Shipley Hosts Middle School R.I.S.E. Student Leadership Summit
On Wednesday, October 7, the Middle School was honored to host the second annual R.I.S.E. Student Leadership Summit on the Upper Campus. This full-day program was developed and planned through collaboration among Shipley, the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), Frankford Friends School, and Montgomery School. Throughout the day, students engaged in workshops run by eleven different presenters and explored what it means to lead with four core attributes, encapsulated in the acronym R.I.S.E.: reflection, inclusion, service, and empowerment. In total, 121 students from 14 schools participated, including eight Shipley Middle School students from the seventh and eighth grades.
The day’s program kicked off with a featured speech by Shipley’s All-School Vice President Kayla Tidwell '27, who shared wisdom from her own experience of discovering capacity for leadership regardless of age. From there, students considered goals within their school cohorts before moving into breakout sessions with mixed-school groups in the Middle School’s first-floor classrooms. Workshop sessions, all connected to the attributes of R.I.S.E., featured dynamic concepts and topics, including “Find Your Leadership Superpower,” “Giving for Good: Building Belonging Together,” “Maze of Minds,” and “True Leadership Begins from Within.” Shipley's participating students served as hosts and enjoyed building new connections with students from other schools. Those connections were furthered where so many great Shipley memories are formed - in the dining hall! Several participants from other schools even found former classmates amongst our current student body in the lunchroom.
| "My favorite part of the RISE conference was connecting with and noticing the other leaders my age from different schools. I learned that you can lead in different ways, whether you're the first person, the one who follows, or someone behind them. I loved working with other kids from different schools because you could learn about their school, about them, and how they lead. I’m really glad I could be a part of RISE." |
| — Ella |
"From my perspective," said Dr. Bill Lyon, Shipley's Assistant Head of Middle School, "RISE fits seamlessly with our school's mission of forging compassionate participants in the world. Collaboration with students from other schools and learning from people who exist outside our campus walls are invaluable opportunities for a student trying to figure out how to create positive change. I'm lucky to work with an immensely talented planning team to bring those opportunities to life, and I'm thankful Shipley has been supportive in opening its doors for this program to happen here."
| Something that stuck with me is that we all have different leadership superpowers that we should respect. When we put them together, you achieve greatness. I would like to bring back to Shipley the knowledge I gained about being an upstander. I believe that we all have the power to be an advocate. |
| — Carolyn |
In just two short years of its existence, R.I.S.E. is already developing as a valued tradition that Shipley is thrilled to be a part of. Shipley is looking forward to continuing this program and partnership with the other planning institutions, with an eye toward hosting the conference again, most likely in 2028.