In the spring of 2009, ten educators including a principal, counselor, and experienced classroom teachers met to determine the mission of the newest Barren County elementary school, North Jackson Elementary, that would open in the fall of that year.
Kathy Burris, fifth grade teacher, shared The Leader in Me book and suggested we read it as we prepared to write our mission and vision statements for the new school. Thus, our journey began....
The staff was 100% excited to use the 7 Habits of Happy Kids as one of the foundations in our planning process! As the blocks were being laid and the painting was being completed, the entire staff was trained in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the core beliefs of Covey's work became the backbone to the
curriculum. In the summer of 2013, we were blessed to have Muriel Summers from AB Combs Elementary (the brains behind The Leader in Me book) visit our school. What a joy it was to have her provide additional training for us!
We are now in our ninth year of using The Leader in Me at North Jackson and we have seen how it works "from the inside out"! Instead of seeing children through the lens of a normal distribution curve—some kids are smart and some less smart--The Leader in Me paradigm sees that every child is capable, every child is a leader. This paradigm changes everything. We believe that NJE should not merely be focused on improving test scores, but should provide opportunities for students to develop to their full potential. As our school song states, "We're gonna sieze opportunities today, show our full potential all the way, and Dream, Believe, Lead, Achieve today!" That's our mission...every day!
Kathy Burris, fifth grade teacher, shared The Leader in Me book and suggested we read it as we prepared to write our mission and vision statements for the new school. Thus, our journey began....
The staff was 100% excited to use the 7 Habits of Happy Kids as one of the foundations in our planning process! As the blocks were being laid and the painting was being completed, the entire staff was trained in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the core beliefs of Covey's work became the backbone to the
curriculum. In the summer of 2013, we were blessed to have Muriel Summers from AB Combs Elementary (the brains behind The Leader in Me book) visit our school. What a joy it was to have her provide additional training for us!
We are now in our ninth year of using The Leader in Me at North Jackson and we have seen how it works "from the inside out"! Instead of seeing children through the lens of a normal distribution curve—some kids are smart and some less smart--The Leader in Me paradigm sees that every child is capable, every child is a leader. This paradigm changes everything. We believe that NJE should not merely be focused on improving test scores, but should provide opportunities for students to develop to their full potential. As our school song states, "We're gonna sieze opportunities today, show our full potential all the way, and Dream, Believe, Lead, Achieve today!" That's our mission...every day!
NJE Synergize Day....What a great way to learn that "together is better"!!