Local News

Leader In Me Program Coming to East Elementary

Jun 22, 2015

East Omak Elementary school will receive nearly $80,000 over the next three years to implement the Leader In Me process, which encourages students to take leadership using their own giftings and skills.

Leader in Me is based on Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” which took a child’s form in the “Seven Habits of Happy Kids.” The process guides students to find what they can take ownership of using their talents, and build up a happy kid to become a highly effective adult.

It’s not a program or curriculum, according to East Principal Ryan Christoph; “It’s a transformational process and that’s what I’m excited about.”

That starts with training for teachers this summer, and follows up with materials for both teachers and students and a facilitator to help make the process happen.

In a practical sense, East will see students take ownership by becoming a leader in their own area of skill or passion. That might mean greeters at the door, tour guides for new students, playground helpers, event decoration teams and more. If a student comes up with an idea for a job he or she can do, the school can make it happen.

“Everybody is a leader, everybody has something to bring to the table,” Christoph said.

This comes with a need for community partnership as well. Not only does the grant have a $6,500 matching requirement each year, but part of the idea is giving kids an idea of what they can do when they are out of school. Christoph is looking for businesses and organizations to send staff to share how they use their skills in the marketplace, similar to what one would see at a job fair at the secondary school level.

There will also be a Leadership Day, where the school will share what it has done to create leaders. In other districts, this day has been attended by many community members and even employers interested in implementing the Leader In Me practices in their own business.

Twelve other schools in Washington were awarded this grant, along with others across the nation. For more information, visit www.leader.org.