Coming next school year, a new class known as “student governance and leadership” is going to be implemented at Ida B. Wells. Taught by current leadership teacher, Abby Griffin, this class will focus on the goal of stopping forms of hate around the school and other leadership activities to help better the school’s climate. 

This class will work alongside the No Place for Hate program, a student-led program that works to better the school climate on the basis of protecting and emphasizing culture and preventing hate. “The student governance and leadership class is an opportunity for No Place for Hate to get really embedded schoolwide in ways that we haven’t done before,” said Ayesha Coning, vice-principal and advisor for the No Place for Program at Ida B. Wells. Student governance and leadership aims to get more done with No Place for Hate, like being able to host assemblies, creating school-wide initiatives and just being able to get in front of more students on a bigger stage than just an after-school program.

While the class would be working with No Place for Hate, that would only be a portion of the curriculum. “[The student government class] holds No Place for Hate in it, but it’s not just a stand-alone No Place for Hate class,” said Griffin. This also means that you don’t have to be a No Place for Hate member to enroll in the class, but there are some prerequisites, as you must be a 10th to 12th grader. The class is also looking for those who have taken intro to leadership, are in No Place for Hate, or have an extenuating circumstance that you must uptake with Griffin. But these aren’t technically prerequisites, as you can sign up no matter your position. 

Student governance and leadership will also work with leadership, but will mainly aid in the logistics and planning of No Place for Hate so more goals can be set for the after-school program. “My thought is that we go through the heavy-lifting work, and then we can bring that to the after-school group,” said Griffin. 

But what will the course content actually look like? “The curriculum is super meaningful, powerful, and relevant. It allows students to really learn about social justice issues that are happening here in our community,” said Coning. “The class would be able to really go deep and students could build their own knowledge base and understanding of what’s happening in our community and our world.” So, if you’re interested in not only learning about the roots of oppression, but also how to stop them in our school, you may want to be on the watch for this class next year.

Even though forecasting has passed, the student governance and leadership class is still open for people to enter. If you’re intrigued by the idea of being able to play a role in both leadership and stopping hate at Ida B. Wells, this collaboration class with No Place for Hate is the perfect opportunity to make your mark.