PUEBLO, CO — It's easy to see how much the more than 240 students and staff members at Minnequa Elementary school love their principal Katie Harshman. Seconds after I present to her the News 5 Lighthouse Award for helping to make her community better, the school erupts in cheers. Balloons and handmade posters of praise fly up into the air. Harshman uses the moment for a lesson in love, calling on students to listen closely.
"Tank Tank,Tank!" she shouts to one student to capture his attention. "I want you to hear this because I want you to know how much I love you and care about you. I need you guys to find your role models and find your people who are going to make you great."
Harshman says the school is united in showing everyone how great they are.
"The students tell the teacher every morning 'I'm gonna show you how great I am' and we take it to a higher level," Harshman said. "When you believe you're great, there's nothing stopping you. So whether it's true or not doesn't matter, it's that you believe it. Then our job is just to help them to acquire that knowledge along the way."
Getting that knowledge is a hands-on collaborative process. Harshman spends most of her day in classrooms providing feedback to other teachers.
"I just think that it's my job to support teachers and support my scholars all day," said Harshman.
Harshman says the teachers are not nervous when she comes into the classroom.
"This is the culture we've built," she said. "It's a culture of respect. It's a culture of like growth, but it's also a culture of error. I make tons of mistakes in the day, but we also show that not to only staff but also the students we're human. It's not about the mistake you made, it's how you overcome the mistake."
Harshman and her staff have had to overcome quite a bit. Seven years ago the school district recommended the school be closed.
"Seven years ago our achievement in third grade was two percent," Harshman said. "In that same grade level, just last year we're at 51 percent, and now we're at 49 percent."
Getting there took intense training from a team brought in by the state. Along the way, Harshman learned every moment had to be intentional. That meant creating clear plans for success for teachers and clear expectations for students.
"There's discipline here," Harshman said. "There are expectations and systems and students are to follow them but right now in Minnequa 99% of our students are doing what we ask, maybe even a percentage more."
As Harshman and her team hold the students accountable, she's holding herself accountable, too.
"It's all just about being present so I know how I can support the scholars, how I can support the teachers, what the temperature is of the building," said Harshman. "For us to truly be powerful, I have to know what's going on."
That means being one of the first to greet students as they walk into school, and being one of the last to go home.
"We have work to do, we have to keep going," Harshman said. "The New York Jets say 'All gas, no brakes,' and that's what I'm trying to do here."
By the looks of the celebration inside the school for the News 5 Lighthouse Award, it's pretty clear principal harshman has plenty of support.
"Good, better, best we never let it rest until our good gets better and our better is best," says Harshman as she leads the student in a school cheer.
Harshman is one of fourteen children. She credits her parents, who were both public servants, for teaching her what it means to be a good person with a strong work ethic.
If you know someone deserving of the News 5 Lighthouse Award we want to hear from you. Click here to nominate someone now.
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