Imagine you are new to an area, and you are researching schools for your children. What qualities do you look for? Student-teacher ratios? Achievement scores? Reputation? Programs? Parent-community involvement?

Now think about your unique family needs after braving the pandemic. Do other factors emerge? Safety? Confidence? Resilience? Social-emotional needs? Engagement? Fun?

What if a community of schools with a long history of personalized learning opened a new school in your area that prioritizes both sets of needs?

Enter the Leader in Me program at New Pacific School.

Leader in Me began as a program for educators by educators at A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. The principal and teachers identified a need for students to boost confidence and resilience so that students would take charge of their learning. They ultimately chose a leadership model that incorporated Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In just a few years the school was named the #1 Magnet School in America twice. As part of this designation, they had to demonstrate raising student academic achievement scores; promote racial and socioeconomic diversity; integrate curricula with instruction; establish school-community partnerships; and enhance school climate. The results were so impressive that CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), the international authority on social-emotional learning, endorsed Leader in Me for being a complete, whole framework that works at all levels, including the classroom, teacher development, student support and the overall school culture.

It is for these reasons that New Pacific School is proud to offer Leader in Me as the ultimate Whole-child Growth Mindset framework. We believe that nurturing the social-emotional needs of children is key to transforming the educational experience. From this, student achievement, student engagement, and student behavior are results of intentionally teaching leadership habits alongside academic mastery. We believe learning happens best when these 5 Core Paradigms hold true:

Everyone can be a leader
Everyone has genius
Change starts with me
Educators empower students to lead their own learning
Develop the whole person

We live in a fast, constantly changing, and demanding world. It’s time our schools examined the needs of the past twenty years and orient themselves towards what will be expected of our children in the 21st century. New Pacific School is prepared to meet these needs and to empower your child/children to navigate this world as leaders and achievers.

We look forward to discussing how New Pacific School can meet your needs as we anticipate a Fall 2022 launch!

Romyl Mabanta, MFA MAEd