Howell principals hope schools become beacons

BY JAMES McEVOY
Staff Writer

HOWELL – Two principals are hoping their schools become the first in New Jersey to achieve lighthouse designation through the Leader in Me program.

Deborah Pennell and Diana Rochon, principals of the Ardena and Taunton elementary schools, respectively, updated school administrators on the progress of the Leader in Me program at the Howell K-8 School District Board of Education’s meeting Aug. 15.

The Leader in Me program is based on Stephen Convey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (1990). The habits represent a new approach to professional and personal problem solving.

According to the program’s Internet website, Muriel Summers, principal of the A.B. Combs Elementary School, Raleigh, N.C., first thought of applying the business model to a school environment.

Only 20 of the approximately 800 schools that have adopted the Leader in Me program have reached lighthouse status, none in New Jersey, according to the website.

“Over the last several years we have been working toward what is called lighthouse status,” Pennell said. “The symbol of a lighthouse is a beacon for others to come to. There are lots of criteria you need to meet in order to become a lighthouse school.”

Pennell said the criteria for the lighthouse designation pertain to curriculum, student leadership, events, goal tracking, measurable results and parental involvement.

Like most aspects of the plan, much of the school community has input on the respective lighthouse teams, which Pennell said identify school-specific criteria and execute action plans.

Both administrators attested to the impact the Leader in Me program has had on their schools.

“There is a real change that is happening,” Rochon said. “We are trying to plant the seeds of leadership for all our children. It is coming out of our parents’ hearts and it is coming out of our staff.”

District administrators lauded Pennell, Rochon and their schools for their dedication to the program.

“The amount of commitment you have been able to both apply and inspire with you respective schools and communities is incredible,” board President Timothy O’Brien said.

“There are so many unique things that have come out of this (Leader in Me) program,” Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden. “It has to be the whole school community that is involved. It’s not just the teaching staff; it’s the secretarial staff, the custodial staff and this year the bus drivers got involved and got trained. That is not something you would normally do.”

Golden pointed to the schools’ inclusion of students in parent-teacher conferences as another example of the uniqueness of the program.

O’Brien and Golden noted that the Leader in Me program has also significantly curtailed incidents of student bullying in the two schools.

Letters to the editor may be sent by email to [email protected]. Letters should be limited to 250 words and may be edited for length, grammar, content and libelous statements.