Jubilee Academies welcomes new school year and celebrates Leader in Me milestone

Jubilee Academies welcomed nearly 6,000 new and returning students this week at its twelve campuses in central and south Texas. And, while our Jubilee family continues to grow, we’ve remained committed to teaching leadership, building character and exemplifying excellence in everything we do.

The hugs and laughter that filled our schools’ hallways this week were particularly heartfelt at Jubilee-Livingway in Brownsville, Texas, as they were notified early this summer that they were named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education—a distinction their students, parents and staff have been working toward for several years. Jubilee-Livingway is the first elementary school in Brownsville, the first charter school in Texas, and the first school in the Jubilee Academies District to receive this recognition. 

“We are honored to have been certified and named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School,” Mrs. Cecilia C. Septimo, principal of Jubilee-Livingway, said. “We have seen amazing results from implementing the Leader in Me program at our school, such as receiving all six distinctions awarded by the Texas Education Agency, a sense of student responsibility and ownership of academic progress, our school community working together to achieve goals, a decrease in discipline referrals, and an increase in our attendance rate.”

Since its official launch nearly a decade ago, over 3,500 public, private and charter schools across 50 countries have adopted the Leader in Me program, while just over 400 schools have achieved the prestigious Lighthouse certification. 

Sean Covey, president of FranklinCovey Education said they are thrilled to recognize Jubilee-Livingway as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School. “Schools who achieve Lighthouse Certification are great examples of a strong leadership model and process, and of what it means to be a Leader in Me school. Jubilee-Livingway has experienced transformational results by implementing the principles and practices related to Leader in Me. We are so pleased and honored to celebrate the success they are experiencing.” 

A student shares her Leadership Notebook
at a recent Leadership Day on the campus.
One example of student leadership at Jubilee-Livingway came from a fourth-grade student who identified a need to prevent students, parents and staff from getting wet while moving from one building to another on rainy days. She consulted with Mrs. Septimo and requested approval to work on a project to resolve the situation. With her family’s support, the student created different blue prints and ultimately executed the student-friendly project, “Umbrella for Umbrella.” Now, Jubilee-Livingway has one umbrella crate available inside each of their buildings. Students, parents and staff can get an umbrella from one building’s crate and return it to another crate after each use, so that umbrellas are available to everyone. “Through this project, the student displayed many leadership skills that allowed her to collaborate with school and family to bring her vision to life.” Mrs. Septimo said. “This process not only has had a significant impact on this student, but on the entire school community. We expect to see more great results from our students over time,” she predicts. 

A student explains leadership roles at a recent Leadership Day on the campus.
A student explains leadership roles at a recent Leadership
Day on the campus.
The Lighthouse Certification is a highly-regarded standard set by FranklinCovey Education that is attainable by every Leader in Me school. As it is a significant benchmark, applying for this certification typically occurs three to five years after a school begins the Leader in Me process. 

It is earned by schools that demonstrate the following:
  • The principal, school administration and staff engage in ongoing learning and develop as leaders, while championing leadership for the school. 
  • Leadership principles are effectively taught to all students through direct lessons, integrated approaches and staff modeling. Students are able to think critically about and apply leadership principles. 
  • Families and the school partner together in learning about the 7 Habits and leadership principles through effective communication and mutual respect. 
  • The school community is able to see leadership in the physical environment, hear leadership through the common language of the 7 Habits, and feel leadership through a culture of caring, relationships, and affirmation. 
  • Leadership is shared with students through a variety of leadership roles, and student voice leads to innovations within the school. 
  • Classroom, family and community leadership events provide authentic environments to celebrate leadership, build culture and allow students to practice leadership skills. 
  • The school utilizes the 4DX® process to identify and track progress toward Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for the school, classroom and staff. 
  • Students lead their own learning with the skills to assess their needs, set appropriate goals and carry out action plans. They track progress toward goals in Leadership Notebooks and share these notebooks with adults in student-led conferences. 
  • Teacher planning and reflection, trusting relationships, and student-led learning combine to create environments for highly engaged learning. 
Jubilee-Livingway will maintain its Lighthouse Certification the next two years and will continue to foster its growth and proficiency in exemplifying a leadership culture and principles. At the end of the two years, Jubilee-Livingway will be able to re-certify its Lighthouse distinction through a virtual self-assessment, describing and celebrating its growth and accomplishments since its original Lighthouse designation.

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