What does student leadership look like at WAB?

A group of ES student council members meet to talk about how to organize Lost and Found donations. Meanwhile at the HUB, MS students are giving out hot chocolate to spread a little joy. On Tiger Field, an HS student Coach in Training, works with a younger student to sharpen their skills. This is what leadership looks like at WAB.

From Elementary to High School, students practice leadership in ways that are practical and real. Students of all ages engage in socially responsible leadership: taking ownership, working with others, and making things better for the community.   

What makes this approach innovative is that leadership is treated as a learned competency students build over time. Students can choose different pathways based on their interests and strengths, and they learn through real work, with real responsibilities and constraints. 

Leadership through mentorship and Global Citizenship 

Some students lead by supporting others and strengthening the community. 

• Tiger Leadership: Older students mentor and coach younger peers, modelling encouragement, responsibility, and teamwork. 

• Sustained community partnerships: Students design and lead service initiatives rooted in long-term relationships. Organizing fundraising, coordinating volunteers, and mentoring younger students to carry the work forward. 

• Health and wellbeing: Student-led campaigns developed in collaboration with school experts (including our nurses) help families build practical knowledge, such as first aid training and health awareness. 

Leadership through student-designed learning 

Some students lead by creating learning for others. 

• STEMX Science Day: students designed and led workshops end-to-end, pitching ideas, managing budgets, troubleshooting technology, and adapting in real time. Leadership looked different across the team: some presented and facilitated; others handled logistics, materials, and flow so the event ran smoothly. 

Leadership through representation and community-building 

Some students lead by listening, representing, and improving daily life. 

• Elementary, Middle and High School Student Councils: students organize spirit weeks and house assemblies, lead kindness challenges, propose improvements (including to the lunch experience), and coordinate lost & found donation drives. They learn that leadership includes planning, communication, and follow-through, especially on the unglamorous parts that make everything work. 

Leadership through stewardship  

All students learn that leadership begins with awareness, noticing what needs care, and choosing to act. 

• China Studies and WAB Wild: students take responsibility for the environments and communities they visit, including stewardship actions that ensure we leave places cleaner than we found them. Universities and workplaces increasingly recognize that long résumés filled with titles mean little without depth or purpose. One or two sustained commitments, where students can articulate their impact and growth, reveal far more about who they are becoming. This is why we believe leadership is the ongoing development of key competencies, like collaboration, ethical decision-making, initiative, empathy, and resilience.  

As with all learning, families play an important role. At home, it can be as simple as encouraging children to take ownership and stay with commitments long enough to grow. Ask questions that build agency (“What’s your plan?”), celebrate follow-through more than titles, and help them balance ambition with wellbeing. 

This year, through our Innovation Series, in collaboration with Stephen Taylor, our Director of Innovation, we’ll be sharing stories and examples of what innovation looks like across WAB. We’ll share stories from classrooms, examples from alumni, and insights from global partners. Our hope is that together, we can build a clearer picture of how innovation at WAB helps our students become better learners and prepared for life beyond WAB.