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/

Spotlight: Harmony Community K-8 - Harmony, Florida

Planned Harmony community.

Harmony Community School near St. Cloud, Florida is the first K-8 Lighthouse School.  The school is just seven years old and was built in a planned community with lovely housing, a golf course, walking paths and manicured grounds. Jon Davis has been the school's only principal and has supported the value of the Stephen Covey 7 Habits even before the teachers were trained 5 years ago. Assistant Principal Dorota Micale has also worked at the school for the past seven years.

Mural that every student helped create

It is clear that the school staff honors student art work. On one long wall there is mural that every student helped to design and paint. 

Other walls display the art work of a particular student and painted with the assistance of all students from that grade level.

Every 1st grader helped paint.

Student Lighthouse representatives

Designed by a kindergartener.

Proud to display the habits

At the Leadership Day presentation, Alejandra was one of the student speakers and she also conducted the orchestra while her proud mother beamed from the audience.  Alejandra related that she was a third grader from Puerto Rico who spoke no English when she came to Harmony. Now she is an "A" student. She attributes her success to the warmth of the Harmony School Community.

Alejandra

Classroom Misions

The pre-schoolers gave us sweet treats

Leadership Day Wax Museum

Principal: Jon Davis
Harmony School Motto: "Where everyone leads by example through personal responsibility, contribution and hard work."

School Website:  http://www.hrcs.osceola.k12.fl.us/

Spotlight: Silver Springs Elementary - Northville, Michigan

Silver Springs Elementary is part of the Northville School District where every elementary is a Leader in Me School. Silver Springs is proud to have earned the designation as the 62nd Franklin Covey Lighthouse School in the world.  As a symbol of this milestone, a lovely lighthouse stands outside their main entrance. The lighthouse gives a hint as to the interior of the school which is beautifully decorated and was buzzing with student leaders on their third Leadership Day, March 5, 2015. There was electricity in the air!

The students were very articulate and confident.  This is the first school where more than one student greeted me and included these welcoming words, "May I take your coat?" and "How is your day going so far?"

Leadership Notebook sharing

. 

MC's for Leadership Day

The theme for the Leadership Day was "The Power to Lead!". Our student Masters of Ceremonies were decked out as super heroes as were many of our guides. Everything about the staff, students and the day was very polished.  

1st-2nd Grade SOAR lesson

Our first classroom visit was "Soar Time" where the students learn about the 7 Habits.  The lesson, for the day, was on Habit 1 "Be Proactive." The 1st-2nd grade teacher used a bottle of coke and a bottle of water to teach the difference between reactive and proactive responses. The children seemed to be very clear on the language of proactivity.   When the teacher presented this comment, "My mother forgot to pack my library book." the children were very quick to point out that it is the student's responsibility not the mother's to take care of packing backpacks.




The students have been given opportunities to lead school assemblies during the year and these photographs, along with many others, were given to Leadership Day attendees on a flash drive. As I walked to my car I thought, "How could anyone attend this Leadership Day and not want to do "The Leader in Me" at their school?"  Silver Springs is a fantastic example of teaching leadership. 

Student Led Assembly

Student Led Assembly

Student Led Assembly

Principal:  Mrs. Melissa Hunt
Silver Spring website: http://silversprings.northvilleschools.org/

Spotlight: Mechanics Grove Elementary - Mundelein, Illinois

Mechanics Grove Elementary in Mundelein, Illinois was very excited to hear that they were just named a Lighthouse School. They are the first Lighthouse School in the Chicagoland area.  It has not been easy road for them to become a Leader in Me School.  In 2010, the teachers at K-5 Lincoln Elementary in Mundelein were learning about the 7 Habits from their principal Dr. Kathleen Miller.  The teachers were moving ahead providing their students opportunities to be leaders and teaching the 7 Habits when district fiscal concerns led to the closing of Lincoln School.  The next Fall, Dr. Miller was reassigned as principal at Mechanics Grove Elementary as a 3rd-5th school with some of the Lincoln teachers and the existing Mechanics Grove teachers who had their own traditions which did not include The Leader in Me. The future of The Leader in Me was uncertain, but by the end of the school year, the teachers all agreed to use the The Leader in Me theme to unite and form a new school family with the Mechanics Grove staff, students and parents.  District leadership supported the Mechanics Grove Staff training in Leader in Me and 7 Habits.  Students and parents embraced the leadership theme and the teachers integrated the 7 Habits into their morning meetings with students, all areas of the curriculum, and into their school behavior and culture. Using the 7 Habits and developing leadership across the entire school community transformed the culture and the newly united school with one goal—unleashing the potential inherent in each child! Since the implementation of The Leader in Me behavior referrals to the office have significantly dropped.  Reading and math growth targets have exceeded expectations.

Path of Leadership mural with staff and student sole prints.

After their first formal Leader in Me year, to symbolize their path of leadership, each graduating 5th grader and staff member made a clay tile with the print from the sole of their shoe.  The clay mural hangs in the school lobby.

Mechanics Grove displays their traditions.

Students displayed their Science Projects

One tradition is an annual Mechanics Grove Science Night for students and parents.  On February 26, 2015 Mechanics Grove school was alive with parents, students and staff.  The theme of the night was "Science, It's Your Turn to Change The World." Students displayed their science projects and teachers invited local medical and other experts to teach science concepts. I especially enjoyed meeting Mr. Miller,  Principal Miller's husband who is a pilot and guided the students as they tried landing planes on a simulator.

Students learn about aviation from the principal's husband. 

The medical community provided hands-on science.

Due to their school's leadership, in November 2014, Mechanics Grove Elementary School was chosen to host Sean Covey who spoke at The Leader in Me Book Tour.

Principal:  Dr. Kathleen Miller
Mechanics Grove School Web Site:
http://www.d75.lake.k12.il.us/index.aspx?nid=170

Spotlight: Beaumont Elementary - Waterford, Michigan

Beaumont Elementary, a K-5 school in Waterford, Michigan has an amazing story. Beaumont earned the status of the first Lighthouse School in Michigan.

I really enjoyed attending their Leadership Day in 2011.  A student was the MC for the entire day. Their staff is very committed and I have watched them present at national conferences. I have attached my notes from Leadership Day I attended:  http://files.ogschool.org/misc/Beaumont_School_Leadership_Day.pdf

A ribbon cutting by Principal Jan McCartan symbolized a new beginning.

I hope that you will see the movie made about Beaumont School dramatizing the school's metamorphosis. The movie shows how the teachers at one time were wearing black shirts and worked only to union contract minutes. The parents, staff and students speak about how The Leader in Me has helped change their school to the engaged happy place it is today.

The staff brightened up the school.

Current students and graduates of Beaumont talk with confidence about The Leader in Me.

Theme: - "Together We Lead"
Principal:  Jan McCartan

Their website is very well organized with photographs of their transformation and ideas to share with other schools.  Website: http://www.beaumonttogetherwelead.com