Spotlight: LaSalle Middle School - Rockwood, Missouri

During the 2015 St. Louis Symposium, I visited LaSalle Middle School and heard a presentation from the leadership of three Rockwood Middle Schools. LaSalle would be an amazing school just to walk through since it seems that every hallway space has been utilized as a teachable moment with inspirational quotes and displays.  In addition to the beautifully painted walls, a simple item caught the eye of visitors.  Outside each classroom hung a small white board. The teachers could easily write a message with a white board marker and change it often.

My guide for the school tour was an 8th grader who was new to the school this year.  I asked him what was different between his former school and LaSalle.  I thought it was interesting that he did not start out with talking about the 7 Habits but said, "The teachers care about you more here.  I was having trouble writing a paper and my LA teacher took time with me after school. Teachers really want you to be successful."

During one of the St. Louis Symposium presentations, the middle school principals from Crestview and LaSalle indicated that discipline referrals have significantly decreased since the implementation of the leadership theme.  These middle schools are exciting examples of leadership work with 6th-8th grade students.

Spotlight Pre-School: Rainbow Station at Three Chopt - Richland, Virginia

The 7 Habits Tree 

Rainbow Station at Three Chopt in Richmond, Virginia is the first Pre-School Leader in Me Lighthouse School.   The school provides care for babies through kindergarten as well as after school care for students in K-5 and a "Get Well Place" for mildly ill children.

The train welcomes you into Rainbow Station

Have you filled a bucket?

Years ago, when Rainbow Station CEO Gail Johnson learned about The Leader in Me, she began talking about leadership strategies for her pre-schoolers.  Some people thought that the children were too young to learn leadership.  Rainbow Station went ahead anyway. In 2010, the Rainbow Station staff was trained in the 7 Habits. Since then leadership is integrated into the language and practices of every classroom from the babies through the after school care students.

Classroom Board

While visiting Rainbow Station, I observed a beautiful environment with signs of leadership throughout the classrooms. In the two year old room, a little girl came up to greet me with a hug and introduced her class by saying, "These my friends." In the 4 year old room, a girl reached out, shook my hand and said, "Welcome to the purple room, thank you for coming to our school,. My name is Megan."  I saw Leadership Notebooks in the 2 year old room and classroom Leadership Boards in each of the classrooms.   The director, Erin Rice, has her own two pre-schoolers enrolled at Rainbow station.  She said that one advantage of teaching The Leader in Me in pre-school is that all of the children learn proactive language as they learn to speak. They will not have to relearn proactive language later in life like I did.

In the baby and toddler room, children learn baby signs to express themselves.  Teachers are especially attuned to observe children to determine the children's goals.  Erin gave the example of her own two year acting frustrated whenever they went out to play at school.  The teachers identified that he really wanted to ride a bike.  They took a photograph of the bike and let him focus on it in the classroom. Eventually he was making progress toward getting on the bike and began peddling before he would developmentally be expected to do so.

Pre-school classroom leaders

The classrooms were brightly decorated. Each preschool teacher selects a new book each year to use as a theme to decorate their room, The bulletin boards were beautiful and included classroom leadership roles and data toward goals.

Rainbow Station now has several Leader in Me Schools in Virginia and several more starting in other states. There is a new preschool beginning in China and one in Indonesia.  Each school will make The Leader in Me a part of the way they relate to students.

Another unique part of Rainbow Station is "The Get Well Place" where pre-school and school age sick children can stay while their parents continue to go to work.  From my years as a working mom, I know the stress involved when a child is sick. The center is staffed with a nurse and maintains a 3 to 1 child ratio.

For school-age children, 5 to 14, The Village at Rainbow Station provides after school experiences. The Village has the facade of a beautiful town square and was modeled on the idea that "It takes a village to raise a child."  Each group of children in the Village program write their own mission statements as part of The Leader in Me plan.

The Village for After School Activities

Rainbow Station welcomes guests to their Leadership Day.  It is well worth the trip to see this unique school.

Director:  Erin Rice
http://www.rainbowstation.org/three-chopt/curriculum/leadership/