Students are leaders at Clover’s Kinard Elementary

It is difficult to be shy at Kinard Elementary School near downtown Clover.

It’s not because of teachers calling out students. Encouragement to step forward comes from fellow students. The message is that every student is a leader, that every student needs to be an effective, thoughtful speaker, and that diversity of opinions is valued.

Lacy and Jade, fifth-grade classmates, said the encouragement has changed them.

Lacy, who transferred to Kinard, was not sure what to expect. “I found a different attitude than my previous school,” she said. “There is more respect here.”

Jade said she was scared that people would judge her.

Instead, with the help of her fellow students, “I found myself. I know who I am.” As a school leader, she has twice interviewed Clover schools Superintendent Marc Sosne.

Kinard’s culture is by design. For the last five years, the school has embraced “The Leader In Me” program based on “The 7 Principles of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.

Muriel Summers, then principal at A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, N.C., took Covey’s principles and molded them into a leadership development program that turned her school around. That was in 1999. Now Kinard and 1,600 other schools in 25 countries use the program.

Kathryne Weathers, principal at Kinard, said her school and A.B. Combs are similar.

Principals at each school were told by administrators to do something unique to improve their school. Both are Title I schools, the federal designation for schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families.

Kinard has used the program for five years. Benefits are being seen by students, parents, teachers and the school, Weathers said.

The overall benefit is that the school is meeting its mission of helping children recognize their potential and have the opportunity to grow, she said.

There has been a decrease in school discipline infractions and an increase in student achievement, Weathers said. For the past two years, the school has earned Palmetto Gold honors from the state.

The award is for attaining high levels of performance, for attaining high rates of growth and for closing the achievement gap between groups of students. “The Leader in Me” has been a contributing factor in those awards.

For teachers, the program has allowed them to better focus their classroom efforts. “It helps us work as a team,” said Kathryn Davis, a second-grade teacher.

Teachers use the effective habits to identify places where students fall short.

Teachers also can control classroom behavior through a series of “pluses and deltas.” Pluses are given when students do well, while a delta is a negative behavior. Part of “The Leader in Me” is developing plans to turn the deltas into pluses.

The students have a variety of leadership roles that also free teachers from some tasks. “Teachers are not as tired,” at the end of the day, said Mary Beth Holmes, a second-grade teacher.

For parents, the culture created by the program “bleeds into your family,” said parent Wendy Harper. “The words in schools work into your everyday life. It’s like a pebble sending ripples in a pond.”

Jackson Lewis didn’t talk until he was 4 years old, said his mother, Deborah. But as a kindergarten student, he learned all of the seven habits. “He’s happy to use them on you,” she said.

Jackson, now a third-grader, came out of his shell because of the leadership focus, said his mother. “It forced him to think,” she said. Now Jackson is excited to come to school and work on his leadership role, helping younger students at the school.

For students, the leadership course helps them master skills they will use the rest of their lives.

The students, though, admit it is not always easy to follow all of the seven habits.

Many say they struggle with the third habit, put first things first. For students, that means doing their homework before they play.

Other say it’s hard to be proactive, to remember that you are in charge.

Other habits are exactly that: habits. Students understand that “sharpening the saw” to create balance in your life works best, or the importance of listening to understand, speaking to be understood and listening before you talk.

Most of all, students at Kinard are learning to find their own voices, said Weathers and others.

The children, Weathers said, understand, “I am in charge of me.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Students are leaders at Clover’s Kinard Elementary."