About the Capitol Region Interdistrict Leadership Academy:
The Capitol Region Interdistrict Leadership Academy (CRILA) was started in 2004 and is a program created and operated by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) through an interdistrict grant from the Connecticut State Department of Education. The 2004-2005 CRILA group included 28 students from central Connecticut and the first CRILA Outward Bound trip to Colorado took place in June 2004. Since the success of the first year there have been eight more CRILA cohorts with over 270 students having participated over the past nine years.
The CRILA Experience
Every year, CRILA enrolls approximately thirty students from the thirty-five Greater Hartford school districts in a year long program that begins in the students' sophomore or junior year and extends throughout the subsequent year. In June and early July of each year, the program enters into an intensive week-long Outward Bound experience at the Colorado Outward Bound Wilderness School in Leadville, Colorado. The Outward Bound adventure provides students with a cohesive group experience that is designed to both test and cultivate individual and group leadership skills. During the following school year, students in the Leadership Academy attend monthly class sessions in the evenings or on the weekends where they conduct a rigorous academic study of leadership.
The Outward Bound Adventure
Members of the Leadership Academy begin the program at the end of their sophomore or junior year by traveling to the Colorado Outward Bound Wilderness School in Leadville, CO. While in Colorado, students develop collaborative leadership skills by hiking, rock climbing, participating in ropes courses, and group problem solving. The Outward Bound Experience serves to build a bond amongst the members of the Academy.
The Academic Course in Leadership
During the following school year, students in the Leadership Academy attend monthly class sessions in the evenings or on the weekends where they conduct a rigorous academic study of leadership. The Academy curriculum is enriched through guest speakers from a variety of fields ranging from business to education to the military who have proven themselves to be leaders in their organizations and in their communities.
The Community Service Project
The Leadership Academy’s culminating experience is a student-created and conducted community service project designed to have a positive impact on the Greater Hartford region. Students are required to complete extensive reading in the area of leadership, write a culminating reflective paper, and participate in the student-created community service project. For example, the 2009-2010 CRILA cohort was dedicated to increasing awareness about homelessness and to raising money for Habitat for Humanity. The students held various fundraisers at their schools and created a cardboard box city. The students partnered with The Shoppes at Farmington Valley in Canton, CT for the event. Students camped out over night in their cardboard boxes and during the day solicited donations from the community. For their efforts, the students were able to provide support to Hartford's local chapter of Habitat for Humanity in the amount of $2,597.29. In 2011-2012, CRILA 8 were dedicated to paying forward their Outward Bound experience. They raised money to bring 55 fourth graders from the University of Hartford Magnet School to Camp Sloper in Southington for a day of fun and learning. The CRILA students served as the facilitators for the day. They broke the students up into small groups and ran team building activities and group challenges. The fourth graders had a fantastic time and the CRILA students made sure to fill the day with lessons about leadership, teamwork, and service.
The Benefit to Students
In exchange for their efforts, students receive Honors elective credit for the course, the trip to Colorado’s Outward Bound Wilderness School at no cost, and an unparalleled opportunity to work with student and community leaders from the Greater Hartford region on meaningful projects.