Calvary Elementary School recently received notice it had accomplished something few schools across the country can boast: through its involvement in the Leader in Me student leadership program, the school became a Lighthouse school.
According to theLeader in Me website, the Lighthouse school honor goes to schools that “have produced outstanding results in school and student outcomes” by implementing the Leader in Me process “with fidelity and excellence.”
Or as CES fifth-grader Josie Gordon put it, “It shows that we have a lot of leaders in our school.”
And that’s the point of a program that requires schools to develop a culture of student leadership over several years before even applying to become a Lighthouse school.
“We’re a hard-working school -- we’ve worked for that accomplishment,” fellow fifth-grader Collin Rakes explained.
Gordon and Rakes are two of approximately 20 students across all grades that are part of Calvary’s Lighthouse Team -- a group of student leaders who meet to help identify ways to improve the school.
Implementing a student-led Lighthouse team was one of the steps Calvary completed on its way to Lighthouse School status.
“[Becoming a Lighthouse School] reinforces what we all know and what we all expect when we come to Calvary,” CES Principal Paul Terrell said. “It’s a very welcoming place where everyone cares about one another and everyone works very hard so that we can all be successful. It’s very much a ‘Think Win-Win’.”
“Think Win-Win” is one of the seven habits students learn as a part of the Leader in Me program, and the use of the program’s common language is part of the criteria for reaching Lighthouse status. That criteria also includes -- among others -- creating a culture of student leadership through parent involvement, hosting leadership events, and staff collaboration.
“The teachers want to be successful and when they’re successful so are our students,” Terrell added. “And when our students are successful, so are we. It’s a great growing experience for everyone.”
That experience is focused on building leadership capacity school-wide through initiatives like the student Lighthouse team and integrating leadership lessons into instruction.
“As a lighthouse team we meet and we discuss what we’re going to do to make our school better,” fifth-grader and Lighthouse team member Tanner Reed said. “Leadership is a very big asset in life. You need to be a leader to yourself and a leader to people around you.”
For Gordon, that includes setting an example for the younger students.
“It’s important to be a leader because when the little kids see older kids being leaders they can look up to them and say, ‘I want to do that one day’ and they’ll want to become a leader, too,” she said.
The Lighthouse team also brainstormed a list of student leadership roles that students can apply for, including helping the janitorial staff keep the school neat and orderly or providing a helping hand in the classroom with younger students.
“I’m part of the ‘Kindness Kids’ and I go down to Ms. Spalding’s class in the afternoon and I help the little kids with their sight words,” Reed explained, adding that being a member of the Lighthouse team allows him to “talk to other people about my ideas.”
Recently, the Lighthouse team played host to visitors and provided a tour of the building and the various leadership activities. It was one of the final steps before reaching Lighthouse School status, but it served a higher purpose for the students involved.
“We got to talk to important people and we got to help our school,” Rakes said.
Ultimately, for Terrell, Lighthouse status was the culmination of several years of focus.
“It was a true team effort that wasn’t just something we did this year -- we’ve been working toward this for several years now,” Terrell explained. “It feels great when you can accomplish a goal like this, especially one that helps kids grow. It grows them into the leaders they can be.”