After it took 20 minutes to go through a security check line one morning last spring, seniors Marie Godiers, Ansley Marks, Rebecca Martin and I realized something needed to be done. Just a week before, a Grady senior accidentally shot herself in the leg on the way to class, and we had caught our first glimpse of the new, extensive security checks in the cafeteria. News reports and administration meetings marked the days that followed the gun incident. It seemed as if the answer to the issue was heightened security, but we felt like the real answer was that there needed to be a culture change at Grady.
The lack of school spirit, community involvement and interactions between upper- and lowerclassmen inspired us to create a proposal for a peer leadership program. After creating the proposal, the next step was to find a teacher to help us pitch the idea to the administration. We approached Mr. Pope about the idea, and he confidently said, “I will be your savior.” It was Mr. Pope’s confidence that led us to believe that the mere idea of creating a better Grady community could become a reality.
After Dr. Murray approved the peer leadership program, we met with every administrator at Grady to discuss what peer leadership would entail and our hopes for the future. Starting this fall, two peer leaders (one boy and one girl) are assigned to each freshman homeroom and meet twice a month. Each meeting, the peer leaders will discuss how to transition into high school, facilitate team-building games and encourage the freshmen to get involved in extracurriculars. The four of us spent the summer devoted to creating a curriculum for peer leadership, in the hopes that this program will create a greater sense of community that is often hidden within the daily craziness of Grady.
So far, the peer leadership program has kicked off to an excellent start. Although the peer leaders have only met twice with their designated freshman homerooms, we can already see results. The freshmen are joining clubs and getting involved, and seem less terrified to walk the crowded halls of Grady. As for the senior peer leaders, we were able to meet and work with incredible, dedicated students outside of our academies, which is often a challenge due to the exclusivity of learning communities.
The first group of peer leaders have high hopes for this initiative. Despite the chaos we face every day at school, we love Grady, and we want every freshman to take advantage of the opportunities this school has to offer. We want freshmen to create meaningful experiences that overshadow the bad aspects of attending Grady. Most of all, we hope that peer leadership will create a greater, and happier, community so that there won’t be a need for 20-minute security lines at Grady in the future.
