Leader Valley Receives Otto Schoitz Foundation Grant

Leader Valley is excited to announce that we have received a $20,000 grant from the Otto Schoitz Foundation to support our Leader in Me students!

"Otto Schoitz Foundation is pleased to partner with Leader Valley, an organization that shares the priority of reducing disparities, including inequities in education. Through this partnership, we are excited to see in action Leader in Me's trauma-informed and equity-based approach to teaching youth leadership and soft skills. These life skills are as important for our children today as they learn and play together as they will be tomorrow when they join the workforce."

- Shelli Panicucci, Otto Schoitz Foundation Executive Director/CEO

Twilight Golf Silent Auction Starts July 1st

Whether you're a golfer or not, you can support Cedar Valley Leader in Me students by bidding on items on our Leader Valley Twilight Golf silent auction! We have over 30 packages up for grabs from July 1st-15th. Click below to preview our auction items.

Columbus Leaders Celebrate Summer

Columbus Catholic High School's Student Lighthouse Team is made up of almost 30 young leaders! To celebrate the end of another successful school year, this group of leaders decided to create a fun video project to share student involvement at Columbus. 100% of Columbus students played a role in creating this video!

Summer Learning for Educators

One thing Leader Valley and our educators will always agree on is that the learning doesn't stop when school is out! This month, Leader in Me principals from across the community came together for Principal Academy.

Principal Academy is a time for Leader Valley to invest in our Leader in Me building leaders by creating a collaborative space for them to explore innovative leadership content and strengthen their leadership capacity. This year's focus was on "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Ignite Everyone's Intelligence." This learning is important to the mindsets that our Leader in Me educators hold: Everyone can be a leader, and everyone has gifts and talents.

Introducing the Leader Valley Council

One key ingredient to Leader Valley's ability to provide Leader in Me to our Cedar Valley students is our dedicated volunteers. This month, we'd like to feature our Leader Valley Council Secretary, Katie Hillyer.

Katie Hillyer is the new VP/EOS Leader at Lincoln Savings Bank. Katie first got involved with Leader Valley about a decade ago through her work at UNI. She oversaw the College of Business Professional Readiness Program which is similar to Leader Valley's focus on preparation of leadership and employability skills.

Katie says, "My husband and I have decided to make the Cedar Valley our home and raise our kids here. We want to live in a community that values developing our future leaders. The Leader in Me program instills leadership skills in students - teamwork, personal responsibility, interpersonal skills, problem solving, etc. These are the skills young people need to thrive in their education, develop deeper relationships and succeed in their careers and lives."

Leader Valley is Hiring

Leader Valley is hiring for the position of Facilitator & Coach. The Leader Valley Facilitation & Coach position is responsible for serving as a liaison to PreK-12 schools with a focus on the following responsibilities: coordinating, developing, and facilitating educator, student, parent and community workshops; providing coaching support to schools; developing and strengthening school and community partnerships that advance Leader Valley's mission.

Applications are being accepted until July 13th. All applications must be submitted electronically to Dr. Melissa Reade at melissa@leadervalley.org.

Leader Valley prepares Pre-K-12 students for life by providing them with the essential employability or professional skills needed for a life of effectiveness and a competitive advantage in the workforce.