There are numerous electives that a student can choose to take, such as technology and computer classes, English electives and world languages. Another option is Leadership 1-4, which helps make leaders who are ready to assist the student body and staff in school. They range from freshmen to seniors, so students in any grade can apply.
“In order to be in leadership class, you have to fill out an application form,” faculty sponsor Kristina Plaugher said. “It’s nothing too difficult, but it does make you think about what you’re looking to grow as far as leadership characteristics: skills, qualities, things like that. And then, why do you want to take leadership?”
The class has seen a recent rise in popularity. They usually receive 120-140 applicants, however, not all candidates can be accepted.
“For the past three years, we’ve had an upward trend of people applying for leadership,” Plaugher said. “It depends on how many classes we are able to have and what the numbers are and what our classroom is because we’ve had to switch classrooms.”
Leadership students set an example of a leader by supporting and hyping up events that revolve around school. According to sophomore Ellie Bennett, she sharpened her public speaking skills and became a better artist through the class. According to the Leadership and SGA Mission statement, the course’s goal is to provide understanding and the ability to apply leadership knowledge personally and in a community setting.
“I really enjoy developing social skills by talking to adults and to cooperate with others,” junior Andrew Plaugher said. “Collaboration is another very important part of it. Being able to talk to others without losing interest or losing the conversation.”
Leadership is an active class that requires students to be heavily involved in many school-sponsored events. Students vary on what they can do, including creating posters, hanging them around school, announcing events to students and planning spirit weeks.
“We deal with homecoming and we’ve worked through helping set up the parade, setting up Taste of Chantilly, always decorating, even helping with the football game, the halftime show and helping to decorate and publicize it.” Andrew said.
Part of a student’s grade in this class is determined on how they participate in school. Much of the class involves doing things outside like volunteer opportunities or concessions. After homecoming, they plan to do turkey bowl, candy cane grams and possibly a basketball tournament again. “More people should definitely look into it because it’s a great way to get involved in school,” Bennett said.
According to the Leadership website, class is considered a team environment. Each person has to contribute and do their part to make it a valuable learning experience. Overall, Leadership aims to create a positive school environment for their peers, staff and community through what they accomplish in class.
“This class will help you develop those speaking skills and those society based skills with talking to people, learning how to deal with conflict and issues and I feel like it’s a class that everyone can take and everyone can enjoy,” Andrew said. “It’s probably one of the best classes for most people, especially those who struggle with the ideas of learning how to socialize and the basics of creativity.”
