Edneyville Elementary Joins Prestigious Group in Being Designated a Leader in Me Lighthouse School

Students standing in front of a mountain celebrating getting Lighthouse status.

Photo credit: North Henderson High School drone photography students. During Edneyville Elementary’s annual end-of-school-year hike to Bearwallow Mountain, nearly 430 students gathered at the top of the mountain with banners that read, “The HIVE has reached the LIGHTHOUSE” and “We Are Edneyville!”

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (May 31st., 2023) – Henderson County Public Schools (HCPS) and the Henderson County Education Foundation (HCEF) announced today that Edneyville Elementary School has been certified as a Leader in Me (LiM) Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education.

There are 11 HCPS schools designated as Leader in Me schools, 5 of which are Lighthouse certified. Edneyville’s latest designation of a Lighthouse school marks them among an elite cohort of Lighthouse schools in the district, state, nation, and even worldwide.

The current LiM schools are Apple Valley Middle School, Atkinson, Dana, Edneyville, Fletcher, Hillandale, Mills River, Rugby Middle School, Sugarloaf, Upward, and North Henderson High School. Along with Edneyville, schools with the additional Lighthouse designation are Sugarloaf Elementary, Dana Elementary, Apple Valley Middle, and North Henderson High. It is worth noting that a quarter of the 41 Lighthouse-certified middle schools in the country are all in North Carolina.

North Henderson High was the first Lighthouse-certified high school in North Carolina, the third in the Southeast United States, and only the fifth high school in the world.

Developed by FranklinCovey in partnership with educators, Leader in Me is an evidence-based PK-12 model, designed to build perseverance and leadership in students, create a high-trust culture of student empowerment, and help improve academic achievement. This model equips students, educators, and families with the leadership and life skills needed to thrive, adapt, and contribute in a dynamic world. The Lighthouse School recognition is evidence that the schools have produced outstanding results in school and student outcomes, by implementing the Leader in Me process with fidelity and excellence.

Lighthouse Certification is a highly regarded standard set by FranklinCovey Education that is attainable by every LiM school and occurs as a result of implementing LiM with fidelity. As it is a significant benchmark, applying for this certification typically occurs three to five years after a school begins the LiM process.

Since 2017, the HCEF and Community Foundation of Henderson County have been co-leading the effort to add more LiM schools in HCPS, providing funding and support for schools implementing the whole-school transformational model.

“The Henderson County Education Foundation is proud to provide continuing support and training to effectively sustain our current LiM schools while also funding the initial implementation costs for additional HCPS schools to join the LiM family,” said Peggy Marshall, Executive Director of HCEF. “With support from our community, we have the potential to touch the lives of every child in our district and build a thriving community of learners and leaders who are equipped for success in life.”

Since its official launch nearly a decade ago, more than 5,000 public, private, and charter schools across 50 countries have adopted the Leader in Me process, while more than 650 schools have achieved the prestigious Lighthouse Certification, said David Ansbacher, LiM Director of Lighthouse & Quality Systems.

“That’s exciting when you’ve got the K-12 continuum,” Ansbacher said, adding that it’s the vision of FranklinCovey to see elementary students who learn the 7 Habits continue to build their understanding of “the paradigms of leadership” through Leader in Me as they move through middle and high school. “A student that starts in kindergarten with (LiM) and has it grow and change with them as they develop will … grow into a high school graduate that has soft skills and the ability to lead,” Ansbacher said.

With Leader in Me, students learn to become self-aware, and interdependent, take initiative, plan ahead, set and track goals, do their homework, prioritize their time, be considerate of others, communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, find creative solutions, value differences, live a balanced life, and contribute to society.

“Our school has experienced incredible results by implementing the principles and practices related to Leader in Me,” said Andrew VunCannon,  Edneyville Elementary School principal. “We are so pleased and honored to celebrate our students’ successes in leadership, personal accountability, and academic progress.”

More About Lighthouse Certification

FranklinCovey Education designed the Lighthouse Rubric to establish high standards for quality and school outcomes. Schools use the Lighthouse Rubric to measure outcomes in three areas: teaching leadership principles, creating a leadership culture, and aligning academic systems. Schools also measure their success as it relates to their unique school.

Since its official launch nearly a decade ago, more than 5,000 public, private, and charter schools across 50 countries have adopted the Leader in Me process, and 668 schools have achieved the prestigious Lighthouse Certification.

Edneyville Elementary will maintain its Lighthouse Certification for two years and continue to foster its growth and proficiency in exemplifying a leadership culture and principles. At the end of the two years, the school will recertify its Lighthouse Certification through a virtual self-assessment, describing and celebrating growth and accomplishments since its original Lighthouse designations.

Leader in Me training includes establishing vision for the school or district, goal setting, and personal-accountability systems and is aligned with commonly held best-in-class educational research, content, and best practices. At the core of the LiM model is the belief that every child possesses unique strengths and has the ability to be a leader.  For more information on the model that has been implemented in thousands of schools in more than 55 countries, visit the Leader In Me website.

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