What is Northeast Leaders School?
The YMCA Northeast Leaders School (NELS) program is a unique, evolving, and highly-impactful experience for teens from across the northeast region of the United States. If you are a first-time teen attendee, a parent/guardian of a first-time teen attendee, or a Y that has not yet been involved with NELS by sending participants, you may be curious about what Leaders School is and have questions about participating.
What is NELS?
NELS is a week-long (Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon) experience tied into the Y’s Leaders Club program, chapters of which can be found in YMCAs across the country. Each school year, teens involved in Leaders Club have the opportunity to attend regional events called “Rallies”, which bring together teens from across the northeast for a weekend of growth, peer networking, and learning. Leaders School serves as the culminating event for each school year, gathering Teen Leaders for a full week and prioritizing skill-building, values exploration, and group living experiences in an environment that provides teens with opportunities to try a wealth of activities, interact with peers from around the region, and learn what leadership means to them.
Part camp, part school (if school taught things like rock climbing, cooking, sports coaching, etc.), and part conference, Leaders School is an invaluable experience for hundreds of teens, as the program seeks to impart real, tangible skills while weaving in opportunities for participants to grow as young leaders.
Who can participate in NELS?
Leaders School is open to teens ages 13-18 (participants must be 13 before the start of NELS). Many teens that come to NELS are active in their local Y’s Teen Leaders Club. Others are participants one or more of their Y’s other teen and/or youth development programs. The primary requirement for participation is an interest in growth, development, and leadership!
If you are from a Y that is interested in sending teens to Leaders School for the first time, please fill out this interest form or reach out to Co-Directors Kaelei Esposito (khooper@gpymca.org) and Ryan Wong (rwong@ymcacny.org) for more information about becoming part of the NELS community.
Who is on the Leaders School staff?
The NELS staff is a dedicated group of volunteers from across the northeast, primarily comprised of YMCA professionals and volunteers with a vast amount of collective knowledge and experience and a great passion for youth development. Leaders School’s front-line staff, its Advisors, apply for the opportunity to be on the NELS team each year, and the staff that serve participants each summer is selected from among those applicants for their knowledge, creativity, and excellence in program creation and facilitation. If you are interested in applying to be on the Leaders School staff or sending an employee or volunteer from your Y to be part of our staff, please fill out this interest form and/or contact Co-Directors Kaelei Esposito (khooper@gpymca.org) and Ryan Wong (rwong@ymcacny.org) for more information.
Where is Leaders School held?
Leaders School is held at historic Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. The birthplace of basketball and an institution where YMCA studies programs educate and send Y professionals into communities across the country, Springfield College’s beautiful, expansive campus is home to NELS each year. Leaders School’s diverse programming makes full use of the College’s academic classrooms, sports and wellness facilities, aquatics center, performing arts building, and much more on the way to offering teens a varied slate of activities to choose from.
When is Leaders School?
While the exact dates may shift by a week or so each year, Leaders School is generally held in mid- to late-July. NELS is a 6 day, 5 night program. Teen participants arrive on a Sunday afternoon and depart on the following Friday afternoon.
How do teens get to NELS?
Typically, each teen’s local Y will facilitate transportation to and from NELS for registrants. NELS requires that any groups of teens being transported by bus or any other service be accompanied by a YMCA staff member for safety. Families are also welcome to personally drive or otherwise transport their teen(s) to and from NELS. We ask that teens do not drive themselves, and teens would not be permitted to drive off campus during the week of NELS or otherwise leave the College grounds even if they had a personal vehicle.
We encourage families to contact their teen’s Leaders Club Advisor for information about how/whether their Y will be transporting participants to and from NELS. Because the NELS community includes Ys from all around the region, we may also be able to help put families and YMCAs in touch with other Ys that may be along their travel route to help facilitate transportation.