Queen Creek Unified School District is a place where excellence is achieved through leadership. In QCUSD, we provide leadership opportunities for students at every grade level, whether it’s through Leader in Me programs at Katherine Mecham Barney Elementary, Silver Valley Elementary and Schnepf Elementary that start in Kindergarten, or through Student Council, Lead out Loud (LOL) Activities, or the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee offered all the way through high school. We recognize the importance of inspiring a love of leadership in our students.
One of the unique programs we offer throughout our district is Lead Out Loud (LOL). We have created a LOL structure that affords students at each site a chance to explore and learn about leadership behaviors and characteristics while applying leadership actions in situations throughout our schools and community. With great teacher sponsors, the LOL structure broadens our student leadership base by identifying students who are not already involved in other leadership positions, elected positions, etc. We begin each year with a district-wide leadership conference known as the LOL Conference, which features nationally recognized speakers, engaging breakout sessions, and opportunities to create site-specific action plans to impact their respective schools.
LOL students also serve as the steering committee for School Participatory Budgeting, a program established by the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA). Through this program, students gain real-world experience spearheading a project to improve their school. They form groups to gather input and ideas, calculate a budget, present their results to district leaders, and organize a vote for their student population to decide on which project they would like to accomplish. Not only does this program allow students to learn budgeting, public speaking and networking skills, it increases their sense of civic responsibility, empowering them to get involved in improving their community at all levels. This rewarding experience allows students to shine, presenting their thoughts to district leadership and sharing their ideas for improvements. I enjoy seeing them grow into their roles each year.
One of my favorite opportunities for student leadership comes with the Student Superintendent’s Advisory Committee. While I meet once a month with staff from each school for the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee, I also meet a few times each year with a group of students from each school to gain student perspective, impart leadership lessons, and explore a variety of support service departments that are instrumental to our district. These field trips to our transportation department, child-nutrition department, maintenance and grounds department, business office, and warehouse provide a behind-the-scenes look at various departments and creates appreciation among the students we serve.
We know our students are the future leaders of our community, and we pride ourselves on giving them the tools they need to rise to that challenge. We believe you’re never too young to learn leadership skills, and through our programs they learn lessons that will last a lifetime.
Dr. Perry Berry has been superintendent of the Queen Creek Unified School District since June 2015.
