Dana Road Elementary

Dana Road Elementary has been recertified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse school, a distinction the school has now earned multiple times since first adopting the program.

For Dr. Uretka Callon, who has spent all 23 years of her career at Dana Road, the recognition reflects a shift she has watched unfold in the building. "If I had to define what Leader in Me is for our school, it's a school-wide initiative that changed the reputation we had in the community and the culture of our school," Callon said. "It changed it for the better, by instilling leadership habits in the students as well as the adults."

The road to Lighthouse status wasn't immediate. Dana Road's first attempt at certification came back with a "not yet," sending staff back to study the program more closely before trying again the following year. "To be told not yet, and then to finally get a yes, it's just very rewarding," Callon said. "We know what these students can do if we embrace Leader in Me in our building."

Amy Wiedenfeld described what that looks like day to day. "We start the day the same way every day, no exceptions," Wiedenfeld said. "Our students, starting at three and four years old, spend 15 minutes on a Leader in Me lesson each morning, working through leadership lessons and their leadership notebooks." 

Two students living that out are Brycen and Isabella, recently named Mr. and Miss Dana Road. "Since I'm a leader, little kids can look up to me," Isabella said. "That means I can help them, and if they make a mistake, they can learn from that mistake by me helping them." For Brycen, being a leader means something similar: setting an example and helping younger students learn from their own mistakes.

Dana Road's most recent recertification also pushed the school to grow in a specific area: family engagement. Staff added new opportunities throughout the year to bring parents further into the work. Students also took part in service projects, including a districtwide canned food drive, a food drive for a local children's shelter, and a coin drive that raised money to support other students in need.

Keeping the whole staff invested in the work is its own challenge in a building this size. "Sometimes the responsibility is easy to let fall on the shoulders of the coordinators, or maybe a few other people," Wiedenfeld said. To spread that ownership, the school started an Action Team of the Month, recognizing staff who help carry the program forward with a shoutout over the intercom and a free dress day.

One small tradition has become a signature of the building. Callon started playing instrumental versions of songs students hear on the radio as they came through the door each morning, an idea she said got some strange looks from staff at first. "It didn't take a whole army of people to do that," she said. "It was just, what is it that I know these students like?" Students now know her by name because of it. "They'll dance, they'll give me a high five, every morning," Callon said. "If I'm not here, they're texting me asking where the music is."

Dana Road's coordinators also meet monthly with Leader in Me coordinators from other VWSD schools to share what's working. "It's not about Dana Road trying to outshine everybody," Callon said. "As a district, we want all of our schools to be Lighthouse schools."