Extraordinary Leaders Develop within Schools by KAYLA

Extraordinary Leaders Develop within Schools by KAYLA - May 2025 Scholarship Essay

If I had unlimited time and money, I would use all I have learned from school, including educational material, cultural exchanges, and gathered perspectives, to create a positive impact on the world through a private-funded program designed to build extraordinary leaders within our school systems. This program, implemented in all primary and secondary schools worldwide, focuses on the revitalization of how our schools are set up, including funding, curriculum, architecture, sustainability, and longevity. School is a growing place where hundreds of millions of children spend more than half of their day. A place of development and a setting where skills are built. This specific funding opportunity funds interested schools in the reformation of their growing facility.

First, funding, realistically, it takes money to make things happen, and with this blessing of unlimited money I would use it towards schools. According to the Education Data Initiative, U.S. public education spending is falling short of global standards and is trailing behind economic growth. There is a “global financing gap” between educational facilities and funding, creating a shortfall of “quality, relevance, equity, and inclusion in education.” This heart striking fact presented by UNESCO reveals the need for support and presents the lack of adequate development.
With the funding presented, we can focus on curriculum, architecture, and sustainability. Regarding the curriculum, it would keep with current methods and follow those with the inclusion of student-focused courses and a cross-cultural exchange program. The student-focused courses allow students to express their interests and hobbies, such as culinary, gaming, and science. The cross-cultural exchange program would teach students about other cultures, including history and tradition, and connect students to international students via online communication. Both of these programs would start in primary school around the fourth grade and go through secondary school, where the students participating in the exchange program could visit the other country, the students, and their school for three days. Both of these programs would be offered once a year, so if a student takes a student-focused course in the fall, they have to take the cultural exchange in the spring. Regarding architecture, with the support of the community and school, there would be remodels that focus on sustainability, accessibility, and community. The remodel could include the integration of larger classrooms, playgrounds, renewable energy sources, and appliances like skylights and solar panels, more windows, gym expansion, and student-focused spaces like a culinary kitchen and gardening land.
Following the integration of the new curriculum, the program would invest in longer school years with continuous breaks throughout the year. For example, the summer break would be one month - fifty days. The breaks would continue as follows, with the flexibility of the school’s calendar. Two-day breaks every other week, four-day breaks every other month, spring break, fall break, Christmas break, all the holidays for that country.
This program for the educational system will not only impact the schools at the county or community level but worldwide. This program focuses on building up our leaders, introducing them to leaders across the world, and creating a creative, developing, and impactful environment. Yes, it takes time and money to build and revitalize, but the impact and the brightness that will come from this is extraordinary. The leaders who will rise and develop are exceptional. And the world that will be impacted will be unforgettably spectacular.

In conclusion, what we start with doesn’t have to be what we end with. Learning from previous educational experiences, with unlimited time and money, the inclusion of a program focused on building extraordinary leaders would only impact our world wonderfully.