Third Creek Elementary 361 East Barkley Rd., Statesville, NC 28677 • 704 873-3002
Amy Rhyne - Principal
Lolita Hargrave, Assistant Principal
“Are we famous?” That’s what students at Third Creek Elementary have been asking their teachers this year, trying to figure out why local media and community leaders have been treating them like they’re superstars. They’re not actually famous -- yet -- but what’s happening at Third Creek is definitely drawing notice for all the right reasons. Everyone at the school -- students and staff -- have embraced Dr. Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which were first used and proven in an educational setting at A.B. Combs in Raleigh. Called Leader in Me, the program implements the Seven Habits throughout the school day and in personal lives of all involved. And it’s working. After only two months, office discipline referrals have decreased by as much as 50 percent. Students are walking taller and smiling wider.
This is not the story many in the community are used to hearing. Third Creek is a school where 85 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch. The children come from some of the lowest-income areas of the community. To some, the task of educating these children -- let alone helping them become leaders -seems too demanding. But the students aren’t the only superstars at Third Creek. Behind every student is a staff member who truly believes that each child is a leader. In return, adults are discovering that Covey’s principles have created a new way of thinking for them, in the classroom and out. Ask the students for an example of a true leader, and they readily point to the staff. Ask the adults, and they proudly return the compliment, both to their coworkers and children throughout the school. Ms. Cutolo sat in the cafeteria listening
to her kindergarten students as they were discussing who was in charge of the school. She assumed the final response would be the principal as she moved in closer. “Our school has three principals in charge. The big principal is Mr. Turman because he keeps the school clean for us. The next big principal is Mrs. Hargrave because she is in charge of all of the buses. The other principal is Mrs. Rhyne because she is nice and comes to tell us hey and shake our hand every day.” This conversation confirmed the fact that everyone is a leader at Third Creek. Mr. Turman, the school custodian is just as important as any person holding a title. Leadership is distributive and collaborative at every level as it is modeled by the adults in the building. As the journey continues for these children they will learn they are in charge, alongside the adults.