Godfrey-Lee — The scenario: Classmates have been making fun of Sasha for being a good student and doing well in school.
“What advice would you give Sasha to handle this situation?” asked Lee High School junior Nathaly Morgado.
“Not listen to haters!” responded Lee Middle School seventh-grader Alexa Garcia. “Show off her grades!”
Other seventh-graders chimed in during the student-led lesson on peer pressure: “Walk away.” “Be proud of her grades instead of ashamed.” “Tell the teacher how she has been treated.”
Middle-schoolers face a range of difficult decisions as they navigate life in and out of school, and they are receiving sage advice from a group of Lee High School students known as the Legendary Leaders on how to make good choices.
The juniors and seniors are presenting to their younger peers, helping them navigate potential situations and create connections across grade levels.
“I hope they gain some knowledge that I personally didn’t know at their age, and that it can help them over the years, especially in high school,” said senior Antonia Mijangos. “I know in high school, peer pressure is impacting a lot of students, personally and mentally.”
‘As someone with experience, we know the right way to go, and I feel like it’s always good for them to be going in the right direction.’
— senior Daeden Lopez
Connections Across Grade Levels
About 20 juniors and seniors in the leadership group present monthly to middle-school classes using resources provided by social worker April Capps. Other topics include social emotional changes, social media, conflict resolution and the three C’s of decision making. Sessions involve questions, small group conversation and class discussion.
The lessons are a way to reach out directly to younger students, said teacher Katherine Merriott, who advises Legendary Leaders with teacher Nicole Burgett. The older students are practicing leadership, and the younger students benefit from the mentorship.
“In the event the middle-schooler may need peer support, our hope is they may be more inclined to speak to older students that have the experience and have been identified as students who are willing to help and would be good helpers,” Merriott said.
Capps said the topics and activities were picked by students and staff — aligning with her social work.
“It is way more impactful for students to hear from older students — people they look up to. It gives them an opportunity to not just hear from adults in their lives who are often talking at them, but to participate and engage in activities to actually talk about these things that are happening in their lives outside of academics,” she said.
During the lesson, senior Daeden Lopez said presenting makes him think about how he felt in middle school and motivates him to “lead them on the right path.”
“As someone with experience, we know the right way to go, and I feel like it’s always good for them to be going in the right direction,” he said. “Being a Legendary Leader, you have people looking up to you and it makes you do the right thing as much as you can.”
‘In the event the middle-schooler may need peer support, our hope is they may be more inclined to speak to older students that have the experience and … who are willing to help.’
— Katherine Merriott, Legendary Leaders co-adviser, teacher
Nathaly said she hopes a simple ‘hi’ in the hallway will help students she has presented to feel like someone is there for them.
“It is really important to talk to younger people, especially because you’ve been in their position and you know how tough that can be,” she said. “Maybe if they have future experiences with peer pressure they can look back to this and be like, ‘Oh, we learned about this; maybe I shouldn’t be doing this.’ ”
Throughout the school year, the Legendary Leaders demonstrate leadership through their actions in many ways. They host the district’s Hispanic Heritage Festival; escort students to the school rewards store, Dragon’s Den; help out at conferences and other events; and serve on student panels.
Read more from Godfrey-Lee:
•Medical emergency? They can sprint into action
•Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off colorfully
