McNeal Elementary nurtures student leaders through Leader In Me program

Leader in Me is an international program designed to nurture leadership in students. Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School has been a certified Leader In Me Lighthouse School for two years. The main goal is to implement leadership skills throughout the school day regularly, and not just through clubs and extracurricular activities, but through everyday interactions.

“It rests on the belief that everybody, every single person, has the potential to lead,” principal Sheila Waid said. “We can develop those leadership skills to help them not only improve their academic performance but also just change the whole school culture in a positive way.”

The program for children is based on Stephen Covey's groundbreaking book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” but has been altered to “The Seven Habits of Healthy Kids” for Leader In Me. 

“It's kind of a ripple effect because when you do something good, it just keeps on going,” Waid said.

The seven habits are “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.”

The first habit is “Be Proactive” and the main point is to make responsible decisions even when no one is watching. 

“I do my homework and chores without my mom needing to tell me,” Aureliano Mora, student council treasurer, said. “At school, I try to stay on task whenever the teacher tells us to do something.”

The second habit is “Begin with an End in Mind” which is focused on goal-setting and making plans for the future. Hannah Marco is a third grader involved in chorus and Kiwanis K-Kids, which is a club focused on performing service projects in the community. She has the goal of spreading kindness when she grows up through creating a new medicine for cancer patients. 

Photo by Madison Bierl

The third habit is to “Put First Things First” and save fun things until after the necessary work is done. Marco said she likes to get her homework done before she watches television. 

The fourth habit is “Think Win-Win” which is balancing what you want with the wants of others. Hudson Clark, a fifth grader involved in Safety Patrol, said “Think Win-Win” is his favorite habit because both parties involved can get what they want. 

Marco gave a hypothetical example of a “Think Win-Win” situation. She said if she wanted to swing on a swing at recess and a friend wanted to play gaga ball, they would split their recess time to do both. 

The fifth habit is “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” which is to listen before speaking. Hadley McIntosh is a fifth grade student involved with the school's news crew. 

“Even if I don't like what someone else is saying, I need to listen to them,” McIntosh said. “I need to listen to what their opinion is before I say something.”

The sixth habit is “Synergize” which revolves around teamwork and seeking out ideas from others. It also involves valuing other people’s strengths and learning from them. Fifth grader Layla Vaughn described herself as a loud leader and an extrovert, and credits Lora Sevarino, the school's media specialist and Leader In Me Lighthouse coordinator, for the leader she has become. 

“She's very responsible, and she knows what to do and she's going to get it done,” Vaughn said. “I think I took that from her.”

Vaughn is involved in various leadership clubs, including Safety Patrol, Student Council and Media Managers. She said her favorite habit of healthy kids is the seventh, “Sharpen the Saw.”

“I really like balance. I try to eat healthy food and I like exercising,” Vaughn said. “I do dance classes and I always try my best to keep my body healthy.”

McNeal Elementary held a leadership day to showcase all the habits and the work they do to grow leadership skills last month.

“I am not the one leading the event, my students are,” Waid said. “They get up first and welcome everyone, they say what we're doing today.” 

Vaughn and Mora led the program, which showcased the Seven Habits of Happy Kids for the school’s business partners and board members.

“I think I have good emotion, and I speak well in front of an audience,” Vaughn said.

It impresses Sevarino with how easily the kids can publicly speak without even flinching. 

“It's just so evident that it’s intertwined with the whole philosophy of what the seven habits is all about,” Sevarino said. 

The kindergarten students led the national anthem and sang the song “Seven Habits of Healthy Kids.” Amanda Bertrand's class performed “Habit-eight Find Your Voice” and the chorus sang “We All Need Peace." 

The Student Council members took the visitors on tours of the building, with presentation boards and students positioned around the building. The clubs represented were Art Helpers, Chorus, Vex IQ, K-Kids, Media Managers, News Crew, Running Club, Safety Patrol, Sister School and Student Council. 

“They start to see how what they do impacts not just within the school, but it impacts the community, and it allows them to see that they can make a difference,” Sevarino said. “It's not just what we're doing here in the school, it's in the community, and it's around the nation.”