Benjamin Harrison Elementary earns honor as Lighthouse School

Benjamin Harrison Elementary’s student leadership team pose with the lighthouse signifying its status as a The Leader in Me Lighthouse School.

Franklin Covey Co. has named Benjamin Harrison Elementary as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School, making it one of the first two in the state to achieve this honor.

The honor means the school has achieved outstanding results in school and student outcomes by implementing The Leader in Me process. Franklin Covey states it also recognizes the extraordinary impact the school is having on staff, students, parents, and the greater community.

The Leader in Me, developed in partnership with educators, is a whole-school transformation model that empowers students with leadership and life skills needed for success in the 21st century. It starts from the premise that every student has the ability to be a leader.

Marion City Schools, recognizing the value and how that ties in with the skills local employers want, plans to implement The Leader in Me district wide.  Benjamin Harrison, which has been a Leader in Me school for four years, was the first school in the district to embrace the program.

“I think it’s very rewarding to our kids and our staff,” Benjamin Harrison Principal Leah Filliater said about achieving Lighthouse status. “All the hard work and things we have been doing have led up to this reward.”

She called it a “goal along the journey,” saying the expectation by Franklin Covey is that the school continue to seek improvement. The school will have to resubmit evidence in two years.

“It’s like a milestone,” Filliater said. “We are thinking of what steps we can do to get better.”

BHE students Jeffery Jones and Paul Smith talk to the Marion City Schools Board of Education about becoming a Leader in Me Lighthouse School.

She and teacher Annette Smith, who helped lead up the efforts, thanked students and staff for their help. Smith said some staff members were teary-eyed when they learned the school received the recognition.

“When we started this there were no Lighthouse schools to visit,” Filliater said. “We had the capability (to become one) because we had the buy-in and cooperation from the staff. It was something we felt we felt like we could achieve.”

The Leader in Me process focuses on concepts of author Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and breaks them down into concepts easily understood by children.

Earning Lighthouse School status recognizes a school’s outstanding results in school and student outcomes by honoring them for implementing The Leader in Me process with fidelity.

Schools must go through a training regimen and an extensive on-site review by FranklinCovey in order to achieve Lighthouse status.

There are 2,581 schools worldwide in The Leader in Me program. Out of that, only 166 have achieved Lighthouse status.

Garfield, McKinley and Hayes elementary schools and Grant Middle School have started The Leader in Me process. George Washington and Taft elementary schools and Marion Harding High School are preparing to launch their programs.

Marion City Schools Superintendent Gary Barber said the district is focusing on The Leader in Me as one of its four pillars of reform because it answers industry leaders’ call for “soft skills” like being able to communicate effectively, work together in teams, and solve problems. It also teaches leadership skills, another trait in demand by area employers.

“I look forward to all of our schools earning Lighthouse status in the future,” Barber said.