Are you a middle level educator feeling the constraints of the current environment? Perhaps your students cannot travel for field trips and community service. Or maybe your school isn’t ready to restart project based learning that takes you off campus.
Don’t despair, Lead4Change projects can be done in ANY environment. Some of the best projects in past years have involved students looking around at the needs right on their own school campus – and making BIG changes.
For quick and easy reference, we offer a resource guide of project ideas for a virtual or in-person setting. Beyond these idea starters, we love the stories from our winning teams.
Educators just like you, leading their students on an amazing journey through leadership and service. Here are just a few examples from last year.
- Moody Middle School’s 6 Lead4Change Teams, Henrico, Virginia – Moody Middle School’s Gifted teachers led virtual learning and service project work to help students address many key issues in their community. Teams worked on mental health issues in teens, homelessness, human trafficking awareness, food insecurity, and support for children suffering life threatening diseases.
Teachers Lisa Chandler and Brian Coffey led students through the lessons to inspire action through team and individual efforts. Most notable is the way teachers work to engage students to make a change in the issues they are facing themselves, bringing passion, purpose and real change through service leadership.
- Port Chester Middle School, “PC Hunger Fighters”, Port Chester, New York – We partnered with Caritas of Port Chester to host a Free Farmers Market for seniors and families in need. More than 1000 pounds of food was donated by local farmers and we were able to provide food for over 340 families.
Our work was approved and supported by the Town Officials to comply with COVID protocols. Students were inspired by their summer work and have since started other fundraisers, used new leadership skills to run for Student Council, entered an essay contest to highlight food insecurity issues and realized the sacrifices of their parents during these difficult times.
- Plantation Middle School, “Plantation Patriots: Motivational Monday”, Plantation, Florida – This project is designed to encourage students and teachers to spread kind words through video messages on Mondays, because Mondays can be stressful.
Motivational Mondays shows everyone we care, we respect each other and we communicate kindness to reinforce positive values as well as respect each other in a comfortable academic environment for all. “Kindness begins within, so let it shine on Mondays!” Our project was organized and keeps going because we formed the Student Kindness Patrol.
- Parent-led Team, “The Changemakers”, Aliso Viejo, California – This team of students from Don Juan Avila Middle School worked on the lessons and project outside of school. The team’s project vision is to find a solution for the at-risk adolescents at Casa Youth shelter to build relationship, trust and camaraderie with their fellow peers who live at the shelter.
Today, technology has limited much face-to-face interaction. Our project is to provide Casa Youth Shelter a cart with various board games and activities where the teens can connect on a personal and social level by communicating, sharing ideas, and having fun at the same time.
We can’t wait to see what your students will do!