February 26, 2025
Gilbert Superintendent Dr. Christine Trujillo places an important emphasis on student leadership throughout the district, whether it’s with our youngest of students or with our students who will soon graduate and embark on their lives outside of our school walls.
That goal of allowing every student to showcase their leadership capabilities is what led her to create the Super(intendent) Tiger Leadership Team, which met for the first time earlier this week.
“We want to give more students a voice in decisions within the district,” Dr. Trujillo said. “As our students learn more about leadership in all four of our buildings, we want to bring the voices of more kids to the table.”
Fourteen students, hitting all of the grade levels from first through 12th, were selected for the very first Super(intendent) Tiger Leadership Team. This group came together for the first time Tuesday morning, and according to Dr. Trujillo it could not have gone better.
“I could not have been more thrilled with how involved all of the kids were,” she said. “We had insightful things shared from our first and second graders, all the way up to our high schoolers. Watching our older students work so positively with our younger students was also a true example of leadership.”
The emphasis of the initial meeting was, first and foremost, giving the students a chance to meet and get to know one another. Teamwork activities were also involved, and the group discussed the components that make a good team, such as communication and listening to all ideas.
The group also voted on a team design for a T-shirt.
Dr. Trujillo says the group will start discussing “Big Dreams” at their next meeting, as the kids begin to use their voices pertaining to the school district.
Based on the students’ responses to questions asked at the conclusion of the initial meeting, Dr. Trujillo is beyond encouraged about the impact this group could have.
“One student’s takeaway from the first meeting was that he learned leadership can be at any age,” Dr. Trujillo said. “Another quote from a student was, ‘Good leadership comes with synergy. Without synergy, you’re not going to be as strong.’ I was just blown away by their responses.”
