What are the Results?
The Leader in Me process is now being implemented in over 500 schools worldwide. Schools are consistently reporting the following:
- Increases in students’ self-confidence, teamwork, initiative, responsibility, creativity, self-direction, leadership, problem-solving, communication, diversity awareness and academic performance
- Improved school culture
- Dramatic decreases in disciplinary issues
- Increased teacher pride and engagement
- Greater parent satisfaction and involvement
While a lot of this impact is not measured by traditional education metrics (e.g., student initiative), many of the variables are measured. For instance, the following case studies highlight which variables are being affected:
Discipline problems
- At English Estates Elementary in Fern Park, Florida, discipline referrals dropped from 225 to 74 in just over a year after implementing The Leader in Me.
- At Dewey Elementary in Quincy, Illinois, discipline referrals dropped 75% after its first year of implementation, and referrals for completion of work declined 68%.
- Joseph Welsh Elementary in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada reported a 67% drop in discipline referrals its first year of doing The Leader in Me. Click here to download the case study.
- A First Nation (Native American) school in Nova Scotia, during the first six months of The Leader in Me reported zero suspensions. In the same period the previous year they had experienced 20 suspensions.
Academic Achievement
- At A. B. Combs, the percentage of students passing end-of-grade tests jumped from 84 to 94 percent in two years. A.B. Combs has since maintained elevated scores for a steady decade, peaking at 97 percent. Scores dropped when the state test changed, but the drop was far less than the district average.
- English Estates Elementary was a Title 1 “School in Need of Improvement” when it began The Leader in Me. Folowing its first year of The Leader in Me, the school was awarded “The Most Academically Improved School” in its district, with test scores up as much as 35 percentile points in some subject areas. The state of Florida, which gives schools an A, B, C, D or F rating, moved English Estates to an “A” rating, and the school met AYP for the first time in years.
- John C. Fremont Elementary started The Leader in Me mid-year in 2009. One year later, impressive academic gains could be spotted across every grade and every subject level. In fourth grade, for example, language arts proficiency scores rose from 49.3% to 78.2%; math proficiency scores improved from 31% to 59.4%; and science proficiency scores also dramatically rose from 21.1% to 61.6%
- At Dewey Elementary in Quincy, Illinois, Parents and teachers were delighted to see the following rise in Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores for reading and math after 2 years of The Leader in Me: reading rose from 64.5% to 89.7%; math increased from 79.3% to 92%
Parent Satisfaction
- One of the objectives Dewey Elementary had in implementing The Leader in Me was to increase parent involvement, and that did happen. The number of parents attending PTA meetings more than doubled, as did parent attendance at monthly Parent-Child activity sessions.
- Joseph Welsh Elementary reports that parent satisfaction with what children are being taught leaped from 67% to 98% during the first year of implementation.
- According to the annual climate survey at English Estates, parents’ approval of the school rose to 98% after its first year of implementation.
- In a parent survey at Crestwood Elementary, all parents gave The Leader in Me a “very favorable” rating. Furthermore, the school’s parent council arranged for training in the 7 Habits for Families, and over sixty families have taken advantage of the offering.
More about what parents, teachers, principals and other administrators are saying here.