The Leadership Program

Many schools discuss the importance of leadership training, but at Suffield Academy we have fully established programs for all students to develop leadership skills. In 2002, Suffield embarked on an ambitious project to bring formal leadership studies to the academic program. The aim of the Leadership Program is to develop human beings with integrity who wish to make a significant and positive impact on society. Our graduates will have the capacity to define and achieve meaningful goals and dreams. We will teach ways of thinking and develop skills, traits, and habits in order to enhance each student’s leadership qualities and capabilities. Core elements of the program include life skills, moral foundation, goal-setting, communication skills, successful problem-solving, self-awareness, and inspiring others.

Leadership comes in various forms. It is a tool we use in our daily lives and emerges in many different scenarios. Whether it is in making an important decision or going through our daily routines, we have to learn when to take initiative, apply ourselves, and direct others.

Explore Our Four-Year Program

Freshman Year

Breaking the Ice
Personal Mastery & The Foundations of Leadership
The freshman seminar in the leadership sequence stresses the discipline of “personal mastery.” It is designed to develop the skills, habits, and thought processes that will enable students to succeed at Suffield and beyond. The Personal Mastery course sets the experiential and conceptual foundation for Suffield’s subsequent leadership seminars. This class meets during an academic period.

• orientation to high school & Life Skills

• Ice breakers: Interactive Games

• Community values & expectations

• goal-setting & Time management

• Self awareness & personal identity

• Personal mentors & role models

• Moral foundation: values, honor, & ethics

• Public speaking & active listening

• Prejudice & stereotypes: understanding differences

• Health & Wellness

• Information literacy

• Teamwork & group dynamics

• SOLO Training: Climbing wall & low ropes course

• Introduction to College Counseling

Sophomore Year

Embracing Community
Values, Vision, & Citizenship
The sophomore Foundations of Leadership seminar builds its curriculum from where the freshman Personal Mastery course leaves off. Expanding its curricular focus beyond the basic self-management, public speaking, and collaborative skills stressed in 9th grade, the 10th-grade seminar reinforces these habits of personal mastery while introducing elements of group dynamics, service learning projects, and more. This class meets during an academic period.

• Close review of life skills

• Media literacy

• Self-awareness:
multiple intelligence theory & learning styles

• Group dynamics

• Ethical scenarios and case studies

• Communication skills

• Service and servant leadership: social needs & issues

• Off-campus service learning projects

• College Counseling Part 1:
PSAT and PLAN tests, visiting schools, learning college admission language

Junior Year

The Environment & Self-Advocacy
Preparing for Leadership
The focus in junior year is to reinforce the competencies of personal mastery established in the freshman and sophomore seminars, while focusing more explicitly on developing the students’ leadership capabilities.

• Running a meeting

• Group dynamics

• Feedback: giving & receiving messages

• Understanding different forms of intelligence

• Conflict resolution

• Situational leadership & case studies

• Exploring 12th-grade leadership positions

• Standardized test preparation

• College 101: résumé building, college visits, mock interviews

• Self-advocacy

Senior Year

Leadership in Action
Engaging as a Leader in the Community
Each Suffield senior is expected to exercise significant leadership responsibilities at school. Class time during this seminar is used primarily to reflect on and improve students’ performance in their leadership roles and responsibilities.

Senior Speaker Series
The senior speaker series is another capstone experience in the Leadership Program and further enhances Suffield’s strong sense of community. As part of the series all seniors deliver a talk to the community during the school’s weekly chapel meeting. Talks highlight how students initially learned of Suffield, how their time here has unfolded, goals for the future, and valuable lessons learned. They serve as powerful motivation and remind us of the profound impact of the Suffield experience.

Senior Seminars
Suffield’s seniors participate in a three-part seminar that serves as a concluding aspect of the school’s Leadership Program. The meetings highlight important topics for graduates as they head on to the next stage in their lives. Led by Head of School Charlie Cahn, Hillary Rockwell Cahn ’88, and CFO Patrick Booth, the seminars focus on Title IX and sexual misconduct, mindfulness, and financial awareness. Goals include understanding Title IX legislation, helping students understand their personal financial footprints, and building strategies to manage stress.

• Head Waiters

• Peer Tutor Leaders

• Dormitory Proctors

• Athletic Team Captains

• Tour Guide Leaders

• Work Inspectors

• Writing Center Leaders

• The Bell Editor

• Student Government

• Discipline Committee

• Chapel Committee

• Amnesty International

• Teaching Assistants

• Gay Straight Alliance

• Multicultural Organization Leader

• Pioneer yearbook

Ann Selvitelli

Director of College Counseling & Leadership

Catherine Chan

Associate Director of College Counseling

Drew Gamere

Leadership Program, Co-Director of Athletics, Boys’ Varsity Basketball Head Coach

Josh Hillman

Director of SOLO, Leadership Program

Gina Longo

Athletic Trainer, Leadership Program

Pat McDevitt

Associate Director of College Counseling, Varsity Swimming Head Coach

Kareem Nulan

Associate Director of College Counseling

Kelli Tosone

Associate Director of College Counseling, Leadership Program

Elizabeth Warren

Cultural Diversity Director, Leadership Program