Osseo Area Schools participates in Ukraine Youth Leadership Engagement & Development Program

Students from Ukraine recently visited various schools throughout the district, meeting the students and teachers and experiencing a day in the schools. 

These international students were a part of the YouLEAD (Youth Leadership Engagement and Development) program, sponsored by Global Synergy Group. YouLEAD is an exchange program that brings Ukrainian teens to the United States to learn about leadership, connect with peers and learn about American culture. Their week learning about education in America wrapped up their five-week trip in Minnesota. In the earlier weeks, the visiting teens learned about government, non-profit organizations, business and entrepreneurship. 

On the morning of Sept. 8, the visiting students met with Supt. Dr. Kim Hiel and other district leaders at the Educational Service Center. The students learned about the structure of a school district, what a school board does and what leadership goes into running a district of this size, as well as some of the values of the district, like holding space. The students also shared a gift with Dr. Hiel, a symbol of democracy in their culture. In the afternoon, students visited Maple Grove Senior High School.

On Sept. 9, the students visited Osseo and Park Center senior high schools in the morning. At Park Center, the students joined Ms. Ziemer’s IB Global Politics class. The students talked about their stories and how the war in their country has affected them. They also shared their favorite subjects in school and what their favorite thing about Minnesota has been so far. Students in the Global Politics class had the opportunity to ask questions. 

In the afternoon, the YouLEAD students visited Oak View Elementary School. Students heard from Principal Ryan Gibbs and Assistant Principal Jody Seppala about leadership and culture in schools in America. Afterward, the visiting students had fun joining kindergarteners in their physical education class, second graders in their music class and third graders in their STEM activity in the media center. 

“Osseo Area Schools has partnered with Global Synergy Group to support this project and has enjoyed showing the students our schools and approach to quality education as well as learning about Ukraine’s approach and adaptability to providing education during a time of war,” said Brian Siverson-Hall, Executive Director of Community Engagement and one of the coordinators of the partnership between Osseo Area Schools and YouLEAD. “The young leaders from Ukraine who participate in YouLEAD are amazing, and we are all better off from meeting and interacting with one another.”