Final Draft of PEO212

Slug:PEO212-11/16/07
By Kelsey Hansen

When water boils, it produces steam which can power a locomotive, or in this case, Edina High School. A new leadership program called 212 was started in August. The name is derived from 212 degrees: the boiling point of water.
"I hear students are more engaged in the school than ever before," said Dr. Bruce Locklear, EHS' new principal who started the 212 leadership team. "Students are excited about school events. It's very exciting to experience this as a high school principal."
Locklear said he started 212 this past summer because he wanted to establish a connection with the students. He also said he wanted a way to get the students of EHS positively involved in the school.
Junior Mikey Spencer, an active member of 212, also witnessed the positive effects of the program.
"I have definitely seen a positive effect," Spencer said. "For spirit team, the overall spirit of our school has gone up and the cleanliness, I can tell, has gotten better at Edina High School."
Though 212 was created to improve the overall environment of EHS, many issues have been brought to the group's attention. 212 has several teams within it. The teams are the traffic committee, the community service team and the cleanliness team. One issue the 212 traffic committee is tackling is the parking lot.
"Instead of having the parking lot be one lane going out, which is what the situation is right now, we are planning on having two lanes going out after school for a quicker exit," Spencer said.
Junior Joe Wagner is on the community service team of 212 and thinks 212 is making a positive difference in the school. He also loves beinga part of the program.
"I enjoy being in 212," Wagner said. "212 gives students a voice. It unifies us and our causes as a school."
This summer, 212 had about 60 students involved in the program. Now there are over 100 students involved. Locklear said anyone who wants to join 212 is more than welcome to and his ultimate goal is to have every student in Edina High School in the program. He said that he is definitely planning on keeping 212 at EHS for years to come.
"212 gives me and other leaders in the school a chance to talk to the administrators and get things done," Wagner said.