PYLUSD develops AVID middle school students’ leadership skills at all-day workshops hosted at Esperanza High

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) once again partnered with the California Association of Student Leaders, known as CASL, to bring two, all-day leadership workshops to 7th and 8th grade AVID elective students. On Februray 12 and 19, students from Bernardo Yorba, Kraemer, Travis Ranch, Tuffree, Valadez, and Yorba Linda middle schools participated in leadership activities centered around the theme, “Building Empathy with Technology.”

As potential leaders in classrooms and on campuses, this workshop was intended to empower PYLUSD AVID students to bring change to their environment by thinking about how technology affects relationships with others. Empathy is a critical component of leadership, and activities throughout the day demonstrated the power of teamwork and human interaction in completing a task.

This year, the event was hosted by Esperanza High School. Their AVID students, representing all four grade levels, experienced the role of “facilitators” as they were trained by the CASL presenter and helped guide their younger peers through the day’s events. Both the AVID facilitators and participants were asked to step outside of their comfort zones, consider changing their perspectives, and to bring what they learned back to their campuses.

A lot of fun was had throughout the day along with moments of serious self-reflection. The day ended with a fun, team building activity — a newspaper fashion show! Great job, PYLUSD AVID students!