CORE ELEMENTS OF LEADERSHIP AT LAAZ
A strong school culture supports students, families, and staff through collaboration, belonging, and shared responsibility. Engagement, satisfaction, and retention reflect a community committed to growth, wellness, and resilience.
Daily Leadership Practices
What leadership looks like every single day.
Opening Ceremony
A strong school culture supports students, families, and staff through collaboration, belonging, and shared responsibility. Engagement, satisfaction, and retention reflect a community committed to growth, wellness, and resilience.
Classroom Launch & Close
Each homeroom or core class begins with a short leadership intention tied to the day’s learning target and ends with a reflection or “leadership shout‑out,” helping students build habits of self‑awareness, responsibility, and ownership of learning.
Leadership Instruction & curriculumn
How leadership is taught within the classroom.
Trait Mini-Lessons, Definitions & Teachers’ Edition (TE)
LAAZ intentionally develops leadership through daily Leadership Trait Mini-Lessons. Nearly 70 scripted, developmentally leveled activities in a K–8 Teachers’ Edition help students learn clear definitions of each Leadership Development Trait and see what those traits look like in action (Level 1: K–1, Level 2: 2–3, Level 3: 4–5, Level 4: 6–8).
Leadership instruction is horizontally aligned across classrooms and content areas and vertically sequenced across K–8, allowing students to revisit and deepen each trait over time in age-appropriate ways. Mini-lessons emphasize movement, communication, collaboration, and real-life connections and may be delivered on a set schedule or flexibly on nontraditional days like assemblies, early dismissals. Each lesson identifies the trait(s) emphasized and encourages teacher creativity and professional judgment, reinforcing a cohesive, whole-school approach to holistic leadership development.
Student reflection, evidence & growth tracking
Where a student’s leadership becomes visible and measurable.
Journals & Digital Badges
Students maintain age‑appropriate leadership journals and earn digital badges (e.g., Conflict Resolver, Service Starter, Team Facilitator) to capture frequent evidence of leadership growth and connect daily behavior to the twelve Leadership Development Traits.
Self-Assessments
Students complete quarterly Leadership Development self‑assessments and written self‑reflections to measure and document their growth over their tenure at LAAZ; these artifacts are incorporated into Leadership Portfolios and student‑led conferences.
STudent Voice & Real-World Leadership
When leadership extending beyond the classroom.
Student Leadership Action Teams
Open‑enrollment teams (Culture & Climate, Service & Civic Engagement, Wellness & Athletics, Family & Events) give students authentic roles in planning PBIS leadership events, service projects, athletic culture, and family engagement activities.
Student Advisory Council
Representatives from upper grades meet quarterly with school leadership and a board liaison to review climate and leadership data and present an annual Student Leadership & Culture Report at a public board meeting.
mentorship & Community Building
How building relationships can improve leadership.
K-8 Mentor/Buddy Program
Older students’ mentor younger peers through shared read‑aloud’s, leadership challenges, and portfolio coaching, turning cross‑grade relationships into a structured strategy for leadership, belonging, and transition support.
Parent Leadership Academy
A Parent Leadership Academy offers a series of workshops that equip families to practice the twelve traits at home, support goal‑setting and portfolios, and engage in civic and school leadership alongside their children.
celebrations, showcases & schoolwide experiences
Where leadership is seen and celebrated.
Leadership Walls & Digital Gallery
Hallway displays and QR‑linked digital galleries showcase student leadership stories, service projects, and portfolio artifacts, making leadership visible and celebrating diverse examples of success.
Leadership Launch & Capstone Week
The year begins with Leadership Launch Week (introducing the twelve traits, school mission, and leadership expectations) and ends with a Capstone Week of exhibitions, student‑led conferences, and 8th‑grade portfolio defenses highlighting academic and leadership growth.