HOW DID WE CREATE OUR LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK?

In 2019, we embarked on a journey to define the type of leadership we aim to cultivate through our program. Through a co-creative process, we involved:

70 STUDENTS | 45 PARENTS | 12 PRINCIPALS | 9 SUPPORTERS

75 TEACHER-LEADERS | 40 ALUMNI-AMBASSADORS | 34 STAFF MEMBERS

We asked ourselves:

WHAT TYPE OF LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED TO BE HONORING OF OUR NATION’S PAST, ADAPTIVE TO THE PRESENT, AND AGILE FOR THE FUTURE?

Collectively, we answered that we need leaders who are...

patriotic and constantly growing activators; respectful, goal-oriented, and educated citizens; bold and academically strong role models; culturally-rooted and collaborative initiators; values-driven and innovative life-long learners; contemplative and self-actualized trailblazers; community-oriented and transformative visionaries.

Then, over the course of a year, an internal working group used input provided through the design process in order to create the organization’s Leadership Framework, which starts with our “leaderagogy.”

LEADERAGOGY: OUR APPROACH TO TEACHING LEADERSHIP

In English, the term “pedagogy” refers to the teaching of children, while “andragogy” refers to the teaching of adults. The root words for both terms come from Greek: “peda” for child, “andr” for adult, and “agogos” for “leader.” In other words, “pedagogy” and “andragogy” respectively evoke the idea of being leaders of children and adults.

As an organization that is focused on developing both the leadership of our students as well as their teachers, we like to use the term “leaderagogy” to explain our approach to teaching leadership. Or, to put another way, it is the science of being a leader of leaders.

GIVEN THIS CONTEXT, OUR “LEADERAGOGY” IS AS FOLLOWS:

Change management and systemic thinking cannot be taught in isolation as a stand-alone subject. Rather, it is fostered through a cycle of spiraled experiential learning at a level that is developmentally appropriate. In order to cultivate the competencies necessary to drive transformation, while promoting agency and helping individuals to find their purpose in creating a more equitable society, we must teach leaders to be:

LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

Using our leaderagogical statement, as an organization we have identified 25 competencies that we aim to strategically target through our programming in order to cultivate leadership across our classrooms, communities, network, and even on staff: