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Making a big school feel small, one leader at a time

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When an organization’s ethos is powerful enough to shut down the use of a social media app like Yik Yak, you know they’re onto something.

For several days last year that particular app, in the words of Vestavia Hills Board of Education President Kym Prewitt, rocked the high school. 

“Even if the intention of the creator was for it to be some sort of good, positive community thing, because it is anonymous, the app is something that kids will pick up and abuse — and they did,” she said. “Our Youth Leadership kids stepped up and said, ‘We are shutting it down.’ They worked with our teachers and their fellow students to make that change happen. The culture of our school did not allow Yik Yak to remain.”

That social media stand reflects one of the core purposes of why Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills, established in 2008, was created.

“We wanted to create something that offered a place for more kids,” said Prewitt. “We are focused on training kids to be leaders wherever they are, to be people who respect others and who will reach out to others.”

Students are eligible to apply for membership in Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills at the end of their freshman year. Participants then attend a summer training retreat and are given opportunities to practice and perfect their leadership skills through a variety of Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills programs throughout high school. These include everything from freshman mentoring and new student orientation to various service projects and fundraisers, including Relay for Life. 

“The initial training really sets the tone for this program,” said mother of four and Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills coordinator Kelly Bottcher. “We bring in professional facilitators and break this large group of kids into small groups of no more than 20. In those smaller settings, we start discussions about common high school issues, stereotypes, cliques, students’ individual perceptions of how they are labeled and what they see as their own sense of place in the larger high school community.”

Prewitt said the retreat has gone a long way in establishing a sense of familiarity among those from different middle schools, who are suddenly thrown together for the first time.

“They very quickly realize that, ‘Oh wow, my neighbor has some of the same struggles that I have,’” she said. 

On the second day of the retreat, students are asked to bring in an item that represents a person or place that has helped shape who they are.

“This allows these kids to make connections during the summer in such a way that carries over into the new school year,” said Bottcher. “They are looking at their peers differently when they go back to school. Our hope is that this results in less bullying, and more compassion for your neighbor.”

With approximately 180 students per grade level participating in Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills, the organization has proven not only to be a popular extracurricular honor, but also an exercise in teaching students to become change agents.

 “You don’t know the emotional load that kids are bringing to school every day,” said Prewitt. “We operate from the premise that every student has the potential to be a leader, and every single student has ownership in their community, which is their school.”

About Youth Leadership 

Vestavia Hills

The mission of Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills is to train students to become leaders who:

These students are leaders who learn to walk in each other’s shoes and learn from the experience. 

The YLVH tagline reads, Be the Difference. YLVH is an important vehicle in making a big school feel small, a place where every single student feels a sense of belonging, acceptance and importance.

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