At today’s Homecoming Flag Football game, there was a familiar scene down at Ziemer Field: lots of student spectators cheering on the sidelines, many of them decked out in the colors of their favorite sports teams for Jersey Day (go Celtics!). In the center of it all, a group from the Student Leadership Council (SLC) who helped to plan the whole Homecoming Week, getting the crowd hyped for the game (they even had pom poms!). 

SLC — made up of class representatives and officers elected by their fellow students — may be one of our most visible leadership organizations, but it is only one of the pathways to leadership at our school. We recognize and celebrate the many varieties of leadership here, not just in our student community, but in our adult community as well.

We also saw student leaders in action on Wednesday’s Visit Day, when our team of Admissions All-Stars hosted prospective students from around the Bay Area. All-Stars are an integral part of the Admissions process, providing potential applicants and their families a personal point of view on what it’s like to be a Sonoma Academy student. Many of our current students look back on their time with an All-Star or other student host on Visit Day as a key factor in their decision to attend SA. 

While the All-Star program is a formalized leadership program, complete with application, training, and a substantive time commitment, Visit Day hosts come from everywhere within our student population and are on a volunteer basis. I’m always impressed with the volume of students who volunteer to host a student each Visit Day--we typically have double or triple the number of students who wish to host than we do visitors!

And today at lunch, I met with my Head’s Council, a group of seniors who are deeply involved with our school and our community. We meet monthly, and this is a place for these leaders to raise issues they have experienced at school, to provide a student perspective, and to share valuable information with me. Today, students asked to discuss specific topics — identifying problems and possible solutions — while I listened and only chimed in at the end. We discussed our Exploratory and Advisory programs and I greatly appreciated their insights and desire to advance these two important areas of our student experience. 

I also want to recognize the less visible, less formalized demonstrations of leadership we see on campus every day. A student who recently stopped by my office to share some thoughts about our school culture and the ways in which it is not being upheld and transmitted. There are the new Marketing Interns posting their first “student takeovers” on our Instagram account. I also saw students clear dishes in the GAC that weren’t theirs and they encouraged others to do the same. The student who helped a fallen opponent stand up on the flag football field is just as crucial to our leadership ecosystem as the student standing up in front of the crowd. 

Every community needs a variety of types of leadership: the kind that is up-front and in the spotlight, the kind that is behind the scenes, and the kind that isn’t often recognized as leadership -- modeling cultural norms and values like cleaning up after oneself, respectful listening in class, kindness to younger students, and a well-timed compliment, snap, or moment of gratitude. The leadership that involves speaking your authentic truth, sharing concerns with teachers or administrators when something doesn't feel or seem right, taking a risk in class or in community, or representing an opinion that differs from the majority. Our program is designed to provide on-ramps and opportunities in our students' initial year of school, and we support the development of these qualities in all of our students throughout their four years at SA.

To learn a bit more about our student leadership opportunities and organizations, view our website.