 Can you put a wood screw through a balloon without popping it? Probably not. Preparation is key. We'll come back to this. Your high school students know how to communicate effectively, run an efficient meeting, know how to handle conflict, know how policies and laws are made. Most of the youth today don't and they are missing the skills required to not only be an involved community member, but a future leader. Flames, building tomorrow's leaders today, and youth lead vocal, leadership programs are developed as a response to the civic engagement need identified at the NDSU Extension Service Community Forums. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction learned about the programs and wanted to know how Extension could partner with them to bring a civic engagement program into the high schools across the state, thus creating Building Tomorrow's Leaders. Building Tomorrow's Leaders is a comprehensive program geared to high school students with a focus on grades 9 and 10, but also works well with grades 11 and 12. The program aims to empower students to get involved in school and civic organizations to build confidence and strengthen the skills students need to lead others and to help students complete a project to meet a school or community need by applying what they have learned. There are eight modules and each module contains activities that will enhance students learning. Activities include a real colors, temperament assessment, parliamentary procedure practice, mock interviews, and more hands-on activities within each topic area to achieve a better understanding and increase skill level. The first module provides an overview of leadership principles and helps youth discover what leadership is and is not. They will also spend time reflecting on leaders in their life and how they can become a better leader. Youth will spend time learning about basic personality types and effective communication techniques to use with each type. They will learn how to recognize individual strengths and assets using real colors. They will also participate in active listening to help them learn how to better understand others. Effective meetings are no accident. Students will be engaged in a meaningful discussion about running meetings. They will also learn how parliamentary procedure helps organizations or groups of people make decisions in a way that is organized and fair. People form an opinion based on appearances in less than 30 seconds. Appearances can be physical, verbal, or in the form of a cover letter and resume. Although in a favorable first impression based on appearance can change later, it creates a hurdle to overcome. Students will learn how to give a great first impression. Students will learn about etiquette as it applies to professional situations, basic table manners, and tips to improve their socializing skills. They will create a personal elevator speech and develop an awareness of how online life can affect real life. People don't always agree. There are many reasons for that and the challenge and opportunity for a leader is to learn to manage conflict and channel the energy in a positive way. Students will learn about conflict, be able to recognize its causes and develop strategies to manage conflict and move forward with group work. As the next generation of leaders, students must know and understand how policies and laws are made. Students will explore school, community, state and local government opportunities and understand the legislative process. Students will learn the steps and planning for an effective group project, develop a strategy to implement a group project and actually complete the project that will benefit the school and or community. Working with an evaluator, a variety of evaluation tools will be completed to determine the skills gained through the building tomorrow's leaders program. Tools include a Qualtrics survey, instructor interviews, student follow-up surveys, and follow-up focus groups. All module objectives were cross-walked with the North Godot Department of Public Instruction, content and achievement standards. The areas they were cross-walked in include career and technical education, English language arts and literacy, library and technology, and social studies. Extension agents are asked to sign the school application so they are aware of the program being conducted in their county. To present real colors if they are trained or to help locate a nearby trainer and to check on the evaluation so they are completed. Additional involvement is an extension agent's choice. Schools are encouraged to form a committee to develop a plan on how to implement the program. They are responsible to complete all eight modules, but have the flexibility to pick and choose within each module on what activities they would like to do. There is funding available to implement the program from DPI. How can you build tomorrow's leaders? We weren't prepared at the beginning with the balloon. Preparation is key in being able to stick a scooter through a balloon without popping. As preparation is key to preparing students to become effective leaders. Help your local youth gain the skills necessary to become an involved community member and leader. Contact your schools today. This program would not have been possible without the efforts of hardworking people. We thank them for their commitment and involvement. If you have any questions, please contact Maxine. Her contact information is listed here.