Leadership for Students Activities - December 2014, NASC Edition - (Page 20)

Student Leaders Take Responsibility Program allows students to improve their school's setting M AR K S KOWRO N F or many school administrators, student complaints can be regular occurrences. Whether they are about the quality of the cafeteria lunches, bathroom cleanliness, or parking availability, students are rarely shy in voicing concerns and presenting potential solutions to problems. Such concerns often lead to a series of meetings between school administrators, athletic directors, cafeteria managers, school resource officers, activities coordinators, head custodians, and representatives from major student groups to discuss challenges and find ways to solve them. Lancaster (NY) High School is no exception, and we have worked to funnel complaints into a structured format so that they can be addressed- and remedied-as quickly as possible. 20 leadership for student activities Our school is rather large, with approximately 2,000 students and more than 400 events on its activities calendar during an average school year. Our school has more than 55 clubs and organizations, and nearly 60 athletic teams. As an added challenge in managing these large numbers, the school recently experienced a change in staff, including most of its building administrators, its athletic director, and myself-the new coordinator of student affairs. This new leadership staff noticed several issues that were falling through the cracks and could be improved. For more than 30 years, our district maintained a committee of students from our middle and high school who were elected through our student union. The group-called the Superintendents Student Advisory Committee (SSAC)- met monthly with our superintendent and building administrators to address districtwide issues and initiatives. During that time, through the leadership of several superintendents, the SSAC continued to meet, as each superintendent understood the inherent value of working with students, hearing their voices, and implementing some of their suggestions. Quite frequently, building issues were creeping into the SSAC's meeting agenda, but those issues could be dealt with more efficiently at the building level. For example, a broken water fountain was discussed at the superintendent level, and that was shared with our superintendent of buildings and grounds. A request for the repair to be completed was then sent down to our head custodian. But if the students had met directly with the

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Leadership for Students Activities - December 2014, NASC Edition

Editor’s Note
Questions & Answers
Take Note
Being a Leader
From the Director
Sophisticated Selfies: Looking Inward
Teaching Tolerance
Student Leaders Take Responsibility
Middle Level Activities
Lessons for Leaders
Scholarships & Awards
Project Showcase
Activities Exchange
Things to Do

Leadership for Students Activities - December 2014, NASC Edition