It’s been a busy month for the students at Mt. Pilchuck Elementary School and the Stephen R. Covey program for schools entitled The Leader in Me Program the students are using to increase self-confidence and leadership skills.

The students have had the opportunity to interview local leaders in an effort to better understand what these leaders do for the community as well as teaching them how to communicate with adults and leaders.

Principal Chris Larson has seen positive reactions from the students in her school through the efforts of this important program. “Modeling leadership behavior is very important to The Leader in Me program. We invite community leaders into our school so that our children have experiences with leaders and leadership behaviors as a matter of course,” Mt. Pilchuck’s Principal Chris Larson explained. “Interviewing skills also teach children poise and the ability to think proactively about the person being interviewed - choosing appropriate and important information and crafting questions.

I have seen our students’ confidence and communication skills grow. They are also more connected to our community.”

Leadership Ambassadors at the school were given the opportunity to interview Sheriff John Lovick on Wednesday, March 13, teachers from Lakewood Elementary on Thursday, March 14 and Lake Stevens School Board President John Boerger on Friday, March 15.

Students had to come up with questions before the interviews and then gathered around the interviewee to ask questions while taking notes from the answers that were given. They also had the opportunity to expound on those questions.
School Board President John Boerger was asked everything from what he likes about his job at Frontier Communications to what it was like when he was a child to what he has accomplished since being elected to the school board six years ago.

Boerger has witnessed the positive results of The Leader in Me Program first hand.

“This is such a neat program and I have enjoyed seeing this program in action,” Boerger said. “These interviews give the kids a way to see leadership from a perspective they haven’t thought of before.”

Boerger started the interview process by asking the students what the 7 Habits of The Leader in Me Program are.

Students knew the 7 habits by heart which include: Be Proactive; Begin with the end in mind; Put first things first; Think win-win; Seek first to understand then to be understood; Synergize and Sharpen the saw (or as they say at Mt. Pilchuck, the home of the Panthers, Sharpen the paw).

Soon the Leadership Ambassadors will have the opportunity to host the Lake Stevens School Board meeting and to interview the principal of Ben Franklin Elementary School as well.
If you would like to know more about The Leader in Me program visit www.theleaderinme.org.

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