By Renee Larr
On June 27 and 28, students in the central Indiana area will have the opportunity to learn from local business leaders at a leadership summit called Vision of a Leader. The program will be held at Holy Cross School by an Indianapolis nonprofit called C.L.A.S.S. Education. The summit will teach children in grades four through eight the qualities of a leader and how to apply them.
“We have served the educational community for over 25 years primarily working with schools and districts on best practices. We look at brain research and learning research and how it applies in the classroom,” JOC Executive Director Dr. Jeff Pedersen said. “We have done a leadership summit in the northern part of Indiana for the last four years with great success. Now we’re moving it to central Indiana.”
Students will work in small groups with educators from around the state. They also will be immersed in the Fishers community.
“They’re going to meet and talk with Mayor (Scott) Fadness at city hall,” Pedersen said. “We have the Fishers Fire Dept. and Fishers Police Dept. who are involved as well. The students will meet with John McDonald, the CEO of ClearObject, and John Wechsler, the CEO of Launch Fishers. It’s going to very much be a hands-on experience.”
Students will host a community event at the end of the day June 28 to show what they’ve learned.
“They’re going to take what they’ve gleaned from the business community and we’re going to challenge these students to come up with a shared vision on how they can help change other students through leadership patterns,” Pedersen said. “All those leaders who were involved, the parents and anyone else who wants to attend are going to meet at Holy Cross and we’re going to have a one-hour community event.”
The cost to participate is $199 per student. Students need to register by April 7 at joyofclass.org.
