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By CINDY WARNER / Special to the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – Montevallo Elementary School announced May 14 the school has been certified and named as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by Franklin Covey Education.

This recognition is evidence that the school has produced outstanding results in school and student outcomes, by implementing the Leader in Me process with fidelity and excellence.

It is also because of the extraordinary impact the school is having on staff, students, parents and the greater community.

“We are honored to have been certified and named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School,” said Dr. Allison Campbell, principal at Montevallo Elementary. “We have seen amazing results from implementing the Leader in Me process at our school, such as 100 percent of students having a leadership role, 99 percent of students holding a student-led conference and 95 percent of students making progress toward their reading goals. This process has had a significant impact on all students. And we expect to see greater results over time.”

The Lighthouse Certification is a highly-regarded standard set by Franklin Covey Education that is attainable by every Leader in Me school.

As it is a significant benchmark, applying for this certification typically occurs three to five years after a school begins the Leader in Me process.

“We are thrilled to recognize Montevallo Elementary School as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School,” said Sean Covey, president, Franklin Covey Education. “Schools who achieve this Lighthouse Certification are great examples of a strong leadership model and process, and of what it means to be a Leader in Me school.

“This school has experienced transformational results by implementing the principles and practices related to Leader in Me,” Covey continued. “We are so pleased and honored to celebrate the success they are experiencing.”

Since its official launch nearly a decade ago, nearly 4,500 public, private and charter schools across 50 countries have adopted the Leader in Me process, while roughly 500 schools have achieved the prestigious Lighthouse certification.

It is earned by schools that demonstrate the following:

• The principal, school administration and staff engage in ongoing learning and develop as leaders while championing leadership for the school.
• Leadership principles are effectively taught to all students through direct lessons, integrated approaches and staff modeling. Students are able to think critically about and apply leadership principles.
• Families and the school partner together in learning about the 7 Habits and leadership principles through effective communication and mutual respect.
• The school community is able to see leadership in the physical environment, hear leadership through the common language of the 7 Habits, and feel leadership through a culture of caring, relationships and affirmation.
• Leadership is shared with students through a variety of leadership roles and student voice leads to innovations within the school.
• Schoolwide, classroom, family and community leadership events provide authentic environments to celebrate leadership, build culture and allow students to practice leadership skills.
• The school utilizes the 4DX® process to identify and track progress toward Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for the school, classroom and staff.
• Students lead their own learning with the skills to assess their needs, set appropriate goals and carry out action plans. They track progress toward goals in Leadership Notebooks and share these notebooks with adults in student-led conferences.
• Teacher planning and reflection, trusting relationships and student-led learning combine to create environments for highly engaged learning.

Montevallo Elementary School will maintain its Lighthouse Certification for the next two years and will continue to foster its growth and proficiency in exemplifying a leadership culture and principles.

At the end of the two years, Montevallo Elementary School will be able to recertify its Lighthouse Certification through a virtual self-assessment, describing and celebrating its growth and accomplishments since its original Lighthouse designation.

Leader in Me is a whole-school transformation model and process—developed in partnership with educators—that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Leader in Me helps students learn how to become self-reliant, take initiative, plan ahead, set and track goals, do their homework, prioritize their time, manage their emotions, be considerate of others, express their viewpoint persuasively, resolve conflicts, find creative solutions, value differences and live a balanced life.

Leader in Me utilizes and integrates leadership, social-emotional learning, quality and educational models and processes from past and current thought leaders including The 4 Imperatives of Great Leaders and The 4 Disciplines of Execution.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is also a key component of the overall Leader in Me process and is a synthesis of universal, timeless principles of personal, interpersonal and organizational effectiveness, such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration and renewal.

Leader in Me is having a significant, measurable impact on schools all over the world and in the lives of millions of students, parents, teachers and administrators, as is evidenced by the findings resulting from initial evaluation studies conducted by third-party research organizations and leading academic institutions.

To learn more about the impact the process is having, visit Theleaderinme.org/what-is-the-impact.