The kids of today are full of great promise as the leaders of tomorrow. Concluding its first year with a community focused class on leadership, Jefferson Morgan High School is becoming known as “the small school with a big heart,” according to Jodi Fulks, leadership teacher. The focus of their leadership class is to bridge the community with the students of the school around activities that have a benefit for everyone. The projects are designed to encourage open mindedness, diversity, and inclusiveness.
The class week is organized to guide the students toward meeting their project goals. Each day represents a focus for accomplishing the tasks involved with their projects. Module Mondays include global topics; Team Building Tuesdays are activities to build relationships; Working Wednesday is focused on individual projects that include phone calls, emails and planning; Thirsting for Knowledge Thursday is spent creating resumes, practicing interview skills, acknowledging strengths and weaknesses, and public speaking; Reflection Friday encourages the journal entries about their activities looking at what was done, what could be done, maybe better, and any improvements that are needed.
The student’s projects are diverse and emanate the feelings of “the small school with a big heart.” Coupled with both activities during school and outside of school on weekends, the students have sponsored events like Ethnic Food Day, Ducky Derby, Books to Build Family Time, and Project Serenity. In-school projects like Ethnic Food Day invite the public in to join the students in eating foods and listening to music representing various cultures. Ducky Derby was a race amongst the rubber duckies purchased by the grade school students and joined by the local fire department as part of fire awareness week. A water slide was built and the duckies were released to race as a fundraiser for their school district’s bigger leadership participation endeavor Project Serenity’s “PS You Matter”, an organization created by Anita Mullen. One group of students wanted to provide a book for every elementary student where the family could read together as a family activity. Shipping delays prevented them from handing the books out for Christmas but the books came in shortly after and were provided to the families in January.
The biggest project the leadership class participates in supports mental health awareness, stressing “It’s okay to not be okay” with the tag “PS You Matter”. The students are tasked with building a serenity space in Mather, PA, that encourages you to reflect, relax and spread the love and awareness for all struggling with issues affecting their mental health and physical wellbeing. They participate in the “Walk for Mullen” a fundraising event designed to support suicide awareness and prevention, and stress gun safety. The walk has personal meaning for those in the school district as it is named in memory of one of their own lost to suicide. The walk raises funds to support those needing help and distributes gun locks donated by the community and collected by the students, as well as a key chain with the “PS You Matter” helpline contact. Every teacher, school worker, bus driver, and student is given a T-shirt to promote awareness around suicide and mental health needs promoting the tag-line “PS You Matter” and listing the number 1-800-417-9460.
The leadership class is made up of students in grades 9-12. It is both demanding and rewarding, and it requires work and participation on time outside of the classroom. It was told to Jodi that one of her younger students was encouraged to take the class by a parent. When the year was over the skills learned and practiced in this class were noticeable by both the student and parent. Jodi is excited to prepare for this year’s class in its second year of developing the leaders of tomorrow as open minded, inclusive of diversity, and with big hearts to carry out the daily tasks presented before them.
