Middlesboro Middle School is currently a Leader in Me (LEAD) school that teaches students how to be well-rounded leaders in their school and community. LEAD is the middle school version of The Leader in Me program developed by Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Happy Kids and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Covey developed the student program based on the best selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The LEAD program is a transformational program that teaches students about leadership, responsibility, ethics, community involvement, and striving for excellence in all areas of life. It empowers students to take charge of their daily actions and learning. Middlesboro Middle School is currently in the first year of implementing this program. Mr. Bill Jones, principal of MMS, is starting to see positive results from the program. “Student confidence is up, school pride is soaring, and discipline referrals are at an all time low,” Mr. Jones stated.
One of the components of the program is a monthly event sponsored by different grade levels. The title of the program for the month of December is “Christmas Extravaganza” and will be sponsored by the 8th grade. In planning for their program, the students expressed a desire to create and perform a skit. The teachers put students into groups, which wrote their own scripts with characters, dialogue, and stage directions. Their scripts were then compiled into what would become an eight-scene play called “The Seven Habits Save Christmas.” The students who were interested in trying-out for a part had to audition in front of judges, and the parts were awarded to the best performers. The students created the script, certain props, and stage directions, with teachers acting as stage managers. There were also students who signed up for prop design and stage crew.
To learn more about the LEAD program, please visit www.theleaderinme.org.