Sara Vanwinkle speaks in front of her classmates at the Leader in Me program at Brookhill Elementary School April 27.

There’s a leader in everyone, according to a program known as The Leader in Me. The program is based on Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and is aimed at students in preschool through the fifth grade.

Brookhill Elementary School, a Leadership School in Athens, held Leadership Day April 27 supported by Athens State University’s Regional In-Service Center. Brookhill Elementary School is one of 24 elementary school’s implementing the program supported by Athens State. Moulton Elementary, Elkmont High School, Brookhill Elementary, West Limestone High School, Cowart Elementary and Somerville Road Elementary schools are among those in the Athens State University Regional In-Service Center area as well.

 “Students are learning that leadership is about doing the right thing even when no one is watching,” said Center Assistant Director Charlotte Feigley. “They are taking on roles such as student greeters in which they welcome visitors by shaking the visitors’ hands, looking them in the eye, and welcoming them to their school.”

The Covey program follows a motto to: “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.”

These habits teach universal principles such as responsibility, integrity, and respect and are blended into the school culture by teachers who are well trained, committed to living the habits themselves, and who weave them into every aspect of the school day.

Felicia Phillips, the principal of Brookhill Elementary School, said the school welcomed guests from the school system. “We also had guests from Arkansas and were supposed to have folks from Tuscaloosa County who didn’t come due to the weather,” Phillips said. “They were here to see for themselves what a leadership school looks like. It was a day that our students showcased their learning for the guests.  They (the students) were in charge and they led the way for our visitors educating them on the seven habits through skits and songs. They showed the visitors around the school and visited classrooms so they could observe teachers and students using the habits in their everyday activities.” Phillips said it was a day for students’ leadership abilities to shine.

Staff members within these schools experience the three-day 7 Habits of Highly Effective training as well as additional training in order to achieve a strong, positive schools culture which supports academic achievement and builds leadership capacity.

“As far as Brookhill’s staff, it (the training) has changed the way we deal with our students on a day to day basis,” said Phillip. “We spend time finding their talent and then nurture that talent so that they feel that they are an important part of the school community. It’s about being in charge of you and leading with integrity. To be honest, it has made us all — teachers and principal included — more aware of our own leadership responsibilities and what we can do to be more proactive at school and in our personal lives.”

Phillips said the purpose was for guests to see that implementing these leadership principles isn’t one more thing for them to do; instead, it is doing the same things that we have always done. “It’s just doing them with a leadership slant,” Phillips said. “We hope that the visitors left here with the idea that this is something positive that they can do to impact students; being a leader is important and feeling like a leader and being proud of being a leader can make a huge difference in a child’s life — in and out of school.”