Prattville Primary School has been named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by Franklin Covey Education. Leader in Me is a framework centered around leadership, academics, and culture, and the Lighthouse School designation is a highly-regarded national standard. A lighthouse is defined as “a secure structure shining a beacon of light providing guidance, direction, and hope, and that’s just what PPS is for its nearly 700 students and their families, teachers & staff. This certification 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 school’s extraordinary impact on staff, students, parents, and the greater community.
Prattville Primary began its transformation in 2018. Throughout this multi-year process, students set individual, class, and school goals and agree to take on leadership roles. “Every year, we were seeing success with the implementation of Leader in Me,” said Joseph Cochran, the school’s principal. “It became evident that everyone was ready for the next level, which was Lighthouse certification.” In addition to Mr. Cochran, teachers Katie Hallman and Rebecca Wingo served as Lighthouse Coordinators during this process.
In mid-February, a Leader in Me team from Missouri and North Carolina spent the day at Prattville Primary School. The review team interviewed students about their leadership skills and academic goals, they interviewed parents on how Leader in Me has made an impact at home, and teachers & administrators were interviewed as well. The team visited each classroom and observed Leader in Me-specific lessons. “It was a day to show off all the great things we are doing at Prattville Primary School,” noted Mr. Cochran.
A few weeks after the initial visit, PPS received the news everyone had been anxiously waiting on. Prattville Primary School was the newest Lighthouse School and one of only 22 schools in the state of Alabama to have earned this certification. In a celebratory social media post, a PPS teacher shared how students and faculty & staff were told about the exciting news. “Teachers and students were greeted with colorful streamers on every door and pots of gold at every classroom in celebration of our accomplishments. This is a huge honor that our school has worked towards for the last five years. Our former principal, Holly McNider, had the vision for our school to carry out the Leader in Me program and our current principal, Joseph Cochran, helped us complete our journey. We are excited to let our light shine!” In the school’s official report, the review team reported that “the school shows measurable outcomes that demonstrate significant gains in results, using appropriate measures in the areas of student leadership skills, school culture, and academic performance” PPS was cited as having a “mature” level evidence in leadership results, culture results, and academic results. In the last paragraph of the multi-page report, the review team noted that “It is a pleasure to designate Prattville Primary as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School.”
Leader in Me is an entire school transformation model and process – developed in partnership with educators – that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. The program helps students learn how to become self-reliant, take initiative, plan ahead, set and track goals, do their homework, prioritize their time, manage their emotions, be considerate of others, express their viewpoint persuasively, resolve conflicts, find creative solutions, value differences, and live a balanced life. Schools desiring to earn this prestigious designation use a rubric to measure outcomes in three areas: teaching leadership principles, creating a leadership culture, and aligning academic systems. Schools also measure success in terms of their unique school. Lighthouse Schools serve as examples to their community and other schools. The Lighthouse School Designation is earned by demonstrating the following:
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The principal, school administration, and staff engage in ongoing learning and develop as leaders while championing leadership for the school.
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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.
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Families and the school partner together in learning about the 7 Habits and leadership principles through effective communication and mutual respect.
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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.
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Leadership is shared with students through a variety of leadership roles, and student voice leads to innovations within the school.
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Schoolwide, classroom, family, and community leadership events provide authentic environments to celebrate leadership, build culture, and allow students to practice leadership skills.
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The school utilizes the 4DX® process to identify and track progress toward Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for the school, classroom, and staff.
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Students lead their own learning with the skills to assess their needs, set appropriate goals, and carry out action plans. They track progress toward goals in Leadership Notebooks and share these notebooks with adults in student-led conferences.
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Teacher planning and reflection, trusting relationships, and student-led learning combine to create environments for highly engaged learning.
Prattville Primary 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 through a virtual self-assessment, describing and celebrating its growth and accomplishments since its original Lighthouse designation.
