Leadership in Las Vegas

Leadership programs are where kids practice running something: a meeting, a service project, a team, a club. In Las Vegas that includes youth councils through the city and county, scouting, teen leadership clubs, student ambassador programs, and the one-week leadership camps that run in summer.

If your teen is building a college application

Ask whether the program has an application, an interview or a teacher recommendation, and when the deadline falls; ask early, because summer intensives tend to close in spring. Ask whether it signs off on service hours. And be honest about time: a program that conflicts with a sport or a job will not get finished.

If your kid is younger

Scouting and some club programs start much younger than the teen councils do. Ask what ages are actually in the group and what a kid that age does at a meeting. The downside of this category is that leadership is a word every program likes; ask what your kid will actually be in charge of. I would rather see a kid run one bake sale than attend ten seminars.

Cost

47 of the 171 programs are listed as free; 78 post a price range, and the rest you ask. 7 of these are in Summerlin; downtown, schools and community centers are where I would look next.