Valley Insights: Leaders That Inspire Led By The Why
Posted
Angela Miller-
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – President John Quincy Adams At Mentone Elementary School the leaders are led by the why. Why do we do what we do each day is defined in our hedgehog concept of student success through character education, leadership and literacy. Leadership is a key part of our hedgehog and drives the why. We believe that leadership can be and should be developed every day in our students and staff. Why? Inspirational leaders like the founders of Apple, Martin Luther King and the Wright Brothers are all leaders that led by the why first. Simon Sinek, the author of “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action,” teaches that leaders that inspire start with the why. Everyone knows what they do and how they do it. Great leaders know why they do what they do. The why is the purpose and belief behind what they do. Why are our teacher leaders learning about and developing Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, this year? During our staff collaboration time, teachers are developing leadership teams and are taking a closer look at individual student and class achievement data. Teachers are planning curriculum and formative, (shorter and more frequent), assessments that will guide teachers to change instruction. These assessments will help students meet grade level goals that have been set by the grade level teams. Each teacher in the PLC takes on a leadership role within the group. These leadership teams are changing how teachers are looking at data and are changing how teachers approach instruction and student growth. Why are our students campaigning to join the Mentone Student Council? The Mentone Student Council, under the leadership of LeeAnn Rock and Rebecca Hartzler, is developing leadership skills through community service. The Mentone Student Council members are elected through a campaign process where each candidate has to give a speech to his or her class. This year the student council has raised money for a schoolwide author visit, manned the polls for the 2012 Mentone Elementary Presidential Election and organized a local food drive. The group has also inspired fellow students to start another student leadership group called the No Bully Bulldogs. Why are our students starting an anti-bullying group? Caroline Schlemmer, Mentone Elementary counselor, leads the No Bully Bulldogs. This new leadership group’s mission is to bring awareness to the issue of bullying and to give students the courage to talk to someone if they are bullied. Students in grades 3-5 meet monthly to brainstorm ways that Mentone Elementary can be bully free. The group has administered a schoolwide bully survey and visited each classroom to talk about bullying. The group plans to create anti-bullying public service announcements that will be aired on TVs throughout the school. For all three of these leadership groups the why is clearly outlined. These groups inspire growth, giving and courage. All of these groups are inspiring action in others. Operating from the why is making a big difference at Mentone Elementary School.
