Y.E.S. It Was Quite A Day!

Youth Empowerment Summit Helps Middle School Students Make a Difference!

On Thursday, November 13, over 250 student leaders from 13 Howard County Middle Schools came together to learn leadership skills, discuss common concerns and develop plans to make a difference in their home schools. This is the 3rd annual conference dedicated to empowering middle school students with the skills necessary to lead, learn and ultimately transform their vision into action. The theme of this year’s summit was to Make a Difference!

The summit was kicked-off by Howard County Board of Education Member Mr. Larry Cohen. Mr. Cohen and I were asked to get the students hyped for the day. The keynote speaker was Ms. Marcy Leonard, Principal of Atholton High School. Her energetic and inspiring presentation helped all of the student leaders focus on the importance of personal values, positive decision-making and the need to learn conflict resolution strategies in order to make a difference! Later in the day, the participants attended break-out sessions on various leadership topics including: Conflict Resolution, Leadership Through History, Throwing Off Labels, Communication and Leadership Games.

The 13 middle schools represented were: Bonnie Branch, Clarksville, Cradlerock, Dunloggin, Elkridge Landing, Folly Quarter, Glenwood, Hammond, Harper’s Choice, Lime Kiln, Mount View Oakland Mills, and Wilde Lake.

Some of the quotes I heard from my students who attend were: “Wow, it was great to meet other students from other schools.” It was so much fun, I learned a lot!” “I wish school was more like Y.E.S.!”

I want to thank Julie Prince, the coordinator of this year’s Y.E.S, and the other middle school counselors from around our county for making this program so powerful and exciting for all of the students who attended. I also want to thank Lisa Boarman for helping to pay for this important conference.

For me, the development of leadership skills is critical to our future as a nation. In fact, the reason I work as an educational leader is due to my experiences as a student leader many years ago. A program called Maryland Leadership Workshops www.mlw.org/, which is still serving the students of Maryland today, provided me with a framework to develop my own leadership talents.

Much of my philosophical beliefs about education are based on my early leadership experiences. To me, everyone has the ability to become a leader, either up front in the spotlight, on the team as a role model, or behind the scenes helping give voice to the concerns of others. It is there in all of us waiting to find a chance to come out, perhaps waiting for someone else to find it first. One of the current shortcomings of education is that we do not take time to actively and intentionally develop the leadership skills of all students. So, it was a pleasure for me to lend my support to this important program. Visit the following link to see pictures from the day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29674309@N08/sets/72157609138678609/show/

A link to a Howard County Times article about the summit:
http://www.explorehoward.com/community/13832/folly-quarter-students-attend-summit/