Students, Teachers, Administrators Define Leadership In Bronxville

BRONXVILLE, NY — Bronxville High School students, teachers and administrators recently worked together to define leadership, which is one of the four dispositions of the Bronxville Promise. During a professional development workshop, which was facilitated by senior consultant Diane Cunningham of Learner-Centered Initiatives, they learned about leadership from each other, used diverse perspectives to consider what it means to be a leader and defined what leadership looks like for their school community.

“It was critical to have both student and teacher voices represented in the process,” said Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Mara Koetke, who organized the workshop. “It became clear that students do not narrowly define leadership as only being the ‘captain of the team,’ but they believe acts of leadership can be demonstrated by small acts of heroism and kindness. The ability to follow was also included in [the] discussion, in the context of leaders needing followers and the need for leaders to be reflective and share leadership opportunities.”

As a result of their collaboration, the group drafted their own definition of leadership, which will be used for curriculum development and assessment. They defined it as “acting and inspiring others to work toward a positive outcome and [being] supported by compassion, courage, humility and open mindedness,” according to a district spokesman.

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In addition, high school students — who are developing digital portfolios to document their progress within the dispositions of the Bronxville Promise — will use the definition as part of their reflection process.

The workshop was made possible by a grant from the Bronxville School Foundation.

Photo credit: Bronxville Union Free School District.