r In the month of September, Barnett Elementary School in Payson kicked off the Leader in Me program. This event was designed to help parents and families learn more about leadership and life skills. The program creates a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. The concepts are based on Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”
Students will be using words and phrases such as “Be Proactive” or “Synergies.” Students will think of things in a different way and solve problems on their own. Using the Leader in Me program, students set their own academic and personal goals and then “Begin with the End in Mind” to make a plan on how they are going to achieve them. Many students began to take responsibility for their actions and tried to always create a “Win-Win” situation.
Principal Stoddard said, “Just in the first month of introducing the Leader in Me Program to our students, Barnett Elementary’s culture has changed for the better. Students are greeting each other in the halls, talking and singing about the 7 Habits. The students care about their school. Our attendance and on-time percentage has increased dramatically because we have set a Wildly Important Goal, and the kids are working hard to achieve it. As you walk through the halls, you can feel the positive energy this program has amplified in our school. We are loving it!”
The faculty and staff had worked hard to be ready for implementing this new program. Faculty and staff attended trainings in the summer to learn about Sean Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Happy Kids.” These trainings focused on exposing the staff to what the habits are as well as how to really live the habits as individuals. To be able to teach and use these habits in education, these educators had to first learn how to apply each habit to their personal lives. Faculty also had an “Implementation Day” where they were taught how to incorporate the Leader in Me into their instruction. A “Lighthouse Team” was also formed to discuss how this program would function at Barnett Elementary.
