The GSEAA presents “The Power of Peer Leadership: Supporting Students in Developing Healthy Schools”

The buzzwords are everywhere, most often backed by good intentions: Equity-centered. Student Voice. Student Leadership. School Culture & Climate. But what do these buzzwords look like in practice? Join GSEAA’s 2020 Distinguished Service Award winner Dr. Sharon Rose Powell, founder of the Center for Supportive Schools, and two of her colleagues – Angela Powell DeGraff and Abby Attias – in an interactive session that explores hard questions and real solutions for middle and high schools. What are the critical challenges that middle and high schoolers and their teachers face? How have rising levels of anxiety affected students’ engagement in school? And most important – how can schools engage students so that they themselves are leading the way toward healthier lives, healthier schools? Now, more than ever, adolescents need safe spaces in schools to interact with their peers. Peer leaders can help alleviate social anxiety by facilitating weekly, relevant conversations that positively affect students’ lives. Powell, DeGraff, and Attias will share personal stories of transforming schools over the past 40 years, all focused on tapping into our most under-utilized resource in schools – students themselves.