Parent FAQs

Why do you refer to students as Leaders?

We want students in our program to imagine themselves as Future Leaders, starting on day one, which is why we refer to all participants as Leaders. Leadership is something that is acknowledged as being already within them. The curriculum is designed to highlight these attributes by building a strong foundation within the core pillars of leadership to better prepare participants to navigate change, adversity, and success early on in their academic careers.

My Leader is in high school / elementary school - can they join?

Rising Leaders intentionally partners with Middle Schools, since this is such a pivotal time of transition for students both academically and personally. Exposure to conflict management, advocacy, public speaking, and creative/critical thinking skills at this age prepares Leaders for high school in a way that is academic in nature but not in topic, focusing instead on how to create social change or steps to consider when becoming an entrepreneur.

What if my Leader is already in the 8th grade - can they join?

The curriculum is designed to take place over two years, so to get the full experience of the program we recommend committing to Rising Leaders in 7th grade. However, sometimes there are openings made available in 8th grade, and you should submit an inquiry to info@risingleadersinc.org or with the partner teacher at your Leader’s school to inquire about space.

Are Mentors allowed to contact Leaders outside of workshops?

With parental permission, Mentors are allowed to email Leaders between workshops, with the partner teacher copied for visibility. Mentors and Leaders are not allowed to exchange cell phone and social media information.

How do you meet COVID-19 Social Distancing requirements?

In April 2020, we were forced to end our program one workshop early as students were sent home in late March. For the 2020-2021 school year, we hosted all eight workshops remotely on Zoom, condensing the material to two-hour sessions and connecting Mentor/Leaders via email in between sessions. For 2021-2022 school, we hope to meet again in person at our partner school! Stay tuned for more details in August 2021.

What if a Mentor leaves the program?

We ask Mentors to commit to the program for two years - this allows the Leader and the Mentor to build trust and to be a support for Leaders during the high school application process. While rare, sometimes Mentors do need to leave the program early. In those cases, we work to pair the Leader with a new Mentor for the remainder of the program.