Our Journey to Lighthouse Status

As many of you know, Lopez Elementary became the first school in Colorado to be awarded with Lighthouse status.  So, what does Lighthouse status mean, how do you get it, and what is the significance of it?

What is Lighthouse status?

Lighthouse status is a level of recognition for schools who have demonstrated nine benchmarks of implementation with the Leader in Me.  The Leader in Me is based on the principles from Dr. Stephen Covey's famous book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  As an educational model, our students learn the personal habits that produce results.  They develop habits such as problem-solving, goal setting, personal responsibility, and other 21st century skills that support the mindset of growth and success.  Children also learn to discover their unique gifts and how their leadership can contribute to the larger community.   

How does a school receive Lighthouse status?

Lopez Elementary’s journey began in 2011 when the staff and community selected the Leader in Me for the school.  The staff then developed a book study on the Leader in Me to have a shared understanding of the work.  In year one, the teachers participated in several levels of training and certification to fully develop a vision for a student leadership culture.  Over the course of two years, we completed Vision training, 7 Habits training, Implementation training, Empowerment training, and Achieving School-Wide goals training.  A small group of staff and parents, called the Lighthouse team, also became certified trainers of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and 7 Habits of Successful Families.  We held our first family training in January 2013.

In August 2013, we set a goal to raise our level of implementation of the Leader in Me to a high level.  The indicator of a high degree of implementation is spelled out as "Lighthouse" status.  

On April 17, 2014, we held our Lighthouse review where a review group from Franklin Covey,

the Leader in Me organization, spent an entire day with our students, staff, and some parents.  Students led many aspects of the review, including school tours, sharing their leadership notebooks, and other highlights of our unique leadership culture.  For Lighthouse status, we had to demonstrate accomplishments in nine categories:  Lighthouse team, Leadership Environment, Integrated Curriculum and Instruction, Staff Collaboration, Student Leadership, Parent & Community Engagement, Leadership Events, Goal Tracking, and Measurable Results.  In the months leading up to the review, we created a digital portfolio that consisted of over 250 artifacts for the reviewers.  Throughout the review, we did our best to demonstrate all that the school and students had become, while still maintaining our identity as a strong neighborhood school.  On May 2, we revealed at our Leadership Day that we had been designated a Lighthouse school!

What is the significance of Lighthouse status?

We decided to pursue Lighthouse status as a way to push ourselves to continue to grow and improve our leadership culture.  First and foremost, we wanted the feedback as an organization about what we were doing well for kids and where we could improve.  Pursuing Lighthouse status helped us to do that.  Additionally, Lighthouse schools serve as a model of leadership and mentor other schools.  This gives us an opportunity to connect with other schools and share our practices as well as learn from their successes.  Worldwide, there are nearly 1700 schools involved with the Leader in Me, and ninety-four are designated as Lighthouse schools. 

  

Lopez’s journey toward Lighthouse status reflects a commitment to empowering children to be self-disciplined in achieving their personal and academic goals.  This award reflects our school's mission to develop leaders today, so they can be leaders tomorrow.  Our vision is for children to develop a strong self-concept and awareness of their valuable contributions. We strive to recognize the worth and potential in every child, so clearly that they see it in themselves!