Inside Courtney Barnes’s Leadership classroom at Fort Walton Beach High School, 56 seniors recently took a test on a Hall of Fame story about Barbara Britt, the longtime educator who transformed the school’s Leadership program during her 36-year tenure at the school. Many of the values the students are gaining from Leadership were formed by someone they’ve only ever heard about…

• For Barnes, who now teaches the program Britt once led, the article affirmed something powerful: she was honoring the legacy in exactly the right way.

“After reading that story, I was like, ‘I’m doing it. This is exactly how Barbara did it,'” Barnes said.

The article featured an interview with Kevin Schmidt, a former Britt student who later taught Leadership himself. Schmidt recalled how he and Brand Kroeger once told Britt as students: “Just let us lead if you just stand.”

That philosophy of stepping back to let students take ownership became Britt’s signature approach. Now Barnes, a 2008 Fort Walton Beach graduate who competed in cheerleading, step team, weightlifting and track and field under Britt, carries that torch forward in a program that has grown from roughly 30 students to 247 participants across seven class periods.

• “That story came right on time for me,” Barnes said. “It’s something that I needed, and I feel like it’s something that these kids needed.”

Principal Lindsey Smith said the program’s growth reflects Britt’s founding vision.

“The leadership class in its inception was to promote making your community a better place,” Smith said. “That was very important to Ms. Britt, that you give back to your school community, you give back to your community and that’s why Ms. Barnes is doing it.”

During her own time at Fort Walton Beach High School, Barnes always wanted to join Leadership but never got the chance. The program had a selective application process during her era. 

• After graduating from the University of Central Florida, where she pledged Zeta Phi Beta, Barnes returned home and worked as a paraprofessional at Edwins Elementary. A former VPK teacher encouraged her to become a teacher. Barnes taught special education for three years before taking over Leadership four years ago.

Smith, who was an Assistant Principal when Barnes was hired as an ESE teacher, has watched her professional growth firsthand.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of her than I already am,” Smith said. “To see her take on the responsibilities within this leadership program and how that has elevated her as an educator has been really exciting to watch.”

Her current senior class has been with her since they were freshmen – effectively going through Leadership side by side with Barnes.

• “These are my babies,” Barnes said. “We’ve been on this journey together. We grew up together.”

Martha Curtis, president of the senior Leadership class, has watched that evolution firsthand.

“I’ve been with Coach Barnes since freshman year,” Curtis said. “Leadership has really blossomed throughout the past four years.”

Curtis, who attended Liza Jackson Preparatory School before Fort Walton Beach, said the program developed confidence she didn’t know she had. From performing skits at pep rallies to managing Christmas Connection, Leadership pushed her outside her comfort zone.

“I’ve really stepped out of my shell doing skits and other events, having to listen to everyone’s input and making sure the skits look good,” Curtis said. “We run our school spirit.”

The program operates on a fundamental principle: wherever there’s a need, students provide a service.

• “I try to make sure that it is very genuine and authentic,” Barnes said. “We don’t create things just because we want to see our name on them. If there’s a need, we will provide a service.”

Barnes and co-teacher Coach Tommy Johnson maintain the foundation Britt established: students lead, teachers facilitate.

“The kids are running and creating the memories and creating the events and projects,” Barnes said. “I am just here to help facilitate and get approval from the county when they need it.”

The program requires students to complete three community service projects and attend three school events every nine weeks. Real-world accountability applies: students can’t cancel community service signups within 24 to 48 hours without finding a replacement.

• “That’s the real world,” Barnes said. “You can’t just call into your job and say you aren’t coming — usually they tell you to find somebody to work in your spot.”

Christmas Connection stands as the program’s flagship initiative. Students handle every aspect — receiving applications from local families in need, calling to discuss needs and wants, creating shopping lists on their Walmart app complete with aisle numbers, then shopping and delivering items.

“I have kids crying every year because they just can’t believe it,” Barnes said of the needs. “We have kids next door at Edwins, or kids within our own school living in difficult situations. When they get to see that world, I think it’s how – and why – we keep the tradition going. They truly love it and feel like they’re making a difference…because they are.”

Curtis reinforced the importance of of annual initiative:

• “Christmas Connection is always going to be the first thing a leadership kid says,” Curtis said. “You do so much — you talk to the parents, you basically do everything. Coach Barnes is just there to be the adult.”

That phrase — “just there to be the adult” — captures the philosophy Barnes learned from Britt.

“You can’t become a leader if you don’t have a chance to become a leader,” Barnes said. “And that comes with adversity and problems and disagreements and feelings.”

After major events like homecoming or prom, Barnes schedules debriefing sessions where students discuss their weekends and process experiences together.

“Debriefings happen in the real world,” Barnes said. “Having that time to be able to listen to them just helps me better understand them and for them to better understand me.”

The program’s reach extends throughout the community. Leadership students distribute 200 turkeys annually and 150 hams to local families. They assist with Edwins Elementary’s testing hype parade, serve twice weekly as teacher aides at Edwins classrooms, and create decorations for the Silver Sands prom event.

• Students unload pumpkins at Mary Esther United Methodist Church’s pumpkin patch, prepare and serve meals through Feed the Soul with Beulah First Baptist, and work as servers at the church’s Valentine’s Banquet. They assist with fall festivals at Liza Jackson Prep, Destin Elementary, Edwins Elementary and Silver Sands, support STEM nights at multiple elementary schools, help run school dances and volunteer at elementary field days. During the holidays, students wrap gifts for customers at Mistletoe Gift Wrapping at Destin Harbor.

Smith said the program’s community presence generates regular feedback from elementary school administrators.

“Just last week I got an email from Elliott Point, because we had some kids at their science night,” Smith said. “I got a phone call from School Board Member Parker Destin because we had some kids at the Destin Elementary School fall festival, and he was just so impressed with their presence and just how they give back to these kids who ultimately are going to one day be them.” 

On campus, Leadership students create signs and spirit events for sports send-offs, help run concessions, plan and execute all pep rallies including themes and scripts, and host Day @ The Fort — an exclusive event for incoming freshmen to learn Viking traditions.

Curtis finished planning all Spirit Week themes and the senior trip by the end of last May, creating a comprehensive binder for principal Lindsey Smith.

• “I wanted Ms. Smith to know what we’re wanting so she could check it off — and everything ran super smoothly,” Curtis said. “We weren’t last minute with any of our spirit week themes.”

Smith said the advance planning demonstrates important life skills.

“I think that it speaks to the skills that our programs at Fort Walton Beach High School are — making sure that our students have the right life skills that are so important, making sure that details are covered and that we’re considering other groups and dates and the effect of an activity on other activities,” Smith said. 

The program’s impact on school culture is clear. Fort Walton Beach recently won an award for best student section in the state of Florida and has captured Hype on the Harbor multiple years.

• “Without leadership, the school spirit I think would not be here,” Barnes said. “Without leadership, we would be very dull.”

Curtis noted pep rallies are “probably the most packed pep rallies I’ve ever seen.”

“I really don’t know what our school would be like or who would take action if we didn’t have leadership,” Curtis said.

Smith said the Leadership program reflects the school’s broader culture.

“Fort Walton Beach High School’s culture is one of its own. As a school, I’m very proud of our students… we say we SAIL together,” Smith said. “That “L” means that we lift each other up. When I go into classrooms and I talk about SAIL and we talk about our pillars of being a Viking, I always say that we do the best. We lift each other up the best, and leadership is just an extension of that.”

The program actively recruits students who might be overlooked, including some who now serve as spirit boys — high-energy performers at pep rallies — despite starting as quiet, shy students.

• “A lot of times kids just want somebody to believe in them,” Barnes said. “Somebody to give them the opportunity. It is just really about giving kids the opportunity to shine.”

The inclusive approach extends throughout the program, which includes students from special education and access programs alongside traditional high achievers.

“When you look at our leadership kids, there’s no one particular type of student,” Barnes said. “You have your band kids, your sports kids, your drama kids, along with the kids who are only in leadership. You have the quiet, the outgoing, and the ones that are a little rowdy.”

Barnes identifies leadership potential in students who might not fit traditional molds.

• “Maybe they aren’t the best in science and math, but they can plan an event,” Barnes said. “They can volunteer and help like no one else and have an eye for detail. Those kids are natural leaders — even if it may not appear to be on paper.”

Curtis has seen that philosophy create a tight-knit community.

“All of these people are my friends outside of school too, so leadership definitely makes you closer,” she said of her 56 classmates.

The teaching philosophy emphasizes that disagreement creates growth opportunities.

“Nobody’s going to agree with you 100% of the time,” Barnes said. “Once they understand that you’re not going to please everyone, they can start to live and be happy and do exactly what they want to do.”

Curtis advised incoming students to focus on respect.

• “You have to gain people’s respect for them to respect you,” Curtis said. “I would also encourage them to really lean on Coach Barnes.”

More than 200 students want to join but can’t due to capacity constraints.

“I have kids that will come in and say they signed up for leadership — that I even put my signature on their paper and they couldn’t get in,” Barnes said. “Kids try to be the first ones to register because they want to have leadership on their schedule.”

Smith said the program’s size creates year-round coverage as students balance leadership with other activities.

• “The other thing that’s great about having a large leadership core group is that when cross country is deep in season, there’s other kids that pick up when those kids are busy,” Smith said. “And then when that goes away and we get into winter when our soccer athletes are playing, then our cross country kids are jumping in. Dance and Cheer are crazy through winter, but then in the spring…they have more time.”

The demand starts early. Smith noted freshmen enrollment numbers and interest indicates eighth graders are already discussing the program before arriving at Fort Walton Beach High School.

The program helped establish a club fair thanks to some inspiration from the school’s annual Career Fair. The ‘club fair’ significantly boosted participation across the school’s clubs. Viking Ladies, a hospitality club that does football breakfasts, grew from 15 to 80 members following the fair.

Smith said the program’s expansion demonstrates its deepening impact.

“The more people that Ms. Barnes gets to commit to this leadership program, the bigger the impact is within our school and within our community,” Smith said. “And so their impact just keeps growing.”

For Barnes, teaching Leadership at Fort Walton Beach represents a full-circle journey.

• “Never did I ever think that I would be the leadership teacher and coach cheer — it’s a full-circle Barbara Britt-moment,” she said.

Smith emphasized Barnes’s authentic approach.

“She walks the walk. She doesn’t just talk the talk and the kids know it,” Smith said. “I just couldn’t be prouder of her and what she’s done, and I get excited every time she brings me a new idea because I know it’s going to be gold — she’s just excellent.”

The article about Britt helped Barnes see that her approach honored the legacy Britt established. Barnes wanted her students to understand the history and philosophy behind the program.

“When I read the article and I read what Kevin said about the students leading and Barbara standing, I really wanted them to read how and why leadership was created and how it’s evolved,” Barnes said. “And why do I teach the way that I do — that I’m not going to force these moments. Life has a lot of teachable moments, and as they come, we will filter through them. I like it to be genuine and authentic.”

Smith said the program instills a commitment to continuous improvement.

“The other thing that I’m so proud of with our kids is that it matters so much to them that they are leaving Fort Walton Beach High School better than when they got there,” Smith said. “It matters to them that every year things are a little bit better or we reflect and do things a little bit differently so that we are doing a better job and leaving Fort Walton and the Vikings better.”

The current senior class — Barnes’s first group she’s taught all four years — plans to bury a time capsule on campus and return in 10 years to dig it up together.

For Curtis and her fellow seniors, Leadership has become far more than an elective class.

• “You’re in front of the whole school, so you have to be really confident,” Curtis said. “I think it’s just been really good, especially working with everybody. There’s 56 people in this one class.”

The program continues to evolve while maintaining the core principles Britt established nearly five decades ago. Barnes carries forward that legacy while making it her own, guided by the words of students who came before.

“Just let us lead if you just stand.”