Hempstead Early Childhood Center teacher Sandra Lozano leads her students in a Leader in Me activity about making good choices.
Hempstead ISD is taking another bold step toward building a culture where every student and staff member is empowered to lead, learn, and grow through the launch of Leader in Me, a schoolwide leadership development framework based on Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
During back-to-school professional development, district leaders and staff participated in two days of intensive training focused on the 7 Habits and Leader in Me. The training provided educators with the foundation, tools, and shared language needed to bring the framework to life across the district in time for students' return for the 2026–2027 school year.
Hempstead High School Counselor Natasha Jackson leading staff in Leader in Me professional development.
“Leader in Me is about helping our students understand that they can lead, make good choices, set goals, and take ownership of their learning and their future,” Superintendent Herbert O’Neil said. “But this work is not just for students. It starts with our adults. When we develop our staff as leaders and create a common language around leadership, we are better equipped to develop those same qualities in our students.”
Leader in Me is designed to help schools develop the whole student by strengthening leadership, personal responsibility, collaboration, goal-setting, communication, and problem-solving skills. Rather than treating leadership as something reserved for a select group of students, the curriculum embraces the belief that every student has leadership potential.
As the district implements the Leader in Me framework, each campus will have a special group called a Lighthouse Team. This team is made up of teachers and school leaders who help teach the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, ideas about being responsible, working well with others, and being a good leader. The Lighthouse Team helps make sure these habits show up everywhere in school, from classroom lessons to student leadership jobs like morning announcements.
Throughout the school year, Hempstead ISD students will be introduced to and encouraged to practice the 7 Habits:
Be Proactive
Begin With the End in Mind
Put First Things First
Think Win-Win
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Synergize
Sharpen the Saw
These concepts will become part of the district's everyday school culture rather than being taught as a stand-alone lesson.
“Leader in Me gives us a powerful framework for helping our students recognize their strengths, own their learning, and develop the skills they need to be successful,” Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Leading, Brittany Anderson, said. “This work challenges us as educators to model the habits we want our students to develop and create a stronger culture across our schools.”
Teachers and staff will integrate the habits into classroom instruction, student interactions, goal-setting, classroom routines, problem-solving, and conversations about academic and personal growth. Students will have opportunities to apply the habits in authentic situations, helping them connect leadership principles to their lives inside and outside of school.
Hempstead Middle School teacher Melissa Johnson sees the 7 Habits as more than a classroom lesson. It’s about shaping who her students become.
“I believe nurturing future leaders at a young age is one of the best investments we can make in the future of our community. I am amazed by what our middle school students can achieve and create. They have incredible ideas, talents, and potential. Our job is to give them the support, opportunities, and confidence to discover that potential and become the successful, contributing leaders our communities will need.”
Hempstead Middle School teacher Melissa Johnson's student participates in a Leader in Me activity focused on Making Better Decisions.
One of the most important components of the Leader in Me approach is creating consistency across the school district.
When staff members participate in the same foundational training, educators share a common language when talking with students about responsibility, priorities, relationships, goals, and personal growth. For staff, the model also provides an opportunity to strengthen professional leadership, collaboration, and effectiveness. The 7 Habits encourage staff to be intentional about how they communicate, prioritize their work, build relationships, and respond to challenges. The result is a culture where everyone practices leadership.
“Leader in Me is about helping every child recognize that they are capable, important, and have something valuable to contribute,” Hempstead Early Childhood Center principal Keri Houston explained. “At Hempstead Early Childhood Center, we want to build those leadership skills early by giving our students a voice, teaching them responsibility, and helping them learn to make good choices, work with others, and believe in themselves. This year, we hope to make the 7 Habits part of who we are, not just something we teach, but something our students and staff practice every day. I hope that we are building a foundation that our students will carry with them long after they leave our campus”.
As the school year progresses, campuses will continue developing ways for students to take ownership and demonstrate leadership. Students will be encouraged to set goals, monitor their progress, make responsible decisions, collaborate with others, and reflect on their growth. Teachers will help students identify their strengths and understand how their choices and actions contribute to their success.
The new initiative aligns with Hempstead ISD’s ongoing focus on improving student outcomes by helping students develop the skills needed to become more confident learners and leaders.
With the foundation established during back-to-school professional development, Hempstead ISD is ready to begin a new chapter in its work to develop leaders at every level.