Faculty Attitudes Toward the Cultivation of Student Leaders

Abstract

This paper discusses how the faculty at an urban public middle/high school prioritized the identification and cultivation of student leaders in order to improve equity, classroom management, and student learning. Faculty identified student leaders, piloted steps to develop them, and shared a rubric to assess leadership performance. The paper illustrates a promising case of faculty collaboration, but also the limitations of relatively inexperienced group in a challenging demographic and institutional setting. A focus on student leaders may help teachers advance the mathematical practices prioritized by the Common Core mathematics standards.