NORWICH – The growing controversy over the pilot leadership training and character development program he has been working on for the past six months has Norwich High School Teacher Joe Maiurano shaking his head in disbelief. He says he can’t believe that so much negativity has grown around something that is designed to be such a positive experience.
The problem, in his opinion, is that people don’t understand what The Leadership Project is all about.
“I absolutely believe that when people find out about this program, they’ll understand what a wonderful opportunity this is,” Maiurano explained.
He was meeting with the students participating in the program on Tuesday night and therefore unable to attend the school board meeting also held that evening, where the hottest topic by far was the retreat he will lead this weekend.
While he wasn’t there, he is well aware that at the meeting, concerns were raised about the planning that went into the event, the timing, safety, the selection process and even the students selected.
If the community members, faculty and students who raised those concerns knew more, Maiurano said, “I think they would feel good about this program.”
At the board meeting, several people claimed there was inadequate planning for the trip, which will take a group of 26 students on a four-day retreat in the Adirondack Mountains.
“The idea that this is a poorly planned program is ludicrous,” Maiurano said. Rather than the slapped together program portrayed by some, he said he has been planning what he calls The Leadership Project since December. Maiurano, who teaches earth science, shaped the program based on his extensive experience in outdoor leadership education. In fact, the core of the program, he explained, is based on one he designed during his 11 years as an educator at Camp Dudley, which he compares to a mini-Outward Bound experience.
Maiurano worked closely with the High School’s Dean of Students, Scott Ryan, and other faculty and community members in finalizing the program. He first presented the idea to the district’s administration in mid-January, he said.
According to the program outline, the goal of The Leadership Project is to develop, grow and strengthen character and leadership potential using the outdoors. The project, Maiurano explained, is divided into three portions: Pre-trip meetings, the leadership retreat itself and post-trip meetings and a service project which will be ongoing throughout the following school year.
The purpose of the retreat itself is to “train students in leadership principles and techniques that they will use in the upcoming school year including personal leadership growth, character growth, collaborative leadership and school leadership,” Maiurano explained.
During the trip, students will spend time at Olympic venues in Lake Placid, hear from an Olympic gold medalist, hike, rappel, rock climb and do a number of other physically and emotionally challenging activities. Maiurano has mapped out rationales, learning outcomes and behavioral objectives as well as debriefing guidelines for each of these activities. The challenges these students face in the outdoor setting will be much different than those they face in their daily lives, but “they are strong metaphors for character and leadership development,” he said.
Taking the students out of their usual element puts everyone on an equal playing field, he added. “Kids that struggle in a traditional education setting tend to excel in an outdoor education setting,” he explained.
“I know the timing has become an issue,” said Maiurano, but the project was intended to be a foundation for the next school year and with weather uncertain in the Adirondacks during the early spring, planning it for earlier in the year was out. There was also a concerted effort to plan the event around sporting, band and other school activities.
There has been criticism that the program violates a “study mode” period designated by school staff members, but Maiurano said the program was already on the school calendar before that decision was made.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Dr. Ed Erickson raised concerns about the health and safety risks involved with the planned activities. Yesterday, Maiurano, who is a wilderness EMT, met with Erickson to discuss the precautions and planning steps he has taken.
“We really emphasize safety,” Maiurano said, explaining that every activity was planned to remain within proximity to major roadways, a hospital and the local fire and rescue stations. They have also medically screened participants, and parents have been made aware of the safety risks.
“Every chaperone is CPR and first aid certified,” added Ryan. In addition, the guides who will lead the activities are all NYS certified.
The program’s selection process has sparked much of the controversy surrounding the trip.
“I wanted specifically to get a cross-section of our school community,” Maiurano said. In the “hodgepodge” group, he said he wanted to include not just students who were already involved in student leadership, but also those involved in athletes, academics, music, art and even kids sometimes considered “out in left field.”
To accomplish that goal, the earth science teacher said he enlisted the help of around 10 other faculty members from different areas of the school, including special education. He asking each to identify students “with leadership promise who could benefit from character education.”
Maiurano met individually with each of the 64 students recommended by these faculty members. From there, “the kids narrowed themselves down,” he said, based on their willingness to commit to the program guidelines and participation in the process. He considers the final group of participants as “self-selected,” not hand-picked as some critics have suggested.
“This is not about rewards,” he explained.
The inclusion of one of the students involved with the desecration of the Norwich Jewish Center last year has drawn an emotional response from the local Jewish community. Maiurano said he is sensitive to their concerns, but feels that the program is a way in which to have a positive impact on students who have made bad decisions in the past.
“Here we have the opportunity to help a young man,” Ryan said.
Some have also had a hard time understanding why current seniors will be participating, when there is an expectation that students will remain involved throughout the next school year. Maiurano defends this decision, by saying that these students are there as a resource for the other participants.
“There is a lot that these kids can contribute,” he said. In order to participate, the seniors had to agree to a different contract than the other students, including that they would continue the connection with the program while they are in college next year.
“I think there is real value to that,” he explained.
The power point presentation Maiurano prepared about the program received applause from parents of participants at a recent meeting, according to Kurt Edwards, a parent of one of the students involved. Edwards will also serve as one of the trip’s chaperones.
“This is amazing,” Edwards said, calling the program “transformational.” “These goals and objectives are spot-on.”
The value of the program has also been recognized by NBT Bancorp, which has donated more than $10,000 to fund the pilot program.
The district’s administration has strongly supported the program, despite the criticism it has received.
“It’s a unique program from almost every angle,” said Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan, who said, in hindsight, it would have been beneficial to have the school board and faculty view Maiurano’s presentation as well.
“I think if they did see this, it would change their opinion,” Ryan agreed.