38 Introduction Many teachers face the daily struggle of how to meet the unique needs of 21st-century learners while still being required to be held accountable to high-stakes testing, state standards, and district curriculum. In Lewisville Independent School District (LISD), Valley Ridge Elementary has addressed this incompatibility by implementing The Leader in Me (TLIM) program. The implementation of TLIM was an attempt to help teachers meet their state, local, and school requirements for their students, while also teaching students skills that will be useful in the world they live in today. Problem The problem presented in the current study addressed how educators are being called to leave traditional learning models for more relevant models that will prepare students for the global workplace in their future. While some schools attempt to balance the 21st-century needs of current learners with instruction that leads to success with state standards and assessments, it is not always clear how this balancing act should occur. According to Boss (2019), teachers are not always trained or given the tools on what to do differently in the classroom and often rely on old, familiar teaching methods and strategies to teach their students. Overview of Purpose The purpose of the current study was to describe the implementation of TLIM at Valley Ridge Elementary and how the teachers in the building had embraced a program that could add 21st-century skills, social emotional learning (SEL), and positively change the culture of their school while also addressing the requirements set forth by the state of Texas and LISD. The current study sought to provide a clear representation of TLIM as a transformational program and how the program aligned with the ideals of the Visioning Document. The 20172018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 school years at Valley Ridge Elementary were discussed in the current study to determine if 21st-century skills, SEL, and school culture were affected by the implementation of TLIM. Literature Review History of Change By understanding the history of public education in the United States, a better perspective of the present and future can be gleaned. Throughout the history of education, changes have happened as the needs of learners were recognized. Starting with the movement for statewide public education, to equality for all races, and then to equality for special learners, parents and educators have always sought change based on the needs of learners. Currently, educators are caught in the middle of meeting the rigors of high stakes testing while simultaneously needing to reform education to meet the needs of 21stcentury learners. 21st-Century Skills Basic 21st-century skills are often referred to as the four Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. These skills have been pertinent in any century, MEETING THE NEEDS OF TODAY’S STUDENTS AT A LEADER IN ME SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY OF VALLEY RIDGE ELEMENTARY Julie Dawes, EdD Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2021, VOL. 5, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd
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