What is it?
The National Center for Girls’ Leadership at Stuart Leadership Endorsement is a customized and personalized opportunity for each girl to leverage her unique passion and interests towards developing authentic leadership skills. While each girl has the freedom to guide her own experiential learning program, she does so following an organized, and clear set of experiences scaffolded in a developmentally appropriate way. During her four years as an upper school Leadership Endorsement candidate, she will not only practice leadership skills and learn more about a content area of her choosing, but she will learn how to take a casual interest and conduct authentic, productive academic inquiry.
Leadership Endorsement Concentrations
- Leadership Endorsement in STEM
- Leadership Endorsement in Arts & Humanities
- Leadership Endorsement in Social Justice
- Leadership Endorsement in Business and Entrepreneurship
Leadership Endorsement Requirements over 3-4 years
- Two required Leadership courses: Women in Leadership and Research Fundamentals
- Sophomore internship experience (optional)
- Junior Venture Project: independent research (Portfolio Reflection)
- Senior Mentorship: A connection with Sophomore and Junior Endorsement candidates
- Service Requirement: An authentic connection and inclusion of service learning goals and the 5 Goals and Criteria
- Summer Beyond Stuart Internship Experience
- Offsite Conference related leadership or content area
- Participation in a minimum of 3 NCGLS initiatives/events
Examples of Career Fields Associated with each Leadership Endorsement
Many careers have a great deal of crossover in all of the endorsement concentrations. For example, law. Law could be a “social science” in STEM or the humanities, or an application of social justice or business. A student would discuss with the Director of the NCGLS which concentration made the most sense for their inquiry - but we have placed some example careers in each concentration to model which category an interest would typically be a best fit.
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Leadership Endorsement in STEM
- Laboratory Sciences
- Research Sciences
- Actuarial Sciences
- Veterinary/Zoological Sciences
- Medical/Health Sciences
- Computer Engineering
- Software Engineering; Web and App development
- Engineering(Aerospace,biomedical, chemical, civil,environmental, mechanical)
- Applied Mathematics
- Physics
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Leadership Endorsement in Arts & Humanities
- Anthropology
- Archeology
- Architecture
- Philosophy
- Fine Arts / painting / sculpture
- Visual Arts / film / photography
- Digital Arts / graphic design / web design
- Performing Arts / drama / music / dance
- Creative Writing / Literature
- Historian / Museum Studies
- World Language Studies
- International Studies
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Leadership Endorsement in Social Justice
- Non-Profit Management
- DEI Management
- Legal Studies
- Political Science
- Religious Studies
- Religious Ministry
- Social Work
- Education
- Public Health
- Law Enforcement
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Leadership Endorsement in Business and Entrepreneurship
- Business Management
- Marketing
- Communication
- Accounting
- Finance
- Economics
- Public Relations
- Sports Management
- Athletics
- Advancement and Fundraising
- Human Resources
- Small Business Ownership
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LEADERSHIP COURSES
Expansion of the leadership programs at Stuart has been made possible by the Harris B. Siegel Fund for Student Leadership, established by Patricia Costante and Stephanie Champi ’12. Their generous gift was given to Stuart in gratitude for Mr. Siegel, a long-time Director of College Counseling.
PEER LEADERSHIP Full-year course *L
Open to grade 12. Prerequisites: application, interview and selection.
This course emphasizes the development of leadership, problem-solving and communication skills, group dynamics, and informed decision making. Any student who wishes to apply to be a peer leader should sign up for the course on her course description sheet at course registration time. All students registering for this course must list an alternative. Students applying should be aware that, depending upon specific loads, taking Peer Leadership may cause scheduling difficulties. In the winter, juniors who wish to be considered will complete an interview process that includes an application form and a group problem-solving interview.
During class periods, students will receive training in leadership, problem-solving and communication skills, group dynamics, and informed decision making. In addition to the class periods, senior peer leaders will work in pairs and co-lead discussions with small groups of freshmen once a cycle. During second and third trimesters, time will be spent interviewing applicants, and considering and selecting the peer leaders for the following year.
PUBLIC SPEAKING Trimester Course *L
Open to grades 9 -12. Recommended course for Endorsement candidates.
This communication course covers the theories, practices and fundamental questions about human communication, including written, oral and social practices. Students learn techniques for civil discourse, using articulation, enhanced vocabulary, and enunciation. This class will explore interviewing techniques (remote and in person) for summer work and college preparation, persuasive speeches about social justice topics and debate. Communication study is essential to leadership roles in public relations, law, journalism, advertising and marketing, human resources, social work and many other fields.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP Trimester Course *L
Open to grades 9 -12. Required for Social Justice and Arts and Humanities Endorsement candidates.
Women in Leadership is a hands-on course designed to stretch students beyond their comfort zone while exploring how their leadership style impacts others. Through activities, talks, research, projects, and reflection, students will hone the characteristics they have and develop new ones as they apply their ideas and thoughts about leadership to each lesson. Students will explore the foundation of individual social identity, the connection of the human spirit, and the collaboration needed to work for a greater purpose. Each student will ultimately better understand who she is in a larger context, and learn both the tangible and intangible skills necessary to lead their personal and professional lives with passion, mindfulness, empathy, and courage.
WOMEN IN STEM Trimester Course *L
Open to grades 9-12. Required for STEM and Business and Entrepreneurship endorsement candidates.
The Women in STEM course is a hands-on course designed to stretch students beyond their comfort zone while exploring how their leadership style impacts others. Through activities, talks, research, projects, and reflection, students will hone the characteristics they have and develop new ones as they apply their ideas and thoughts about leadership to each lesson. Students will explore careers in STEM fields, developing pathways to achieve career promotion, and hear about the experiences of women in STEM fields. Each student will be stretched beyond her comfort zone to better understand who she is in a larger context. The students will learn both the tangible and intangible skills necessary to lead their personal and professional lives with passion, mindfulness, empathy, and courage.
RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS
Required for all 10th grade Endorsement candidates.
The Research Fundamentals course prepares students for the challenges they will face during the design, data collection, and evaluation of their research project. Students will learn how to construct a hypothesis, collect valid data, handle data outliers, revise a design process, and analyze results. Laboratory work will be required in this course.
