Disclaimer: the author of this article is a member of Student Voice.
Student leadership is a deeply important aspect of Franklin. While many student readers may be familiar with the Franklin Associated Student Body (ASB), there are actually many means by which students may become active leaders in their school community.
Of course, there is the most well known student leadership organization — the Associated Student Body (ASB). ASB is a class run by Megan Humphreys through which students engage in leadership by organizing, planning, advertising, and executing school events and fundraisers. ASB includes elected student positions such as class presidents and vice presidents, the ASB president and vice president, and many more — however, not everyone in the class has an elected position. Besides planning events, ASB is also meant to represent the student body, support clubs, and promote school spirit, according to Humphreys. She believes that ASB and student leadership as a whole are crucial because they “provide a platform for students to actively participate in shaping their school culture.” She adds, “Our leadership team has a unique opportunity to help shape the school climate and it allows students to be actively involved in making their school a better place for everyone.”
While ASB is the official student leadership organization, there are also plenty of opportunities for less formal, more independent student leadership — like clubs, for example. Clubs are organized under the Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) program at Franklin, but they are generally entirely student created and run. A few notable clubs from past and present are the Shoegazers Club, the Bread Club, and the Franklin Administration of Restroom Tracking, known widely as F.A.R.T. Club. Clubs are typically student-led and therefore vary in organization — some clubs are more traditional, with formal elections of officials; some are just groups of friends or people looking to find others with common interests.
All clubs, however, are forms of student leadership since they do have to be created and maintained by students. In addition, while there are many clubs that simply meet up to hang out or have fun at club events, there are also many clubs who take on leadership outside of their meetings. Different environmental and gardening clubs over the years at Franklin have worked to plant school gardens and clean up trash around campus. Affinity groups create communities for various student groups at Franklin to come together. The Harm Reduction Club works to raise awareness around and educate students on harm reduction strategies. The Natural Disaster Preparedness Club educates community members on strategies to be ready for natural disasters — and that’s only to name a very few.
Clubs are required to send representatives to monthly Student Senate meetings that are also attended by the SUN coordinator and Student Senate ASB representatives. Elina Minato, one of the Student Senate ASB coordinators, explains that Student Senate is meant to allow clubs to check in with each other as well as with SUN and ASB. Minato is responsible for planning Student Senate meetings, as well as working as a “bridge” between club representatives, SUN, and ASB.
Minato believes that student leadership is important because she thinks students generally have a better perspective than staff to understand what their peers want and need out of school and school events. She also believes that student leadership is more approachable to the student body, particularly when offering criticism and feedback.
Minato adds that she finds ASB and student leadership to be great opportunities for student learning. “I’ve learned how to write good emails, how to speak out to people, have good communication skills, [and] how to plan stuff,” Minato lists. “Planning events is very stressful for a lot of people, [and] it’s good to learn how to control [and manage] your stress.”
Humphreys agrees that student leadership is a fantastic place for students to gain important skills and knowledge. “[S]tudents learn how to self-manage, organize their time, problem-solve, communicate effectively, budget, volunteer, and hold positions of responsibility,” Humphreys explains, adding that, “[S]tudents will carry these experiences into their college life and beyond!”
Beyond clubs and ASB, there are even more opportunities for student leadership at Franklin. One such opportunity is with Student Voice. Student Voice is an organization run by Franklin’s Climate & Equity and Student Management Specialist Jane Elliott, designed to amplify student voices and create the school students really want. Student Voice is responsible for town halls in which students and staff come together to discuss topics important to the community, and students are guaranteed to have their voices heard by administration. Student Voice is also responsible for Franklin’s new school values — kindness, mutual respect, honoring identity, collaboration, and joy — which were decided on by having the Franklin community come up with and then vote on values. The new values officially began with the Values Roll Out Week events that occurred the week before Winter Break last year.
Livia Borden, a student on both ASB and Student Voice, explains that Student Voice is a great way for any students to come and share their own experiences and problems, and get immediate help. “There’s a lot of action taken in Student Voice,” she explains, adding, “You can just show up, sit down, and share your ideas.” Borden also believes that all forms of student leadership can help teach students important skills, and thinks that participating in student leadership can be a great way to improve life and job skills while also serving the community and spreading positivity.
Student leadership organizations and opportunities are constantly changing and evolving as the student body does, so it’s hard to know every single thing going on at once, and even harder to catalogue it all. To find the perfect leadership opportunity for you, you’re probably going to have to go digging into the school community, finding like minded individuals and talking to other staff and student leaders. You may even need to create your own organization to lead. But above all it is important to remember that student leadership is important not only in creating a school community that really works for students, but also in allowing for students to learn and improve on valuable skills.
