Imagine Schools at Lakewood Ranch reimagines school vision

Ashley Allen, the principal of Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch, entered the indoor recess area to see students playing with a parachute and rolling around on scooters. 

“Sharks to the shore,” Allen yelled.

Students, hearing the call, responded with, “Fins up,” as they brought their hands together above their heads to look like a fin.

The callout not only works to capture students’ attention, but it also serves as a reminder for the school’s values, which are new this school year. 

Shor, without the ‘e,’ stands for self discipline, honesty, open mindedness and respect. 

Allen became principal of Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch in July 2023, but after listening and observing for a year, Allen said she wanted to implement positive changes that would continue the school’s success while rebuilding the school’s culture.

She worked with teachers, staff and families to determine the school’s new vision, mission statement and core values. 

First, Allen met with teachers and staff over the summer to begin soliciting their ideas of core values.

“I wanted to provide an opportunity for the staff that was here to get to know me and for me to get to know them so we could reconnect with what was important to us for education,” Allen said.

Teachers then presented the narrowed down list of eight core values to students through character lessons, and students further narrowed the list to six. Lastly, the parents were involved to create the school’s four core values: self discipline, honesty, open mindedness and respect.

The school uses the Positivity Project, which is a character development program, to assist with teaching students about their core values by focusing weekly on a character trait that fits into a core value. They rotate through the values weekly. 

The school is working toward becoming a State School of Character, which would mean the school fosters in students a “commitment to be honest and trustworthy and to volunteer their time and talents to the common good,” according to Character.org, the nonprofit that provides the designation. 

Allen said it’ll take about three years to become a State School of Character. 

Allen said character development is integral to education as schools have become places no longer solely focused on reading, writing and arithmetic but educating the whole student, including social and emotional learning, wellness and development and conflict resolution. 

“We’re hoping at the end of the day that what we can do here is still provide some wholesome learning experiences and help our kiddos be productive community members who know how to navigate the struggles the changes every day really bring out,” Allen said.