Be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. Put first things first. Think win-win. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Synergize. Sharpen the saw.
These are the seven habits elementary students in Putnam County Schools recite each day, as part of FranklinCovey's "Leader in Me," a program that emphasizes soft skills such as goal planning and leadership. Leader in Me was derived from Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
Students recite these habits every morning, and the schools are covered in posters promoting them.
But the corporate feel of the program and the inability to determine return on investment has some Putnam County parents questioning whether the program is effective.
Some parents have seen significant improvements in their children, while other parents say their child doesn't want to go to school anymore.
The way each school interprets and implements Leader in Me can vary, but it is up to each school to develop their own programs to help students meet the expectations set by Leader in Me.
Although the majority of the schools in Putnam County have used Leader in Me for years, Winfield Elementary School just began to implement the process this school year.
Parent Christine Barkey has seen a negative change in her son, a fifth-grader at the school.
Barkey and four other parents are concerned about the reflection process, which is used as a type of discipline, used in correlation with Leader in Me at Winfield Elementary School.
Although the reflections are not an official part of Leader in Me, Winfield Elementary School Principal Candi Hatfield has implemented reflections as part of enforcing the seven habits.
Reflections, which are basically a form of lunch detention, are given for a multitude of offenses from forgetting to put a name on an assignment or leaving a book at home. The reflections are given at teacher discretion, so the offense mandating a reflection can vary by classroom.
When given a reflection, students have to reflect on what they've done wrong and decide how they'll do better next time. Younger students sit separated from their peers at a table in the cafeteria, and older students eat lunch in a separate classroom. During reflection students have to eat their lunch and reflect without talking or playing. A parent sometimes has to sign off on the reflection paper, depending on whether the teacher requires it.
Barkey's son brought home a reflection paper he filled out after he forgot his work.
He wrote, "While the class was: having there [sic] work, I was: not having my work. How this affects myself and others: I am not prepared. Next time I will make a better choice by not forgetting my work." Barkey's son signed the slip, as did his teacher and Barkey.
Barkey said her son often worries about getting a reflection before he goes to bed at night, and he wakes up worrying about it the next day. Barkey said her son is a good, gentle kid with good grades, who takes punishment seriously.
"The consequences do not match the offense," Barkey said. Barkey also added the Putnam County Schools Code of Conduct has a list of level one behaviors that warrant a lunch detention. These include cheating, using inappropriate language, skipping class, tardiness and more offenses of that nature.
While the parents said they are in no way against disciplining or punishing their children, they're questioning whether the punishment fits the crime.
The parents said they want to teach their children accountability and responsibility, but forbidding the children from having lunch with their peers for a minor infraction has hurt the children's self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning.
Tina Bordenet said her child has had at least 10 reflections this school year.
"I felt like at first, what's wrong with my child? Then, what's wrong with me? And then, finally, I've realized that it's not either one of us. It's the school and this program," she said.
Bordenet said her son has received reflections for things such as forgetting his homework or forgetting to put his name on his assignment.
"Abram has been in detention more than he's been in the classroom," Bordenet said. "That is just going to lower his self-esteem even more. He already feels like he's different than everyone, and this is just going to segregate him from everyone else even more."
Bordenet said she believes rules and repercussions for bad behavior are important, but she was concerned about the way these situations were handled. She said she thought there might be a better way to correct the behavior, such as receiving a zero on an assignment if her son forgot to write his name.
However, Hatfield said the reflection process is different from detention because it helps the child learn how to be better.
"The goal is to not make children feel bad for bad choices, but give them the tools to make better choices next time," Hatfield said.
Hatfield herself uses reflections as a way of self-improvement and hopes the children learn to use the tool similarly.
"I make mistakes all the time," Hatfield said. "I have to reflect, 'How can I do that better next time?' all the time. It's a life skill."
A Winfield Elementary School employee and parent of a child at the school, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said the disciplinary measures taken this year are the highest they've been.
Last year, the employee said there was one in-school suspension, and the employee remembered it because all other options had been exhausted before it came to the point of an in-school suspension.
"I can't even count how many students have had in-school suspension this year," the employee said.
However, Hatfield said disciplinary measures are down this year - probably due to the effectiveness of Leader in Me, she said. She added while there have been in-school suspensions, those are not a part of the reflective process but are a part of state code.
"That happens in any school. We have to follow through when there's a violation of the safe school act," Hatfield said.
For the 2015 school year, Putnam County Schools Treasurer Chris Campbell said the district paid FranklinCovey $145,266.65. This does not include other expenses related to Leader in Me that weren't paid to FranklinCovey directly.
Debra Lund, global director of public relations with FranklinCovey, said the first year costs $50-70 per student on average, and an average of $15-25 per student each year after. However, Putnam County Schools participated in a pilot program in which teachers could become certified to train other teachers, and it received a lower price.
Superintendent Chuck Hatfield said Leader in Me is well worth the price.
Putnam County Schools has always done well academically, Hatfield said, but out of the 60 to 85 percent of students attending college from the district, only about 35 percent were finishing their degrees.
When speaking to business owners, the district discovered students were lacking soft skills such as work ethic or the ability to cooperate and pass a drug test.
Around that same time, a principal in the district discovered Leader in Me, which is "organized common sense" that teaches students the skills businesses were looking for, Hatfield said. Now, all 14 elementary schools in Putnam County and two middle schools have implemented the Leader in Me Program.
"I think the system and the teachers need to be commended for actually taking on a new philosophy that we're going to develop the whole child," Hatfield said. "Our intent is not to just graduate kids from high school ... that's not really enough to just get them a high school diploma. We want to develop skills that will give kids an opportunity to be successful in life."
During an interview with Gazette-Mail editors, Putnam County School Board member Sam Sentelle said Leader in Me has been pushed from the top of the school system down, instead of allowing individual schools to decide if they believe the program would be beneficial for their students.
In Kanawha County, individual schools decide whether they believe Leader in Me would be a beneficial program for their students.
Jane Roberts, assistant superintendent of Kanawha County Schools, said five elementary schools in Kanawha County are in various stages of the Leader in Me program. However, none of those schools are officially recognized as a Leader in Me school. Some schools have only paid for the Leader in Me books to learn how to implement the program on their own, while other schools have paid for teacher training.
Roberts said the main reason why the program isn't implemented county-wide is the cost. In fact, Roberts said, most schools cover the cost of the program or use federal money to pay for it.
She also said the schools with teachers in training were quoted $2,600 a day, with length of training varying from one to three days, depending on the level in the program the school has reached. She said it also costs an additional $105 per person in the training to pay for materials.
She said to go through the whole training for the title of a Leader in Me school is very extensive.
At West Teays Elementary School, students held their annual Leadership Day March 24. With the theme focusing on all things West Virginia, students were given the opportunity to present to parents and community members.
Students confidently greeted guests and led them to their seats.
"Hi, I'm Preston. Welcome to our school. My classmate, Molly, will show you to the gymnasium," a student said to a group of parents entering the building.
After a guest speaker and a song, guests were taken on a student-led tour to different classrooms throughout the school.
Pre-kindergarten students showed guests their coal mining town. They demonstrated how to "mine coal" with shoe boxes and fake pick axes and how to wash clothes in a bucket.
Older students put on a trivia game show that involved audience members answering questions about West Virginia. Other grade levels put together individual presentations about different counties, landmarks or animals found in the state. Each student greeted the guests by shaking hands, looking their them in the eye and speaking clearly.
Valerie Fowler has been principal at West Teays Elementary for 11 years. She said she's seen a significant change in her students since the process started three years ago.
Fowler said she was reluctant about Leader in Me at first, but now her students are looking her in the eyes and exuding confidence.
PTO helps supplement Leader in Me. Some schools charge to attend Leadership Days, but Fowler said the school's PTO helps fund the event.
Cindy Lewis watched her daughter Emma present to a gymnasium full of adults on Thursday.
Emma was in third grade when West Teays began implementing Leader in Me, and since then Lewis said she's seen a positive change in her daughter.
"She has become more open, more positive and takes more responsibility with her homework," Lewis said. "First thing she does is put first things first, and I think the leadership role has been a positive influence on her."
Hatfield also noted Emma's improvement, and said she remembered when Emma was a shy third-grader.
Reach Laura Haight at
laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4843 or follow
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