Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to meet Wendy Pottorff, an amazing leader and a CHSAA Board of Directors member representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB). We had a great conversation about my new role in the office and one of my first tasks- securing locations for our Student Leadership Summits. As I shared the vision for what we were looking to do, Wendy immediately began to talk about the leadership development that students at Limon High School were involved in, how we could involve schools on the Eastern Plains, and the overall positive impact this would have on student leaders across Colorado. I was drawn to her vision of what this could produce as much as she was drawn to the CHSAA vision of creating multi-site leadership experiences. When we talked a few weeks later and she informed me that Limon High School would host, I was overjoyed.
Wendy connected me with Shirelle Bandy, the Student Leadership adviser, and a counselor in the building. In talking with Shirelle about hosting, there was not a bit of hesitation around what her school would be able to do. From the onset Shirelle had big plans. I loved her vision and passion for taking this on and her strong desire to share this growth experience with her students. This was going to be great because Shirelle knew her students, her building, and her community would all come together and create an event that was by, for, and about leaders.
If you have never visited Limon High School, you probably have no idea that the success of their Student Leadership program is a product of the overall school culture. The principles of the program are rooted in the core values and leadership standards that the entire school embraces. As a K-12 building, students in all grades have the 7 Mindsets integrated into their curriculum. These mindsets are seen as a great addition to a school’s social emotional learning curriculum.
As someone who was only on the campus for a brief period, I can tell you that the climate was ripe with teacher/admin passion and the student leaders were eager to share with all attendees that it was about relationships before event production. One example comes from a conversation we had with Secondary Principal, Traci Weisensee. As LHS student leaders were preparing for this summit, Mrs. Weisensee gave them the opportunity to present their workshop in front of 9th grade students. After that presentation, students had a chance to work through areas of growth and then they were given an audience of 10th grade students. Think about that… When a school leader takes the time to create multiple opportunities like this, it allows you to see where that leader places growth priorities. This is not the only school where this is happening, but it did serve as a reminder that SEL is as important as academic learning.
Throughout the day attendees shared in leadership growth. John Register, the summit’s keynote speaker, shared his message titled, “The Journey from Fear to Freedom.” In the message he talked about embracing this new normal, walking them through chapters of his own life where this term meant so much more.
LHS student leaders took attendees outside for a float-building activity and lunch. The lunch was great! Prepared by the Prairie Ridge Buffalo Ranch, local a family-owned ranch. After lunch, attendees were formally introduced to the LHS student leaders, class advisers, and the 7 Mindsets. The afternoon had students working in groups to shore up their leadership growth in the 7 Mindsets model. As the summit wrapped up, attendees were treated to ice cream, courtesy of Limon’s “What’s the Scoop” Ice Cream.
How happy am I that Wendy Pottorff and I connected and had a conversation about Colorado Student Leadership? How cool was it to work with someone as organized, passionate, and visionary as Shirelle Bandy? How enlightening was it for my executive assistant, Sandra Williamson, and I to be in Limon and get to meet the student leaders and other staff members at the school? How exciting was it to talk with Mrs. Weisensee, who played a major role in engraining a culture of leadership in the school? They say things happen for a reason. I want to encourage advisers who might be looking for new ways to develop leaders to reach out to Shirelle Bandy, Principal Traci Weisensee, and/or Limon School District Superintendent Robert McMullen (who we also want to thank for attending summit). Again, thanks to everyone who was a part of this summit. We look forward to visiting the Limon community soon, for other CHSAA-sponsored events and activities.
Contacts:
John Register, Keynote Speaker
john@johnregister.com
www.johnregister.com
Shirelle Bandy, Student Leadership Adviser
bandys@limonbadgers.org
If your school is interested in hosting or attending a Student Leadership Summit, please email Rashaan Davis (rdavis@chsaa.org) or Sandra Williamson (swilliamson@chsaa.org) for information.