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Advisors
Ms. Linda Argentati
Ms. Shannon Harman
Ms. Shannon Harman and Ms. Linda Argentati have completed their first training day with the Leadership Team. The head trainer for the Leadership Team is Bob James. He is the founder of a non-profit organization called Future Schools Network and has developed the Future Leaders Network. He applied for and received a grant from the New York State Education Department to develop leadership programs in different high school throughout the state. Liberty had the opportunity to get involved 5 years ago and they have been ever since. The group is comprised of 15-16 students who reflect the composition the student body. They are not necessarily 90+ students but they must be able to meet their academic responsibilities in order to participate.The current members are:
12th - Risa Bernthal, Matt Arielly, Ryan Cerullo
11th - JR Goodman, Brina Cohen, Sara Hazelnis, Connor Hinton, Crystal Peart
10th - Jill Lieberman, Kris Merklin, Brandon Tompkins, Adrianna Rubio
9th - Paulina Kleinberger, Aldberto Ponce, Paige LaPolt, Sabrina Mastrogiovanni
The training they receive is a combination of team building, brainstorming, public presentation, and resource development. The students select a topic or issue that they would like to work on that would improve any student’s high school experience. They meet one day per month at Cornell Cooperative Extension to work on the issue, examine it from many angles and develop a plan of action. In the past the students have produced different videos as a means for educating students on topics such at teen drinking and suicide. The most recent video will be shown at the January faculty meeting.
The New York State legislature recently identified The Future Leaders Network as an exemplary program and has listed it as a promising practice in a publication that lists youth programs. This program is researched based and has been proven to make a long- term impact on the participants.