Servant Leadership Institute
The Servant-Leadership Institute at St. James’ frames for our students that they will inherit a complicated but beautiful world and that there is a joyous obligation to tackle the world’s problems to make it a better place.
St. James’ doesn’t just raise leaders – we consciously coach our children that true leadership is about serving everyone and seeing God’s spirit in every living thing.
We teach our students that true leadership is:
- Grounded in service
- Compassion and Empathy
- Joyous curiosity
- Connecting with other human beings
- Challenging
- Usually absent of praise or recognition
- Yields intrinsic joy in a job well done rather than praise or gratitude from others
Our Institute works closely with St. James’ Episcopal Church in ensuring that our students regularly support the hungry and the unhoused. Our 5th and 6th grades have weekly classes to support the parish food pantry and our 6th grade oversees its own food pantry to support the hungry.
All grade levels, from our youngest preschoolers through grade 6, take a servant leadership class in which they actively complete projects to support the hungry and the unhoused. Our students also work to support St. James’ partner schools in Haiti and Korea.
The Servant Leadership Institute also provides framing for our:
- Faith & Citizenship Program
- Class Cabinet (our student government)
- The Husky Howl (newspaper and podcast)
- Scouting Program (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts)
Distinguished Servant Leaders
The Servant-Leadership Institute has welcomed many distinguished servant leaders to speak to our students about their work in service:
- Congressman Ted Lieu -Thursday, March 21, 2019
- Dr. Jody Armour - Friday, February 19, 2021
- The Honorable Jan Perry (Ret.) Former LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry -March 12, 2021
- Former U.S. Senator, Barbara Boxer - Friday, March 19th, 2021
- Nithya Raman, LA City Council Member for the 4th District - Friday, April 16, 2021