The Fort Dodge school committed itself to the program’s main message: improving the leadership habits and character traits of all students, while also establishing a culture of safety, trust and ownership in the building stemming from all different areas and walks of life.

On Tuesday, Duncombe received special Lighthouse Status from the national Leader in Me review team — a unique and coveted designation reserved for some of the most effective schools in the country.

Less than 40 institutions currently hold this title in Iowa, and only 700 have been chosen globally.

“Duncombe Elementary, Fort Dodge schools and the Fort Dodge community are all filled with hard-working individuals committed to building a better future,” Duncombe Principal Ryan Flaherty said. “This designation is the acknowledgement that all of that work is taking hold, and Fort Dodge is a place educators should want to work, families should choose to live in, and students can get a great education.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Jana Bartlett, of Fort Dodge, and her students take a photo after Duncombe Elementary was awarded Lighthouse status on Tuesday.

“This is really big for us, and I couldn’t be more proud of our students and staff,” he added. “We stress the importance of doing the right thing and valuing others. Attaining Lighthouse Status is something everyone should take a great deal of pride in, because it truly takes a village.”

FDCSD Superintendent Josh Porter called the recognition “the gold standard” for schools striving to follow the Leader in Me program, which was founded by FranklinCovey Education. The concept, which is an evidence-based PK-12 model, was “developed in partnership with educators, designed to build perseverance and leadership in students, create a high-trust culture, and help improve academic achievement … designed to equip students, educators, and families with the leadership and life skills needed to thrive, adapt, and contribute in the world.”

“This is just a tremendous honor for Ryan, his staff, and the kids of Duncombe Elementary,” Porter said. “It takes a lot of teamwork, legwork, collaboration and support from both the teachers, children and families to get on the same page and truly ‘live the life,’ so to speak, of the Leader in Me program at a school.

“Ryan is the first to give credit to others, and I’m sure he’ll do the same for this, but he goes above and beyond to make Duncombe Elementary a special place. He gives it everything he’s got. This is a huge win for Duncombe.”

Fundraising efforts by student leadership teams and support from the Fort Dodge Community School Foundation have allowed Duncombe to stay the course and continue the program since 2022.

“Duncombe Elementary has worked hard to ensure the building was meeting Leader in Me expectations in the areas of culture, academics and leadership,” Flaherty said. “The staff worked in those three action teams to ensure all staff were vested in the process and had a voice.”

The students at Duncombe play a vital part, filling more than 20 different leadership roles. The groups have met bi-weekly to assess the functionality and performance of buildings and grounds, while organizing student tour guides, attendance monitors, a birthday club, a new student buddies group, student greeters, and a number of other areas to build and grow the culture at Duncombe.

Accountability was important. Students and staff worked together to integrate a plan called “Wildly Important Goals” (WIG), which offered checkpoints for the programs. Every student in grades 1-5 also had a leadership portfolio they crafted as the year progressed. It was shared with parents at conference time.

Monthly assemblies were also held by both staff and students to highlight one of the eight habits from the Leader in Me program. Faces of Leadership have been recognized at each grade level and with staff members.

The progress Duncombe had collectively made was evaluated by a Leader in Me review panel over the course of this year. At the end of last month, two Leader in Me representatives spent the day observing at Duncombe and carefully evaluating its consideration for Lighthouse status.

Ultimately, Dr. Sean Covey – president of FranklinCovey Education and the son of late Leader in Me founder Stephen Covey – gave Duncombe its Lighthouse seal of approval.

The students and staff at Duncombe were informed of the recognition during a surprise assembly on Tuesday afternoon.

“All the work doesn’t go unnoticed by the superintendent and the school board,” Porter said. “There’s so much that goes into something like this behind the scenes, and it empowers both teachers and students in unique ways both in the classroom and the building in general.

“Ryan takes ownership over everything. If things don’t go well or there are problems to address, he’s the first in line to face it. So he absolutely should be celebrating this news as an amazing achievement of success.”

Flaherty refuses to let the school rest on its laurels, as Duncombe continues to strive for incremental progress both in and out of the classroom.

“We are working on raising student achievement scores in reading and math, and as we do that, we’ll know we are doing the right work to get our students where they need to be academically,” Flaherty said. “This achievement belongs to the staff and students who embraced the challenge. They never gave up and believed in something until it became a reality. Diane Arndt, the Leader in Me coach at Duncombe Elementary, has also driven the program from day one until this crowning achievement.

“Public education is difficult and very important work. To receive some validation along the long journey is very helpful. We want to thank the staff at the City of Fort Dodge, the Fort Dodge Police Department, the Fort Dodge Community Schools Foundation, and all of the other community support that made this possible.”

According to FranklinCovey, the Leader in Me program “unites students, staff, and families around a common goal: to prepare students with college, career and life skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s ever-changing, fast-paced environment.

“Thanks to Leader in Me, students learn to become self-aware, interdependent, take initiative, plan ahead, set and track goals, do their homework, prioritize their time, be considerate of others, communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, find creative solutions, value differences, live a balanced life and contribute to society.”

Schools use the Lighthouse rubric to measure outcomes in teaching leadership principles, creating a leadership culture and aligning academic systems. Schools also measure their success as it relates to the unique needs of their particular environment.