By Claire Erickson
Husky of the Month is a brand new thing to NLA, so not everything is known about it. Chris Stewart, a 7-12 building co-lead, started this program because he believed that there was a lack of recognition for student leaders at NLA, and he wanted to change that.
Voting is done by all NLA staff. A student’s IQ, EQ, and contribution to the learning environment are the main items looked at when voting on the winners, Stewart said. Winners are announced the first week of the following month at school and in the weekly NLA newsletter. The chosen student from each grade, K-12, gets a certificate, a social media shout-out, and a $10 prize.
Stewart has wanted to do this for a while.
“It is something that I think was missing from our culture for some time,” he said, “It didn’t really take off until I was able to find a sponsor for the prize.”
Amanda Jensen, an NLA parent and local realtor, sponsored the cash prize.
Voting is relatively simple.
“Staff are all invited to vote on the grade levels they interact with regularly,” Stewart said, “Voters are asked to nominate one student who demonstrated key characteristics of strong academic performance (IQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), and an overall contribution to our learning environment over the past month.”
To close everything he said, “I want students to hear that this is not a popularity contest, above all else…Teachers notice the big and small things that you do in the classroom, the hallways, on the playing field, and everywhere else…Leadership comes in a lot of forms and every single student is capable whether or not they get a monthly certificate,” Stewart concluded.
