Dale Hancock, Principal at Nelson Elementary for “The Leader in Me” program:

Nelson Elementary School has been The Leader in Me school since 2012. The Leader in Me is a whole school process that focuses on developing the whole child, Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit. It teaches 21st century leadership and life skills to students and creates a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader.

Content from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a key component of the overall The Leader in Me process. The 7 Habits is from universal, timeless principles of personal and interpersonal effectiveness, such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration and renewal, which are common to all people.

The process teaches students the skills needed for academic success. These skills include critical thinking, goal setting, listening and speaking, self-directed learning, presentation-making and the ability to work in groups.