“Leader in Me” is based on “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Dr. Stephen Covey. It is a transformational process designed to teach leadership and life skills to students, with a focus on developing responsibility and accountability within the individual students across the district. The accountability aspects of “Leader in Me” foster personal and interpersonal growth.
As a part of such growth, students create a Leadership Portfolio that contains different dimensions of themselves, including their learning, leadership, goals, and celebrations. The Leadership Portfolios contain a section for Wildly Important Goals, WIGS. This section includes personal academic goals that the students create as well as a method of tracking their progress toward achieving their goal(s). These goals become the focus of their daily work, and students work hard to achieve them. Accountability is a key component of the WIGS as students work with a peer to help each other stay on track to achieve their goals. Conversations with accountability partners center around self-assessment and reflecting on their actions and behaviors in relation to the progress of their goals. The reflection portion encourages students to take ownership of their development and academic growth. Students also collect evidence of their achievements to add to their Leadership Portfolios.
Within the classrooms and buildings, students also have the opportunity to take on various leadership roles to strengthen their abilities as well as foster a sense of accountability. All of the aspects of “Leader in Me” empower students to become proactive, responsible, and accountable for their actions and choices, both inside and outside the classroom. The development of these skills in elementary and middle school will benefit the students throughout their lives.
