Table of Contents

Connections for Community Leadership. ii

How the We Lead! Curriculum is Organized.. 7

Welcome to the We Lead! Curriculum... 9

We Lead! History.. 9

We Lead! Philosophy.. 9

We Lead! Goals. 12

We Lead! Program Overview... 13

Theme for Week One. 13

Inclusion and Self Exploration.. 13

Theme for Week Two.. 13

Identify and Build Leadership Skills. 13

Theme for Week Three. 13

Leadership in Action and Reflection.. 13

Let’s Begin! 15

Where Will It Take Place?. 15

Who Will Staff The Program?. 16

Staffing a Youth Program.. 16

Community Service Organizations/ Speakers. 17

Field Trips. 18

T-Shirts. 18

Participant Contracts. 18

Permission Slips/Emergency Contact Card.. 18

Recruiting Participants. 19

йAccessibility.. 19

Week One: Inclusion and Self Exploration.. 20

Week One: Day One.. 21

Descriptor and Gesture Name Game. 22

Community Norms/Expectations. 23

Word of the Day.. 25

Communication.. 25

Listening.. 26

Week One: Day One Handouts. 30

Blocks to Communication and Trust-Building.. 31

Listening Exercise # 1: 32

Listening Exercise # 2: 33

How to Be a Good Listener. 34

Week One: Day Two.. 35

Words of the Day.. 36

The Circle Connection Game. 36

We Lead! T-Shirt. 37

The Label Game. 38

Accommodations and Skills Box.. 40

Invited Speaker. 40

Community Service Project. 40

Non Verbal Communication.. 41

Week One: Day Two Handouts. 43

The Label Game. 45

Week One: Day Three.. 46

Words of the Day.. 47

Self- Reflection: Who are You?. 47

Pride and Self-Empowerment. 48

Leadership Compass Activity.. 49

Proud and Powerful. 51

Week One: Day Three Handouts. 52

Week One: Day Four.. 63

Words of the Day.. 64

Non-Verbal Behavior and Feelings. 64

Death in the Dessert Game. 66

Roots Activity.. 68

Mine Field.. 69

Week One: Day Four Handouts. 71

Week Two: Leadership in Action.. 73

Week Two: Day One.. 74

Words of the Day.. 75

The Star Thrower. 75

Is the Jar Full?. 76

“I” Statements. 76

Community Strength.. 79

Community Service Planning.. 80

Week Two: Day One Handouts. 81

How to Develop “I” Messages. 83

“You” and “I’ Messages. 84

Week Two: Day Two.. 85

Leadership Characteristics’ Activity.. 86

Three Styles of Communication.. 87

Person First Language. 88

Week Two: Day Two Handouts. 90

Passive, Assertive, and Aggressive Scenarios. 97

Week Two: Day Three and Four.. 98

Community Service Project. 99

Service Project Planning.. 99

Paper Plate Awards. 102

Week Three: Being a Leader.. 103

Final Planning of Project. 104

Banquet Committee. 104

T-Shirts. 104

Appendix 1: Forms. 105

Invitation Letter. 106

Permission Form.. 107

Participant Emergency Information Form.. 108

Participant Contract. 109

Parent Evaluation of We Lead! 110

Participant Evaluation of We Lead! 111

Example of the logo of the first “We Lead! ” project. 112

Appendix 2: Resources. 113

Lejuste Three Dimensions of Leadership Development.. 114

Guide to Accessible Meetings. 117

Location of Meeting.. 117

In the Meeting Room.. 117

Other Points. 118

How the We Lead! Curriculum is Organized

The We Lead! curriculum is organized into six parts.

Part One, “Welcome to the We Lead! curriculum, ” summarizes the history, philosophy, and goals of We Lead!

Part Two, “Program Overview, ” is a weekly breakdown of what will be learned in We Lead!

Part Three, “Lets Begin! ” gives guidance of what staff should organize and prepare for before participants arrive. This section will help you set up your We Lead! program.

Part Four, “We Lead! Curriculum, ” this is the We Lead! program set up as a three week model. This section is broken down by week, then further broken down by day. Each day will list the purpose, suggested activities, materials and the handouts you will need for that day. The handouts needed are located at the end of that day. On page 9 example 1 shows you what a day would look like.

Throughout the curriculum you will see boxes that contain feedback and advice from previous facilitators of We Lead! Example two on page 9 shows you one of these boxes.

Part Five, “Forms, ” in this appendix you will find examples of all the suggested forms you will need to run a We Lead! program.

Part Six, “Resources” offers an in-depth look at the leadership model the CCL used to create the We Lead! curriculum and a guide to holding an accessible meeting.

Welcome to the We Lead! Curriculum

The We Lead! curriculum is designed to offer participants (with and without disabilities) practical experience in becoming a leader. We Lead! offers

participants information about disability history, disability pride, awareness of personal talent and leadership skills. We Lead! also serves as a laboratory where participants work together in an inclusive atmosphere, participants use what they have learned to identify, design, and deliver a community service project.

We Lead! History

The We Lead! curriculum was first developed and implemented in the summer of 2005 in Kent County, for youth with and without disabilities. Since then, many organizations have implemented the program to fit the needs of their own diverse communities. This new version of We Lead! has been written to broaden the curriculum to make it more applicable to the unique needs of different communities while keeping the fundamental values, aspects and leadership development techniques of the original curriculum.

We Lead! Philosophy

Gaining any skill takes practice, and leadership development is no different.

Any person in a position of leadership has gained skills from their life experience, usually while working with others. Whether it is in a family, at school, at work, or in the community, those of us who take on leadership have had practice.

We Lead! draws from evidence-based practice that tells us leadership skills emerge from application. The model of leadership development used by Connections to Community Leadership and this curriculum is the “Lejuste Three Dimensions of Leadership Development.” Based on this model of leadership this curriculum focuses on three components of leadership skill building – Self, Community, Visionary. (Figure One) This model is not a developmental model, each piece acts to improve the skills in the two other parts. For more information on the Lejuste Three Dimensions of Leadership Development please see Appendix 3.

This curriculum addresses the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to provide people (with and without disabilities) with practical experience that they

may use as they become leaders within the disability rights movement and/or within generic community environments.

The greatest challenge to those who staff this curriculum is to establish an environment in which the expectation is that participants assume leadership.

It takes a leap of faith and a great deal of self-discipline of the staff to understand the difference between a facilitator and a teacher. The curriculum will develop the skills. The facilitator will need to create the environment.

The flow of the We Lead! program is evidenced by the percent of leadership assumed by facilitator-staff and participants throughout the planning and implementation of We Lead! Program staff make all (100 %) of the program decisions before the participants arrive (locating an accessible site, recruitment, purchase of materials, etc.). As the program begins, facilitators set the agenda and the daily activities. Each week, participants are expected to assume more responsibility for planning activities and program decisions. During the final week, when the community service project is delivered and the celebration is planned, participants actively drive the activities and make decisions while facilitators follow directions, track details and frame problems to be solved.