The mission of the Leadership courses at ARISE is to empower young Warrior Intellectuals to develop their inner leader while working with one another to positively build and strengthen all aspects of our ARISE community. Student leaders are responsible for modeling and amplifying our Core Values and what it means to be a Warrior intellectual at ARISE. They will decide and help to build the kind of community that all ARISE students need and deserve!
Through a combination of reflective, academic, and community building activities and assignments, students will work collaboratively to grow themselves and the school community. They will look deeply at their own strengths and areas of growth, study the world we live in, share their learnings with the school, and make sure that ARISE is a place where all students feel seen and accepted for who they are. And they’ll have fun doing it!
Starting in 2020-21, there will be TWO leadership courses at ARISE. In creating another course, we hope to broaden opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills and contribute to a focus that speaks to them most! Below are details about each course, what they will focus on, and how students serve as agents of change in their community. If you are interested in joining either class, please email Karla Gandiaga at karla@arisehighschool.org
Creating Social Change
ARISE’s Student Governance & Leadership Course
The “Creating Social Change” course will primarily focus on Student Governance and community engagement. Students in this class will collaborate with the Student Justice Panel & Pathway Student Ambassadors (see below) to lead decisions on supporting our ARISE community during the pandemic, as well as oversee the organization and operations of our Student Government. Students will also learn about community organizing, cohesive social activism, and how to meaningfully mobilize their peers and school leaders to take action on important and pressing issues in our community and larger society.
Students will continuously engage in a cycle of praxis (theory-action-reflection) around their own leadership through guest speaker panels, student leadership conferences, think-tank discussion forums, and other community engagement opportunities.
Jamen Suter-Donaldson
School Culture Coordinator
Trevor Gardner
Director of Teaching & Learning
Building School Culture
ARISE’s Student Activities & Leadership Course
The “Building School Culture” course will primarily focus on Student Activities and school community engagement. Students in this class will work with Team hooks staff leaders to develop a safe, welcoming, and vibrant school community for all ARISE students. This will include organizing events like school dances, Spirit Week, Staff vs. Student sports games, First Fridays courtyard barbecues, Wolfpack Advisory competitions, and our monthly whole-school community Rise Up assemblies.
In reflecting on ARISE’s school culture, students will wrestle with and have a role in shaping the following questions: What holds us together as a community? How do students in all grades know that? What is necessary for all members of our community to feel “at home” at ARISE? What does it look like to have a school where students are excited to come to school?
Student Justice Panel
+ What is the Student Justice Panel?
The Student Justice Panel (SJP) at ARISE High is a restorative justice model of school discipline, the purpose of which is to uphold the ARISE Core Values by working to restore damaged relationships between individuals and the community. The SJP will work to hold community members accountable through consequences that are appropriate and impactful. The SJP will be made up of selected student (through a nomination process) leaders and is based on the beliefs that:
- ARISE culture is rooted in our Core Values: Build, Persevere, Respect, Lead
- Each individual at ARISE is responsible for the community as a whole
- ARISE functions best when students take leadership and are given a strong voice
SJP is a powerful tool for maintaining a truly restorative approach to school discipline, because it gives students real voice and a significant role in building a positive and supportive school culture and in holding our community accountable to the Codes of Respect.
+ What kinds of issues will the SJP handle?
The basic expectation is that if there is a violation of a Code of Respect that a community member feels has done harm, they can petition to bring it before the SJP. Examples might include:
- Breaking the Codes of Respect
- Conflicts
- Vandalizing school property
- Exploiting privileges (such as off campus lunch)
- Use of disrespectful or oppressive language
+ How can I become a part of the SJP?
All students on the SJP were nominated by a staff member or self-nominated; then they were interviewed for the “Creating Social Change” class. If you are interested in learning more about how you could become involved with the SJP, contact Trevor Gardner at trevor@arisehighschool.org
Pathway Ambassadors
+ What is a linked learning pathway?
Linked Learning is a successful approach to education based on the idea that students work harder and dream bigger if their education is relevant to them. For Linked Learning students, education is organized around industry-sector themes. The industry theme is woven into lessons taught by teachers who collaborate across subject areas with input from working professionals, and reinforced by work-based learning with real employers. This makes learning more like the real world or work, and helps students answer the question, "Why do I need to know this?”
The 4 Pillars of Linked Learning are:
- Rigorous Academics: Students are prepared for college with challenging coursework made relevant through pathways
- Technical Skills: Students receive hands-on training for high-skills, high-wage employment
- Work-Based Learning: Student participate in internships and job shadows to work in a professional environment
- Personalized Support: Students receive career counseling and supplemental instruction to help ensure success.
At ARISE, our Linked Learning Pathway is called Public & Community Health for the People. Click here to learn more about our pathway!
+ What is a pathway ambassador?
At ARISE, student ambassadors for our Linked Learning Pathway are called Agent of Change Student Ambassadors. These distinguished students are the face of the Public and Community Health Pathway while also embodying ARISE’s Core Values of Lead, Build, Persevere, and Respect to act as agents of change in their communities. Agent of Change Ambassadors are leaders and advocates. As an Agent of Change Student Ambassador, students work with the school and its administrators to raise awareness to the Public and Community Health for the People pathway, and to support Linked Learning, both in the classroom and in the community.
+ How can I become an Agent of Change Student Ambassador?
To become an ambassador, you must submit an application, gather at least one teacher recommendation, and complete our interview process. Students who are interested in representing ARISE and our Linked Learning Pathway as an Agent of Change Ambassador should contact our Pathway Experts:
- Danny Maxwell - Public & Community Health Pathway Coordinator (danny@arisehighschool.org)
- Viridiana Morales - Work-Based Learning Liaison & Pathway Assistant (viri@arisehighschool.org)