Resaca Middle School Awarded Leader in Me Grant

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Resaca Middle School has been awarded the Leader in Me grant, becoming the third campus in the school district to receive the grant and implement the program.

Resaca is the first middle school to receive the grant. In 2013, Palmer-Laakso Elementary and Dora Romero Elementary schools were awarded five-year grants.

Resaca’s grant is also for five years and includes training for all RMS staff on the 7 Habits Signature program as well as brings in a family training component on the 7 Habits.

The Leader in Me is Franklin Covey’s whole school transformational process based on Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” 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.

Resaca Middle School principal Elizabeth Swantner, who was an assistant principal at Palmer-Laakso Elementary when that program started in 2013, has started implementation at the school already. Wednesdays are designated as “Sharpen the Saw” days (Habit 7), when the school opens its doors to students and families to come in and energize and refresh.

On September 6, the school invited parents for activities such as arts and crafts, mariachi, dancing and baking. Swantner hosted a Principal’s Chat Wednesday and invited parents to coffee to discuss school business.

The 7 Habits program for students includes:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
• Habit 3: Put First Things First
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
• Habit 6: Synergize
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw