Lead Out Loud

I co-sponsor a group on campus called, Lead Out Loud. We select students from 4th-6th grade that are leaders or have the potential to be leaders on our campus. The students collaborate on projects such as: Socktober (collecting and donating socks to a local homeless shelter), an interactive bulletin board where students can share positive messages with others, writing appreciation notes to teachers on Thankful Thursdays, working with our entire school and district leaders to use stipend money for school enhancements.

Submitted by: Jennifer Waddington, Frances Brandon-Pickett Elementary, Queen Creek Unified School District

Pair it Down

Pair It Down is a strategy I use with my Middle School students to build self-confidence and leadership skills. Once we have learned a new standard, students are asked to create a 5-10 minute demonstration of their learning to share with a younger student.

Submitted by: Melissa Potts, Estrella Foothills Global Academy, Laveen Elementary School District

Day of Service

During one day a quarter, my honors juniors and seniors, help improve our schools grounds. Teachers sign up with a project and the students work together to schedule times and appointments for the "jobs". This is the second year we've done it and it gets bigger and better every time. We are a small school, but have pre K-12 grades on our campus, so there are a lot of opportunities for the "big" kids to help with and mentor the "little kids".

Submitted by: Amy Smith, EDUPRIZE Gilbert, EDUPRIZE Schools