There is a children’s book in the works that is creating quite an up-“roar.”
That’s because former Oswayo Valley principal Erik Kincade has penned a book — “Earn Your Stripes” — that shows students they can earn their stripes by leadership, positive actions and hard work.
Kincade, current superintendent in the Fairview School District, taught English at Bradford High School from 1996 to 2002. He was then principal in the Oswayo Valley middle school and high school from 2002 to 2006.
Kincade said the idea came about when the district decided on an “Earn Your Stripes” theme for this school year.
Kincade, who has a doctorate in organizational leadership, said one leadership theory he has been teaching his graduate students, teachers and administrative candidates is the 10-80-10 principle.
This theory suggests that every organization has a top 10 percent, a middle 80 percent and a bottom 10 percent.
“The goal is to bring as many from the 80 percent up to the top,” Kincade said. “I wanted to find a way to teach the same concept to younger children. That is where Sam came along.
“Sam, a super-striped tiger, represents the top 10 percent in an organization or on a team. She is one of the elite, the hardest worker and the most dedicated. Sam leads by example and tries to make all of the other tigers better — or super-striped.”
The fact that Sam is a female leader is no coincidence.
“I like the idea of promoting females in leadership positions. This could be because I am a father of three girls, I suppose,” Kincade said. “But, I want all girls to know that they are every bit as capable to lead teams and organizations.”
The name Sam comes from a merging of initials from his daughters’ names — Sydney, Ally and Madison.
“I have always told my daughters that there are no limits in life. They should follow their dreams,” Kincade said. “But first and foremost, we always stressed the importance of kindness and treating others with respect. It was never important that they were the smartest kids or the most athletic kids, but rather that they were the NICE kids.”
Some of the ideas the book espouses are to “never give up,” “always work hard” and “every team member has value,” Kincade said.
“The notion of earning your stripes teaches children to work hard and be positive and kind,” Kincade said.
As the idea of the book progressed, so have Kincade’s ideas of whom it can help.
“I originally set out to do a book just for our kids and school,” Kincade said. “But when it started coming together and I started to share it with some teachers and family, we decided it might be a good message for all schools to enjoy.”
Kincade has launched a Kickstarter campaign, which is all or nothing, to help raise money to cover printing costs for hardcover books he wants to donate to elementary schools across Pennsylvania.
Kickstarter is a platform for raising money. Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal. If the goal is not met by the deadline, no funds are collected.
Kincade would like to raise $6,500 by Nov. 18.
Any sales beyond that would be donated to the Fairview School Foundation.
“This is just for fun and to help to spread a positive message to kids,” Kincade said. “I am a teacher first. And, I have a pretty good day job. I love talking about leadership and working with children and adults to become better leaders. This book opens up terrific classroom conversations about being positive and leading by example.”
Kincade’s friend and assistant Molly Jones did the graphic design work. A young woman from Sri Lanka illustrated the book.
“Molly is a great friend who just so happens to be a talented graphic designer,” Kincade said.
Those who donate get stripes of their own depending on how much their contribution is.
“I came up with the levels based on what other successful campaigns have done. I never counted on the Kickstarter campaign to be a success, but it would be fun if it was,” Kincade said. “I would love to be able to share the story of Sam with schools across the state. If it doesn’t work out, I will just print a handful of books on my own for our school district.”
There are six levels from Tiger Cub Level to Earn Your Stripes Special Visit Level — with donation levels from $10 to $1,200.
There is also a Name That Tiger Level where $250 or above is donated, the donor can name a tiger in the book.
The link to the Kickstarter page for “Earn Your Stripes” is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/627475876/earn-your-stripes-a-childrens-leadership-book?ref=creator_nav.
