Leadership Pensacola

An Inter-disciplinary Approach To Curriculum

Community education/leadership programs need to provide a picture of the whole community, of how the various parts fit together. A community is not about topics but rather, interrelations of issues. In creating an issue-based curriculum rather than topic-based, we incorporated the issues that we currently face within our community and in turn, discovered potential solutions for the challenges that we will face in the future. "Get Out of Your Comfort Zone" is the theme for the 2006-2007 LeaP curriculum year. During the year, we will study the various issues facing our community and in turn, work to implement a vision for progress.

Community Overview Objectives

To gain a greater understanding of our region’s history, how people have invested and disinvested in the region, and how those trends impact current reinvestment
To explore how we live, work & play in Northwest Florida
To experience firsthand the elements of community development by touring a neighborhood and meeting its leaders
To provide an essential basis for the Curriculum Year

Present Economics Objectives

To explore different economic development strategies
To understand how our community is effected by ongoing local, state, or nation-wide economic development efforts
To examine the results of economic development efforts in Pensacola and elsewhere
To generate and critique a simple economic development strategy for Pensacola
To further understand the area’s economic strengths and weaknesses and prospects for the future (continued from Future Economics)

Future Economics Objectives

To develop an understanding of our economic base
To lay down a foundation for our economy
To standardize common understanding of economics
To explore the fundamentals of our region’s economy and how fiscal policy (and the leaders that shape it) influence our lives
To understand the area’s economic strengths and weaknesses and prospects for the future

Tangible Support Structure Objectives

To explore and identify the components that make up the support structure and how they impact our daily life
To examine how aspects of our support structure inter-connect with other aspects
To identify strengths and weaknesses of our support structure and how it affects how we live work and play in Northwest Florida

Intangible Support Structure Objectives

To explore and identify the components that make up the support structure and how they impact our daily life
To examine how aspects of our support structure inter-connect with other aspects
To identify strengths and weaknesses of our support structure and how it affects how we live work and play in Northwest Florida

Quality of Life Objectives

To examine and explore the positive and negative aspects of our community’s quality of life
To examine why we come and we stay in Northwest Florida
To examine the meaning of quality of life for the various socio-economic groups in Northwest Florida
To explore the importance of cultural organizations and activities in the life of the community

Tallahassee Trip Objectives

To explore how the legislative process impacts how we live, work and play in Northwest Florida
To explore how the lobbying process differs in session and out of session
To explore how Florida fits into the National Plan for terrorism preparedness
To allow the class the opportunity to speak with their legislators and staffs regarding the issues that are of importance to them
To provide enough freedom in the schedule for the class to explore the issues or topics of interest to them

Leadership & Ethics Objectives

To integrate leadership skills from past sessions
To understand interrelationships among leaders in the community
To identify the risks, rewards and challenges of leadership
To understand the kinds and components of leadership
To strengthen the bond between leadership and ethics
To apply knowledge of ethics and leadership to specific situations

Closing Retreat Objectives

To reflect on the LeaP Curriculum year
To explore lessons learned during the past 9 months
To review the LeaP experience and determine key individual and group learnings
To explore new individual and team challenges
To apply the LeaP experience to a future course of action