As students request classes for the upcoming year, many subjects are easy to enroll in. Leadership classes, however, require an extensive process. The 2022 Leadership application procedure happened in February and students were accepted on a rolling basis.
“I transferred, so this is my first year at Aragon, and I was really interested in learning the campus and [getting to know] people more,” said sophomore Arianna Koop. “I’m also looking forward to helping with organizing Prom or pep rallies because I feel like … [knowing that I made it happen is a really cool feeling].”
Students were required to submit written responses and a teacher recommendation in their applications. Afterward, they attended interviews with current Leadership students.
“The coolest thing about the class is that it’s … skill-based as opposed to content-based,” said Leadership and Renaissance teacher Melissa Perino. “This class is all about developing students’ soft skills, [such as] communication, self-advocacy, organization and time management. It’s taught [by] throwing events, so it’s really fun.”
Aragon’s Leadership program consists of three classes: Leadership, Renaissance and Link Crew. Perino teaches 3rd period Leadership, which organizes large traditional celebrations like rallies and dances. She also oversees 4th period Renaissance commissions ranging from Publicity to Green Team, which host smaller, more frequent events each month, such as decorating the school with new posters and hosting the Green Team thrift store.
History, AVID and Link Crew teacher Courtney Caldwell manages 4th period Link Crew, which creates a system in which current students welcome new students to the community with specialized meet-ups. This program is unique to Aragon, and it has expanded in the 2021-22 school year to include sophomores whose first year of high school was online.
“When I was a freshman, I was really shy,” said junior and Associated Student Body Treasurer China Porter. “When I joined the Leadership program, I was hoping to step out of my comfort zone. It made me open to speaking in front of a lot more people because we do live announcements.”
In addition to public speaking and teamwork skills, students have reported developing better work ethics in Leadership classes.
“I was surprised at how much work went on behind the scenes,” said senior and Executive Commissioner Rowan Cary-Clark. “When you see a rally or a little event, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s so cute, they must have just planned it.’ Not really. There’s actually so much work that goes in behind the scenes of even the seemingly smaller events.”
The program employs a “backwards” planning system which first establishes campaign goals. Then, Leadership coordinates details such as size, date, relevance, setting, marketing and cost. After advertising, connecting related parties and hosting the event, Leadership members reflect on campaigns’ effectiveness to better embody the school’s values in the future.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve been implementing more cultural celebratory events to try to ensure that the student body doesn’t only celebrate the traditions or beliefs of the majority,” Perino said. “Leadership has a finger on the pulse, listens to the community, then tries to adapt in order to meet those needs.”
