Shining Brightly: Highland Park, Theron Jones gain national recognition as Leader in Me Lighthouse Schools of Distinction

TEXARKANA, Texas - Highland Park Elementary and Theron Jones Early Literacy Center are among 300 schools nationwide named as Leader in Me Lighthouse Schools of Distinction.

Both schools, which are in the Texarkana Independent School District, have been a part of the Franklin Covey Education program for the past several years.

Based on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, it was launched almost 10 years ago.

Only 48 schools in Texas and 300 schools nationwide have achieved the Lighthouse certification.

Highland Park Principal Jennifer Cross said they were excited to receive the prestigious award they have worked three years to achieve.

"There are numerous components to meet Lighthouse and we worked on those one piece at a time," she said.

The Lighthouse Certification is a highly-regarded standard set by Franklin Covey Education that is attainable by every Leader in Meschool.

It is a whole-school transformation model and process developed in partnership with educators that empower students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Leader in Me 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 and value differences.

"We took those one piece at a time and worked through them," Cross said. "We set a goal when we began in 2015 that we were going to achieve that Lighthouse status. I'm super proud of our kids, staff and parents. It takes support from everyone and if we didn't have that support of our team, we wouldn't have achieved that goal."

She said a lot of the program's success at Highland Park was due to the students' diligence to plan exactly how to achieve their goals.

"They learn what it takes to get there and not just say 'I want to make 100 on my test.' They make a realistic goal and use our lead measures to get there. We track that data and they do, too," Cross said.

Those details are written in each student's leadership notebook.

"That has probably made the biggest difference," she said. "The Seven Habits are good for both kids and adults. Goal setting and goal tracking has made the biggest difference in our kiddos being accountable for their decisions."

Cross added that the parents have been excited about the program, as well, and met with the Leader in Me auditors when they visited the school, looked at the leadership notebooks and talked with the children.

"They had great feedback from parents," she said. "Many said they wish they had this years ago when they were in school. They saw how important it is just to teach those kids those lifelong lessons that can be applied anywhere."

Melodie White, principal at Theron Jones, said this was the fifth year for the program to be on their campus and that the students had worked hard to internalize the habits and display them campus-wide.

"They are leaders in the community, do service projects, articulate their learning, set goals, work for those goals and there's a lot of celebration that goes on," she said.

Parents are also accountability partners in the program and Theron Jones students have a conference with them to see how they are achieving their goals.

"They are taking pride in what they're doing now and owning their learning," White said. "It's exciting for us to see them owning their learning and articulating for their schools. It's important on our campus because of the demographics we serve and we want to show our kids are capable of being leaders and serving and we just want everyone to know our kids are shining."

TISD Superintendent Paul Norton said he could not be prouder of the schools, their students and their staff.

"They have taken the principles of the Leader in Meprogram and implemented it within all aspects of their curriculum," he said. "It has been a wonderful transformation to watch over the past few years."

Sean Covey, president of Franklin Covey Education, said they were thrilled to recognize Highland Park Elementary and Theron Jones Early Literacy Center as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School.

"Schools who achieve this Lighthouse Certification are great examples of a strong leadership model and process and what it means to be a Leader in Meschool," he said. "Both schools have experienced transformational results by implementing the principles and practices related to Leader in Me. And, we are so pleased and honored to celebrate the success they are experiencing."

TISD's Nash Elementary was the 25th school in Texas to achieve Lighthouse status.

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