Heritage applies ‘Leader in Me’ habits for student-led conferences

MADISON – Students at Heritage Elementary School stepped out from routine school days to prepare for annual Student- Led Conferences.

During March 3-7, Heritage engaged in procedures for “Ram Slam With the Fam.” (Heritage’s mascot is a ‘ram.’) As a “Leader in Me” School, Heritage used Leadership Notebooks as the foundation of their Student-Led Conferences. Students took an official role and reported on topics, such as their goals, interests, lessons learned and celebrations.

The Leader in Me approach teaches leadership skills to children and empowers them through the idea that every child should be a leader. The basis for much of this philosophy is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey.

Students worked diligently to track goals and reflect on their leadership. This step gave students a chance to showcase their leadership journey.

During “Ram Slam With the Fam,” students brought their leadership notebooks to share with family. Students followed a checklist and shared their thoughts about their notebook.

Heritage teachers and administrators hoped that students enjoyed this time with their families. The faculty asked students to email photographs from family conferences; teachers then added the photos to Heritage’s Facebook page.

Each grade had age-appropriate goals during their “Ram Slam With the Fam” activities:

• Kindergarten – Parents assisted students with Leadership Binders and asked the child about each topic. After a simple greeting, students shared the seven habits and explained ways to function as a leader.

• First grade – Their greeting included comments about the seven habits. Students read their class and school’s mission statements. They shared the “All About Me” section, along with goals, a celebration, homework, sight words and practice pages.

• Second grade – Students completed preceding tasks for first grade, along with discussion of the student’s leadership role and a favorite subject or activity.

• Third grade – Introduced himself or herself to the audience and gave a presentation for the leadership binder. Shares the ‘effective’ habits, along with interests, personal facts, “Wildly Important Goals,” awards during the year and favorite/least enjoyable job. The students gave examples of growth and lessons learned.

• Fourth grade – Included lower grades’ tasks. Students delivered a personal mission statement, disclosed strengths in leadership and shared projects and essays.

• Fifth grade – Completed previous tasks. Used a more structured greeting and discussed the 40-book challenge in nine-week goals.

For more information, visit leaderinme.org.