leaders beyond high school. They would also like to create their own “Project Adventure” at North.
Sharon Covich, a physical education teacher who helps with the academy and teachers a separate leadership course, said the program provides a positive influence for the teenagers.
The program helps students learn the expectations and needed skills to be effective leaders, Odell said. It is a very good start, highlighting positive attributes and increasing each student’s confidence. “This is the beginning of a leadership journey,” he said, “and in all likelihood, it will last a lifetime.”
