Building Everyday Leadership Teen Curriculum (including Everyday Leadership journal/workbook for students) is a youth leadership curriculum designed for use in all youth settings (ages 12 and up)

The Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens (BEL) curriculum is based on a leadership curriculum designed and taught at an alternative middle/high school in Colorado. Originally titled "Leadership 101," the content was adapted and revised over several years to help teens gain leadership skills relevant to contemporary real life issues.

BEL provides a comprehensive, sequenced "foundations of leadership" course. Although it is organized in a progressive way, lessons can be done in alternate order depending on the facilitator's goals and setting. The sessions are designed to use within the context of an academic and/or standards-based setting, if necessary.

Author Mariam MacGregor collected data and tracked the impact of the leadership classes and additional leadership opportunities provided with over 250 students. The results showed that offering a portfolio of leadership experiences, including leadership classes:

• Increased opportunities for students to be fully engaged in their educational experience
• Enhanced the overall learning environment and experience
• Increased self-selection to participate in experiences during both in- and out-of-school time
• Increased student-driven conflict resolution
• Improved group project function in leadership classes and other subject areas
• Improved school spirit and confidence
• Increased opportunities for cross-age role-modeling and leadership facilitation
• Resulted in the lowest vandalism rate for all facilities across a mid-sized (30,000+) urban district

Students involved in leadership classes/efforts had:

• Better class retention (fewer failed or dropped classes)
• Better attendance rates
• Higher quarterly GPAs and higher graduation rates
• Higher percentage of students sitting for the ACT exam and exploring post-secondary school options
• Greater interest in serving as tutors/mentors with others
• Greater interest in co-curricular activities and participation in outside-school-time leadership workshops, conferences, and self-improvement opportunities 

Awards and Reviews of Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens:

*Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award, 2007

*From Youthworker Journal Online:  With years of experience as a leadership consultant, school counselor, and coordinator of various leadership programs, MacGregor brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens. The curriculum consists of 21 sessions designed for 45 minutes. The sessions contain a variety of topics: qualities of leadership, decision-making, stereotypes, prejudices, conflict management, and more. The curriculum is easily navigated and provides the facilitator all the guidance necessary for a successful experience. The guidebook for teens provides thought-provoking quotes and questions, allowing students to explore the personal implications of each session. While this curriculum does not contain any scriptural support, there is ample material available to supplement a leadership program that includes a strong spiritual component in your youth ministry. I highly recommend giving this product a try.—Josef Klam

* From Children's Literature:  Written for teens of all ages and groups of any kinds, this workbook is the instructor's guide for a 21-session curriculum on fostering leadership. Written by a former school counselor and coordinator of leadership programs, the guide is flexible enough for teachers to choose all or some of the lessons, according to the needs of the audience. The book begins by defining leadership, its importance as a skill, and its benefits to all teens, not just a select few. The 45-minute sessions for students from ages 11 to 18 require that each have a student copy of the book. Each session lists goals, materials, needed steps for getting ready, how to begin, step by step guidance through each teaching activity, discussion questions, items for written reflections, and ideas for putting learning into action. A wide variety of strategies are employed that should appeal to a variety of learning styles. Lessons deal with subjects such as what makes a good leader, doing the right thing, turning conflict into cooperation and thinking creatively. There are plenty of resources and additional readings provided, as well as forms that can be reproduced. It is an excellent resource for working with any aged teen and user friendly for busy adult leaders.

 Additional Resources in this Curriculum: