On April 1, Evergreen Elementary hosted its Leader in Me Leadership Day, a special event highlighting how students are building essential leadership skills and growing into confident leaders. At Evergreen, in the Walnut Valley USD, Leader in Me is a school-wide framework based on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, designed to teach leadership and life skills to students.

As guests arrived on campus, the Diamond Bar High School Band welcomed them with a special performance in the quad. The program opened with acknowledgments from Evergreen Elementary Learning Specialists Sarah Lee and Megan Brown. Fifth-grade students Queena Chen and Fares Beltram served as enthusiastic emcees, bringing joy and energy to the celebration.

“Leader in Me is not just a program here at Evergreen Elementary — it’s the foundation that we build everything upon,” said Principal Dr. Gabriel Cardenas, reflecting on the school’s commitment. “We believe deeply that every single student who walks through our doors has the genius inside them. Our job is to discover it, nurture it, and support it.”

Evergreen’s School Supervisors, known on campus as the Dream Team, spoke about finding their voice and the impact of everyday actions. They reminded guests that “Leadership isn’t just about your title, it’s about your actions.” A highlight of the event was the kindergarten performance of the Habit Song, featuring students dressed as the 7 Habits.

Visitors then rotated through classrooms, engaging with students from various grade levels for a firsthand look at leadership in action. Following classroom visits, guests explored the Action Team Displays, where students showcased their leadership teams through creative trifold presentations.

The event concluded with students sharing their academic and leadership goals from their leadership notebooks. Overall, it was an inspiring celebration of leadership and learning at Evergreen.