This year George G. Blaisdell Elementary and School Street Elementary have embarked on a new initiative called The Leader in Me as an introduction to personal leadership.
Based on author Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” The Leader in Me is a school-wide initiative that teaches principles such as leadership, accountability, adaptability, initiative, responsibility, problem-solving, communication, creativity and teamwork. The Leader in Me initiative believes that all students have the capacity to lead in their own lives and affect those around them by making positive choices. The initiative provides students with activities to help them learn practical character and life skills that will lead to those positive choices.
In the Spring of 2015, teachers and administrators at George G. Blaisdell and School Street had the opportunity to attend a Leader in Me Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. This experience provided the seed to begin the Leader in Me journey. With the support of the district’s board and administration, both schools began diving into a staff book study, visiting other Leader in Me schools, and receiving trainings from Leader in Me facilitators.
When school opened for the 2016-2017 school year, teachers and staff began introducing the seven habits. The Leader in Me seven habits include: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win, seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize and sharpen the saw. Teachers have been emphasizing the seven habits in the classroom each week. Students have been involved in reading books and participating in lessons about the habits.
On Friday, GGB hosted its first Leadership Day, providing the school with the opportunity to introduce the parents and the Bradford community to the seven habits and how they are used each day. Guests were given an overview at a student-led assembly, given building tours led by student tour guides and provided the experience of visiting classrooms to see how GGB infuses the seven habits in daily lives. There were over 200 guests in attendance.
