“Right here!”
“Right now!”
You can hear the call and response coming from the entrance of the Kent School District (KSD) Athletics and Activities Building as Brian Smith, Kent School District's Athletics and Activities Director, emcees the first Student Athlete Leadership Team meeting of the year. The meetup, also known as SALT, is comprised of student-athletes, who are nominated by their school staff, along with high school athletic directors from across the district. The group comes together to share student concerns with KSD staff, develop leadership skills, and serve as examples of excellence both in athletic competition and in the classroom.
“I'm part of the bridge between specific athletes, schools, and the [school district],” says Asaleigh Tila, a Kentwood junior volleyball and basketball player, about her involvement in SALT. “I'm making sure that voices are heard from the athletes at Kentwood to the greater community of the Kent School District, as well as implementing Kent School District policies in our school.”
Students from KSD’s four comprehensive high schools commit to two years of service on the Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT), working alongside athletic staff to strengthen student leadership and elevate student-athlete voice. Through their meetings, SALT members discuss challenges and opportunities in school athletics, helping raise awareness of sports programs in the school communities and providing valuable feedback on communication between coaches and athletes.
SALT has contributed to meaningful initiatives that have positively impacted school communities. One notable project involved providing student input developing guiding principles for the North Puget Sound League’s (NPSL) sportsmanship and harassment prevention efforts. The initiative helped promote a more positive game-day atmosphere and contributed to a significant decrease in student-athlete ejections across KSD, demonstrating the powerful role student leaders can play in driving positive change.
Participants in SALT recognize what it means to be part of the group and getting to learn from peers and athletic department leaders. At the meeting the group went through an exercise, asking them to select one of four traits to highlight in specific scenarios—integrity, courage, empathy, or perseverance—and discuss their choice with the whole group.
Lincoln Moore, a junior at Kentlake High School and a member of the baseball team shared his experience with SALT, saying, “I've met a ton of people from it and I think we've built something in the last couple of years that I would like to continue.” Akoni Nazarino, a Kentridge athlete who participates in golf, unified basketball, and baseball, had similar takeaways: “When I can come out here once a quarter it kind of refreshes myself and resets myself, and you know keeps you humble because there's a lot of other great student athletes out there. So that's why I love coming back to SALT.”
“Not every kid is there to win. They're there to be a part of a community and a culture and get something socially out of being involved in sports,” noted Kent-Meridian High School Athletic Director Lisa Kelly. “[At SALT] we get the chance to talk about what we do at our schools and how we can be similar.” Through these conversations, SALT helps student-athletes develop leadership skills and connections with peers throughout the district while look beyond their individual teams and schools to see the larger role athletics plays in building community, culture, and belonging across Kent School District.