NATCHEZ — The Miss-Lou’s regionalism efforts have seen both sides of the river come together to work on many issues facing the area, and on Monday, those efforts will be back in the classroom just in time for the start of the new school year.

More than 1,000 teachers and administrators from every private and public school in Adams County and Concordia Parish are set to gather at 8:30 a.m. Monday to hear a presentation on a new program called “The Leader in Me.”

“This is a different approach on how to teach children,” Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Hudson said. “It has been found to be very successful across the board, in weak and strong schools.”

Hudson said the Chamber Education Committee invited the Regionalism Steering Education Committee to participate in the event to try and further strengthen the regionalism efforts.

“We are going to all be together for education, and to encourage the teachers for the roles they play in the future of our community,” she said. “This is 1,000 teachers and administrators together for our region.”

Guest speaker Connley Skeen will discuss the program with the teachers to give them the basic overview of the new teaching method, Hudson said.

The program is meant to help children develop essential life skills that can be integrated into school curriculum, and has been shown to decrease discipline referrals, develop skills and self confidence, teach character and leadership and raise the level of accountability for both parents and staff.

Hudson said the program is still relatively new and expensive, and currently only meant for elementary aged children.

“They are working on ones for junior high and high schools,” she said. “And because of their costs, the program usually starts at one school, and is moved to the next.”

Hudson said after the teacher’s meeting, a second meeting for community members interested in learning more about the teaching method will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Regions Bank on Franklin Street.

“We will have (Skeen) there to talk about it for a little while,” she said. “We just thought that because they are here, we might as well get them to tell us more.”

With the meetings scheduled, Hudson said bringing the Miss-Lou together for the betterment of education has been a phenomenal experience.

“Anytime you do this, you are not only helping each other out in education, you are helping out in the workforce as well,” she said. “You have to have a good workforce to have a good economy, and you need educated people to have a good workforce.”

Hudson said anyone wanting to attend the community meeting needs to contact her office at 601-445-4611 by the end of the day to reserve a spot.