What makes a great leader? At Providence School, leadership is not defined by titles or authority but by a willingness to serve others with integrity, compassion, and humility.
This approach sets the tone across Santa Barbara’s only preschool-through-12th-grade Christian school, where students are inspired to use their talents to uplift those around them and address real needs in their communities.
Leadership at Every Level
It starts with the youngest students: On the Lower School campus, students learn the basics of leadership through classroom initiatives and service-oriented activities. Kindergarten students look to their sixth-grade leaders, who are responsible for setting an example for their younger peers.
April Torres, Providence’s sixth-grade teacher, emphasizes the importance of fostering leadership skills with her students. Sixth graders are often called upon to help set up weekly chapel chairs and model responsibility across campus. “The students step up and take ownership of their responsibilities,” says Mrs. Torres. “Our goal is to see our students flourish in their natural-born leadership gifts.”
Mary Wilson, Lower School Assistant Principal, adds, “For elementary students, leadership can sometimes be oversimplified as simply being ‘in charge.’ We want Providence students to realize and value that leadership is having the courage, perseverance, and humility to serve the needs of others. Leadership can be found in all Providence classrooms. From a Kindergarten greeter to a sixth-grade-led spirit assembly, all students are invited and encouraged to lead well.”
Providence’s Buddies program reminds third through sixth graders that someone on campus looks to them as a role model and friend. “It stretches them to think of the needs of their Little Buddy and pushes them out of their comfort zones to engage and support someone else,” says Mrs. Wilson. Leadership opportunities also include hosting events such as the fifth-grade Veterans Assembly, where students take the lead as event speakers and learn to engage in hospitality with veteran visitors.
In the Upper School, leadership takes on a broader scope, including student council programs, leadership workshops, and student-led initiatives like organizing events and class activities. “Our hope is that students can fully step into who God has called them to be and be equipped with the skills needed to excel,” says Vince Fragasso, Providence’s Middle and Upper School principal.
“We focus on modeling our skills after Jesus because we believe He is the perfect example of a great leader – in fact, the best example.” Upper School students also develop critical public speaking, organizational, and communication skills, preparing them to lead with composure and clarity.
Lives of Purpose through Lives of Service
Service is more than a requirement at Providence—it’s a calling. The school’s commitment to outreach is evident through programs like the Social Entrepreneurship Academy, where students are taught to combine entrepreneurship and compassion. Last year, students hosted a benefit concert to support Set Beautiful Free, an organization in India that rescues women from human trafficking, providing them with education and job training.
“Looking to the Bible and Jesus for that spiritual formation is one of the most important aspects of helping our students grow in their leadership skills,” says Gabi Young, Activities Director. “The Bible talks about how we have been set apart to be the salt and light of the earth. We are commissioning our students to be that salt and light within their classes and their community.”
Lower School students also participate in meaningful acts of service, such as cleaning up the neighborhood, delivering flower pots to school neighbors, and visiting nursing homes. “Our students see firsthand that service extends beyond our classrooms and campus and that they can be an intrinsic part of the process,” shares Mrs. Wilson.
For Middle and Upper School students, class and academy projects bring learning to life. Through the Engineering Academy, for example, students designed and built a custom wheelchair for a toddler with mobility challenges, demonstrating how technical skills can serve the greater good.
Every year, the Engineering Academy puts out an “all call!” to the faculty and staff, offering to solve common classroom problems with creatively engineered solutions. Upper School engineering students have built standing desks, desktop organizers, props for the Performing Arts program, and more.
The Beyond-the-Classroom program further amplifies this commitment, offering students off-campus experiences that connect academic learning to real-world issues. “If we’re not being intentionally formed by Jesus himself, then it’s highly likely we are being unintentionally formed by someone or something else,” says Mrs. Young, quoting theologian John Mark Comer.
Preparing Leaders for Lives of Purpose
From leadership programs to service projects, Providence students are encouraged to view their education as a tool for personal growth and community impact. “We are working on public speaking skills to help students have composure and clarity when they are communicating with their peers and teachers, or in front of the school,” says Mrs. Young. “Other important skills such as organization, communication, and spiritual disciplines are being taught to help develop the whole person, not just the educational aspect of who they are.”
“At Providence, being the hands and feet of Jesus to those in our community, and beyond, is another way we foster leadership in our Lower School students,” adds Mrs. Wilson. “Some of the best leaders in history were Christians. I know that our students, if they cling to Jesus, will naturally lead wherever life takes them.”
At Providence, leadership is more than a skill—it’s a way of life rooted in faith, service, and a commitment to becoming the salt and light in the world.
