Leadership and Life Skills at Calypso Elementary School Inspire Young Students to Become 21st Century Leaders with the Leader in Me Process

BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 11, 2022 – Bethlehem Area School District announced today that Calypso Elementary School has been certified and named as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education. This recognition is evidence that the school has produced outstanding results in school and student outcomes, by implementing the Leader in Me process with fidelity and excellence. It is also because of the extraordinary impact the school is having on staff, students, parents, and the greater community.

Leader in Me is an evidence-based PK-12 model, developed in partnership with educators, designed to build perseverance and leadership in students, create a high-trust culture, and help improve academic achievement. This model equips students, educators, and families with the leadership and life skills needed to thrive, adapt, and to contribute in a dynamic world.

With Leader in Me, students learn to become self-aware, interdependent, take initiative, plan ahead, set and track goals, do their homework, prioritize their time, be considerate of others, communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, find creative solutions, value differences, live a balanced life, and contribute to society.

Kathy Bast, principal of Calypso Elementary School said, “We are honored to have been certified and named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School. We have seen amazing results from implementing the Leader in Me process at our school, such as an increase in the amount of kindergarteners who read above grade level at the end of the year – 100% of them now do. We have also had a decrease in the amount of code of conducts from a high of almost 60 in our first year of implementation down to single digits last year.”

Bast also shared that another benefit of the process has been that students are finding their voice and taking on roles that used to belong to adults, with “one student who found her literal voice.” Bast continued, “This student was a selective mute in the primary grades, but has spent this past year being a leader on the Student Lighthouse Team and shared her Leadership Portfolio with evaluators from FranklinCovey Education. She is a shining example of what the 7 Habits can do for all of us when we embrace them. The Leader in Me has has not only has had a significant impact on this student, but on all students. And we expect to see greater results over time.”

Lighthouse Certification is a highly regarded standard set by FranklinCovey Education that is attainable by every Leader in Me school and occurs as a result of implementing Leader in Me with fidelity. As it is a significant benchmark, applying for this certification typically occurs three to five years after a school begins the Leader in Me process.

FranklinCovey Education has designed the Lighthouse Rubric to establish high standards for quality and, ultimately, school outcomes. Schools use the Lighthouse Rubric to measure outcomes in three areas: teaching leadership principles, creating a leadership culture, and aligning academic systems. Schools also measure their success as it relates to their unique school. Lighthouse Schools serve as exemplars to their community and to other schools.

Sean Covey, President, FranklinCovey Education, said, “We are thrilled to recognize Calypso Elementary School as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School. Schools who achieve this Lighthouse Certification are great examples of a strong leadership model, and of what it means to be a Leader in Me school. This school has experienced incredible results by implementing the principles and practices related to Leader in Me. And we are so pleased and honored to be their partner and to celebrate the success they are experiencing.”

Since its official launch nearly a decade ago, more than 5,000 public, private, and charter schools across 50 countries have adopted the Leader in Me process, while nearly 600 schools have achieved the prestigious Lighthouse Certification. It is earned by schools that demonstrate the following:

 

• The principal, school administration and staff engage in ongoing learning and develop as leaders, while championing leadership for the school.
• Leadership principles are effectively taught to all students through direct lessons, integrated approaches, and staff modeling. Students are able to think critically about and apply leadership principles.
• Families and the school partner together in learning about the 7 Habits and leadership principles through effective communication and mutual respect.
• The school community is able to see leadership in the physical environment, hear leadership through a common language, and feel leadership through a culture of caring, relationships, and affirmation.
• Leadership is shared with students through a variety of leadership roles and student voice leads to innovations within the
• Schoolwide, classroom, family and community leadership events provide authentic environments to celebrate leadership, build culture, and allow students to practice leadership skills.
• The school utilizes the 4DX® process to identify and track progress toward Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for the school, classroom, and staff.
• Students lead their own learning with the skills to assess their needs, set appropriate goals, and carry out action They track progress toward goals in Leadership Notebooks and share these notebooks with adults in student-led conferences.
• Teacher planning and reflection, trusting relationships, and student-led learning combine to create environments for highly engaged learning.

 

Calypso Elementary School will maintain its Lighthouse Certification for two years and will continue to foster its growth and proficiency in exemplifying a leadership culture and principles. At the end of the two years the school will recertify its Lighthouse Certification through a virtual self-assessment, describing and celebrating its growth and accomplishments since its original Lighthouse designation.

Leader in Me training includes establishing vision for the school or district, goal setting, personal-accountability systems and is aligned with commonly held best in class educational research, content and best practices. At the core of the Leader in Me model is the belief that every child possesses unique strengths and has the ability to be a leader. The foundation of Leader in Me is its PK-12 framework, theSee-Do-Get model, and the Student Leadership Portrait andcompetencies.

Leader in Me is implemented through an educator professional development model. Teachers and staff learn key concepts and integrate them into existing systems. FranklinCovey has robust implementation support to ensure success for individual schools, district-wide, distance learning, and online delivery of content. Coaching supports implementation excellence and sustained achievement across all implementation modalities.

Leader in Me is having a significant, measurable impact on schools all over the world and in the lives of millions of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. To learn more about the impact the process is having, visit http://www.theleaderinme.org/what-is- the-impact/.

For more information on the model that has been implemented in thousands of schools in more than 55 countries, visit www.leaderinme.org.

 

About FranklinCovey Education

For nearly three decades, FranklinCovey Education has been one of the world’s most prominent and trusted providers of educational leadership programs and transformational processes. FranklinCovey’s programs, books, and content have been utilized by thousands of public and private primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools and institutions, including educational service centers and vocational schools in all 50 states within the United States and in over 150 countries.

About the Bethlehem Area School District

The Bethlehem Area School District is the 6th largest school district in Pennsylvania serving nearly 14,000 culturally and economically diverse students in 22 community-based schools. The district serves five municipalities: City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, Hanover Township, Freemansburg, and Fountain Hill. The district enjoys numerous community partnerships with universities, businesses, and arts providers that extend the schools’ rich curricular and co-curricular offerings.