How would you like your children to begin with the end in mind, or to put first things first, or to be proactive in their planning? After two years of fallout from the pandemic (all the school closures, family trauma, widespread teacher and student absences, and social distancing) we have witnessed students continue to struggle with academic and behavior habits they’ve forgotten or never fully learned.
This school year, we will begin a District-wide initiative called Leader in Me, based on Franklin-Covey’s work, including the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The initial focus will be for staff to internalize the 7 Habits. Future steps will include teaching key concept lessons to students encouraging them to first “lead themselves” through personal responsibility, planning, and decision-making, then “lead others” through attentive listening, conflict resolution, and teamwork.
Harvard University’s 2021 evaluation of 33 social-emotional development programs found that across multiple studies, Leader in Me was associated with reduced behavior problems and absenteeism, more-positive perceptions of school climate, and higher math and reading/language arts test performance.
These are competencies that will help students be successful in school now and into their futures, and Leader in Me will provide our District a common road map and language to ensure students are explicitly taught the competencies.