Standard 1.9: Improving Leadership

This artifact is also used in Standard 1.7 : Effective Processes. We encourage you to read the description of the chart there. It is used again here to illustrate our view that nearly every employee in the school fills a leadership role. Because the chart is organized somewhat upside down from the norm, to understand the leadership stewardship of the chart, keep in mind that each person on the chart leads (i.e. serves and supports) the group(s) above them on the chart.

Teacher representatives and the administrators make up the Leadership Team. They are more than a group to bounce ideas off of. They give much-needed input and decision-making. This year (2020-2021) the Leadership Team has led the faculty in organizing our accreditation efforts. In addition, they plan and help execute school-wide professional development, make changes to school policies like our attendance policy, and lead the departments in their PLC work. We feel that we can utilize our leadership more as decision-makers than we have so far and are working towards this objective.

PHS provides many opportunities for students to develop leadership skills. Our Student Council organizes many of our school-wide activities like dances, spirit days, assemblies, and other large scale activities. The Latinos in Action (LIA) program is an organization that focuses on leadership development, college and career readiness, and giving service (in the form of literacy tutoring for younger students). The Especially for Athletes program is another leadership group that focuses on developing athlete-leaders in the school toward the goal of improving social responsibility, sportsmanship, service-mindedness, and making a positive difference in the lives of others. Together, our Student Council, LIA program, and Especially for Athletes constitute the three main pillars of school-wide student leadership.

In addition, we have other student groups that work hard to develop leadership skills within the student body: National Honors Society (NHS), HOPE Squad, Cheer Leaders, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and a full complement of student-run clubs. All of these programs access different demographic groups of students and they all have different organizing goals. Some are part of national organizations and others exist solely at the school level, but all increase student engagement in the school community, form a feeling of connection and belonging, and develop student leadership skills and attributes.