The Mental Health Center is pleased to announce that Gossler Park Elementary School has been named as the 2019 recipient of the Community Leadership Award, which was established to recognize and honor business or community leaders who exemplify the leadership and commitment needed to build and support a caring community. Principal Lori Upham and Assistant Principal Mandi Tappin have been instrumental in implementing the “Leader in Me” program based on Stephen Covey’s “the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The Community Schools Projects allows Manchester city schools to serve as neighborhood hubs providing a wide range of social services and education supports for children and families. Gossler Park Elementary recently entered it’s 4^th year in the “Leader in Me” program and was recently designated as a Lighthouse School, by FranklinCovey Company, the first school in the state of NH to receive such a recognition for meeting attendance, academic and teacher training goals.

Leader in Me is an evidence-based program which has brought tangible changes to the elementary school not only for students and parents, but for teachers who were overwhelmed with students who exhibited signs of trauma such as; emotional, physical or sexual abuse, violence, household mental illness or more. Since implementing the program, the school has seen stronger academic progress, improvements in attendance and student behavior, and has seen a positive trend in student ability to make decisions and exhibit leadership qualities. The City of Manchester was instrumental in supporting the “Community Schools” project in an effort to bring community health resources inside the schools, and Granite United Way has been the lead investor. Jaime Hoebeke, Chief Strategy Officer for the City of Manchester said, “the supports such as counseling, have helped to combat issues when they surface, rather than when in crisis.” She added, “the ability of the schools to embrace Leader in Me as a model, can lead to higher levels of social and emotional wellness, while demonstrating the advocacy for behavioral health as a key component in fostering student ability to succeed.”

Gossler Park Elementary will be honored at The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester’s annual dinner benefit for mental health on Monday October 21.  For more information or to register for the event go to; Annual Celebration 2019