Students team up against their teachers in a tug-of-war competition during the second assembly of the year, put on by Student Ambassadors.

"I see school climate and culture as the base for getting to the academic work."

Alana McCorkle, Vice Principal, TAF@Saghalie

 

Feb 26, 2026
Transforming schools takes time. Truly centering student voice and choice takes dedication, because it’s in the slow and deliberate change, which can take several generations of students, where transformation happens. To create lasting change that sticks, TAF and its partners start with shifting the culture – both between how students and teachers relate, and how students work and engage with one another. According to Alana McCorkle, vice principal at TAF@Saghalie, this is the groundwork that will set students up for success academically. “You’re not going to see huge reading and math improvements when you’re dealing with conflict all the time and when kids don’t know how to support one another.”

At TAF@Saghalie, one way a collaborative culture is built is through our student ambassador program. Student ambassadors are leaders, responsible for embodying and modeling the highest core values to their peers. For TAF@Saghalie these are called PACK values: perseverance, accountability, community, and kindness. In practice, these values can look like welcoming new students through programmed social hours, going to neighboring elementary school, Brigadoon, providing mentorship and community connection, and planning pep rallies to celebrate student excellence and boost camaraderie. 

That was the core focus of the pep rally on Thursday morning: a celebration for students who had embodied the very best of TAF@Saghalie’s PACK values. Students across all grade levels gathered in the gymnasium, celebrated with their peers who received awards of recognition for being positive examples to their classmates and participated in a series of games in lighthearted competition with staff. 

Awards ranged from perfect attendance during their second semester, showcasing the highest demonstration of PACK values, sportsmanship, and improving their i-Ready scores. However, the main focus wasn’t on achievement – it was an important aspect, but the real goal was to have fun and take a well-deserved break, celebrating the collective hard work students contributed both academically and communally. Games included a Tic-Tac-Toe relay, a 3-Pointer Shoot Off between the high school basketball team and teachers, Tug o’ War, musical chairs, and trivia, where competitors had to assign a Wolfpack value to a proposed scenario.

Students who improved across academics, attendance, and PACK values were acknowledged with garlands and cheers from their classmates.
Student Ambassador DJ smiles as he reads off instructions for the teacher vs. student activities.
The assembly started off strong with a high stakes game of musical chairs.
Student excitement and a culture of belonging is an essential part of building academically engaged students.
Teachers and students faced off in trivia, trying to name what PACK value aligns with different school scenarios.
Energy and engagement among students was high across all grades.
To show their school spirit, Student Ambassadors sported pink, while teachers wore black.
Student Ambassadors kept the excitement high by cheering on their peers.

The gym was full of high energy, engagement from students, and cheers across all grade levels. It was a noticeably more enthusiastic assembly compared to previous ones. “In the past, it was a scramble of who’s free [to plan the] assembly.” says Tess Upchurch, sixth grade math teacher at TAF@Saghalie, “It’s nice to have multiple groups of kids helping the school improve, and…to see a lot of those kids…come out of their shell”. To McCorkle and Upchurch, this is a testament to the power of student ambassadors driving their own democratic decisions around what a healthy student community looks like. “They’re making an effort to talk to kids that weren’t normally in their friend group. Kids feel a little bit more excited to see new faces in the hallway, and they feel a little bit more included.”

For student ambassadors, it encourages them to grow into their own brand of leadership by challenging norms and leading with empathy for their peers, and pride for their school. “Being in student ambassadors just allows me to be more social with the community that I spend my weekdays with,” shares Peyton, a ninth grader serving her first year as a student ambassador. “As a student, connecting with them is helping me grow and it has me get out of my comfort zone, which is something that I’ve been trying to do more often.” As ambassadors, opportunities to push that comfort zone are abundant. As an example, at last year’s TAF Varsity Luncheon, four of our student ambassadors participated as emcees for program– welcoming over 350 guests and interviewing teachers and alumni. Ambassadors also hold the responsibility of leading school tours, sharing with visitors all that makes TAF@Saghalie special– including the leadership and enthusiasm of our student ambassadors.   

At the core of it all – student ambassadors are there to set the tone for how students can build healthy and inviting relationships with their peers, teachers, and community members. For us at TAF, we understand how necessary and vital that is – because when students are feeling welcome and safe, that allows creativity, ingenuity, and collaboration to thrive. As the leadership teacher for seventh grade, Upchurch has witnessed this in action firsthand. “Especially with belonging and inclusivity, they’re a good group to bounce things off of... you can ask them a question of, ‘Would kids actually like this?’ Or ‘how should we improve the school?’ And they have genuine ideas, which is nice.” 

This culture of inclusivity was not built overnight – it’s the result of patient dedication over time driven by love and intentionality. McCorkle and Upchurch, who have both worked at TAF@Saghalie for five to seven, started seeing the effects of that change in a post COVID world. “At the end of last year during our talent show, one of the kids was singing and stopped in the middle, she got scared, and then other kids started cheering her on and she finished the song,” reflects McCorkle. “That was just one of those moments where I was like, ‘wow, we have come a long way as a community.’” This is what it means to be devoted to transformation as an educator and as a community member – transformation with this kind of response will take time and patience. 

By witnessing this most recent pep rally, the future, however, looks bright and promising to McCorkle. “Now, the whole school can get together, celebrate, be excited, cheer, and they’re supportive of each other at assemblies and of the staff and teachers. Every time we have an assembly, I’m excited to see how far we’ve come and how student ambassadors are leading that.” 

To learn more about how culture impacts school transformation, listen to the Learn More Podcast today:

Join us at the 2026 Varsity Luncheon

Teaching is a team sport. It takes all of us to make transformative education a reality.
Register Today

Read More About TAF Stories Here:

TAF@Saghalie Students Appreciate Their Teachers#TAFStory, TAF@Saghalie