18. Peer Leadership

The Peer leadership Program pairs teams of seniors with freshman groups to help make the transition to high school go smoothly.

As a new 9th grade Dalton student, Peer Leadership was one of my first introductions to the Dalton community. Before school began, I remember being terrified when first arriving at Camp Sloane for the freshman retreat. I didn’t know anyone. The Peer Leaders, a group of seniors chosen to guide freshman through our first year of high school, were fun and welcoming. They helped us through bonding activities, low ropes courses, and wall climbing. At school, at weekly peer leadership sessions, they were mentors and resources, teaching us how to navigate the ups and downs of freshman year, and guiding us during that formative year.

As a senior, I was lucky to serve as a Peer Leader myself remembering how valuable my Peer Leaders were three years earlier. An unanticipated benefit was the connection that developed among Peer Leaders. We arrived earlier than the 9th graders and had time to get to know each other, learn to trust each other, and prepare for the responsibility of guiding the freshman through their first year of high school at Dalton.

When the new high schoolers arrived at Camp Sloane, I thought back to my experience. Central to Peer Leadership was the knowledge that you’d been in the same place just a few years earlier, and therefore, were well positioned to understand your freshman peer’s experiences. Dalton Peer Leaders help give freshmen that little push they needed to Go Forth Unafraid!
—Sarah Telson ’05