SISI - Standards and Indicators

Standard 1 - Academic Performance - Curriculum
1.1d There is evidence of vertical communication with an intentional focus on key curriculum transition points within grade configurations (e.g., from primary to middle and middle to high).
1.1e The school curriculum provides specific links to continuing eduacation, life, and career options.

Standard 3 - Academic Performance - Instruction
3.1a There is evidence that effective and varied instructional strategies are used in all classrooms
3.1c Instructional strategies and activities are monitored and aligned with the changing needs of a diverse student population to ensure various learning approaches and learning styles are addressed.

Standard 4 - Learning Environment - School Culture
4.1a There is leadership support for a safe, orderly learning environment
4.1b Leadership creates experiences that foster the belief that all children can learn at high levels in order to motivate staff to produce continuous improvement in student learning.
4.1c Teachers hold high expectations for all students academically and behaviourally, and this is evidenced in their practice.
4.1d Teachers and non-teaching staff are involved in both formal and informal decision-making processes regarding teaching and learning.
4.1e Teachers recognize and accept their role in student success and failure
4.1f The school intentinally assigns staff to maximize opportunities for all students to have access to the staff's instructional strengths.
4.1g Teachers communicate regularly with families about individual students' progress with (e.g., engage through conversation).
4.1h There is evidence that the teachers and staff care about students and inspire their best efforts.
4.1i Multiple communication strategies and contexts are used for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders.
4.1j There is evidence that student achievement is highly valued and publicly celebrated (e.g., displays of student work, assemblies).
4.1k The school/district provides support for the physical, cultural, socio-economic, and intellectual needs of all students, which reflects a committment to equity and an appreciation of diversity.

Standard 5 - Learning Environment - Student, Family and Community Support
5.1a Families and the community are active partners in the educational process and work together with the school/district staff to promote programs and services for all students.
5.1b Structures are in place to ensure that all students have access to all curriculum (e.g., school guidance, FRYSC's, ESS).
5.1c The school/district provides organixationl structures and supports instructional practices to reduce barriers to learning.
5.1d Students are provided with a variety of opportunities to receive additional assistance to support their learning, beyond the initial classroom instruction.
5.1e The school maintains an accurate sutdent record system that provides timely information pertinent to the students' academic and educational development.

Standard 6 - Learning Environment - Professional Growth, Development and Evaluation
6.1e There is evidence of support for the long-term professional growth needs of the individual staff members. This includes both instructional and leadership growth.
6.1f Professional development planning shows a direct connection to an analysis of student achievement data.

Standard 7 - Efficiency - Leadership
7.1h The school/district leadership provides the organizational policy and resource infrastructure necessary for the implementation and maintenance of a safe and effective learning environment.
7.1j SBDM has intentional focus on student academic performance
7.1k There is evidence that the SBDM council has an intentional focus on student academic performance.

Standard 8 - Efficiency - Organizational Structure and Resources
8.1e Staff promotes team planning vertically and horizontally across content aread and grade configurations that is focused on the goals, objectives, and strategies in the improvement plan (e.g., common planning time for content area teachers; emphasis on learning time and not seat time, and integrated units).
8.1f The schedule is intentionally aligned with the schools' mission and designed to ensure that all staff provide quality instructional time (e.g., flex time, organization based on developmental needs of studets, interdisciplinary units).

Standard 9 - Efficiency - Comprehensive and Effective Planning
9.1a There is evidence that a collaborative process was used to develop the vision, beliefs, mission, and goals that engage the school community as a sommunity of learners.
9.3b The school/district analyzes their students' unique learning needs.
9.3c The desired results for student learning are defined.
9.4b The school/district goals for building and strengthening the capacity of the school/district instructional and organizational effectiveness are defined.
9.6a The plan is implemented as developed
9.6b The school evaluates the degree to which it achieves for student learning set by the plan.
9.6c The school evaluates the degree to which it achieves the expected impact on classroom practice and student performance specified in the plan.
9.6d There is evidence of attempts to sustain the commitment to continuous improvement.

Scenario

 

.Last year, seven-year old Devon often turned in inadequate or sloppy homework when he turned it in at all.  Devon never wanted to participate in classroom or playground activities.  It seemed Devon just didn’t care about his peers, his school, or himself. He would often instigate arguments with his peers and was disruptive during his classes. This year his school has instituted a character education program. The program teaches the students to respect themselves and others, to be more responsible, to value their work and other qualities such as citizenship and caring. The lessons of character education are taught in the all classrooms, modeled and reinforced by all school staff within and outside the classroom, and prominently exhibited throughout the school.

Since the school implemented its character education program, Devon has begun to take pride in his homework. His mother reports that Devon insists on “doing his homework just right.” He now interacts more positively with his peers and is even on the football team. A diverse committee consisting of parents, students, community members and school staff identified the values important to their school and community and helped generate support for the program before it was implemented.  Since Devon’s mother supports the values taught at school, she helps Devon practice and use them at home.  She insists that he is like a “totally different child” and he even “gets along better with his brothers.” Devon  receives fewer discipline referrals and actually looks forward to going to school now. Devon's mother and teachers are now very proud of him. 

Introduction

Character Education consists of systematic efforts intended to shape and influence the morals, values and virtues of young people. The purpose of character education programs is to model and teach children like Devon standards and behaviors that the community finds valuable and that encourages their academic and social success. For Devon, his school’s character education program made a difference in his sense of belonging , his sense of responsibility, and his sense of respect for self and others.

Character Education is an inclusive term that encompasses moral education, community involvement, prevention of violence, social and emotional awareness and/or a moral philosophy. As defined by House Bill 157, enacted by the 2000 Kentucky General Assembly and as used in KRS 156 and 158, Character Education is "instructional stragies and curricula that: (1) instill and promote core values and qualities of good character in students, including altruism, citizenship, courtesy, honesty, human worth, justice, knowledge, respect, responsibility, and self-discipline; (2) reflect the values of parents, teachers, and local communities; and (3) improve the ability of students to make moral and ethical decisions in their lives."

Character Education helps create a classroom climate that supports teaching and learning, a climate that is respectful, responsible, caring, and engaging.  Character Education is most effective when implemented schoolwide and when it is integrated in the existing school curricula and school day.  The school can promote its character values through stories, math, science, social studies and health lessons that include discussion of the traits, frequent and varied exposure to the traits (e.g.,  posters, videos, trait of the week/month, character walls, intercom messages, buttons, rulers, pencils, etc.), student recognition and rewards programs, and, perhaps, most importantly, through adult modeling. 

It is also important that the school provide opportunities for students to practice and internalize the values promoted instructionally.  Service learning, especially when connected to the core content being addressed in the classroom, is an effective strategy that allows students to transfer learning and practice these values in situations meaningful to the student.  Such activities promote inquiry-based learning that actively engages students in learning, connects them to the school, and develops skills necessary for success beyond school.  Likewise, since students considered to be at risk of dropping out often lack involvement in the classroom as well as in extracurricular activities, Character Education can provide opportunities that involve students in classroom and school activities as well as teach them the value of their own effort. Such psychological attachment and investment in learning are keys to remaining in school.  (NASP Center: School Dropout Prevention- Strategies for Parents http://www.naspcenter.org/adol_sdpp.html).

Character Education is also important to drop-out prevention because, if implemented successfully,  it can alleviate discipline referrals, grade retention, and behavior problems. (Wynne and Ryan, 1997)  When a school agrees upon a set of character traits and infuses those traits throughout the school day, it provides students with a filter through which they can examine their own behaviors and provides teachers with a common language for providing feedback on behavior.  By identifying and publicizing these traits, the school creates an environment in which standards for behavior are recognized as being as high a priority as standards for achievement and allows staff to handle behavior issues in a manner that encourages students to reflect, make reparation, and grow morally without being demeaned or embarrassed.  In this environment, students help create and maintain classroom standards for behavior and expect teachers to administer consequences in a consistent and fair manner.

Not unexpectedly, research further indicates Character Education can improve student achievement and performance on standardized tests. (Wynne and Ryan, 1997)  Character Education nutures the social and emotional wellness of children, and, in turn, competence in these areas helps improve a child's performance at school and enhances the child's potential for success.  It promotes an environment in which all students are valued, respected, and helped to excel.  It encourages teachers to use  instructional strategies that encourage mutual respect and appreciation of interdependency among students while emphasizing autonomy through student centered learning activities.

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Strategies

An effective Charater Education program involves the school (students, teachers, administrators, classified staff) and the school community (parents, churches, businesses) in the identification and definition of the character traits tdeemed most important.  As outlined in the Character Education Quality Standards (based on Thomas Lickona's 11 Prinipals of Effective Character Education and available through the Character Education  Partnership), schools must make these values known to the entire school community through:  

• Incorporating them into the school mission statement, handbook, and discipline code; 
• Repeatedly referring to them in interactions with students and within instructional activities; 
• Conveying them to parents through newsletter and at school events; and      
• Visually displaying them throughout the school in a developmentally appropriate manner.  

As indicated by Character Education Quality Standard 3, "Effective character education requires an intentional, proactive, and comprehensive approach that promotes the core values in all phases of school life." This manisfests itself when teachers create a caring, secure learning environment that demands all individuals, adults and students alike, be treated with respect and dignity.  Instructional strategies such as differentiated instruction, scaffolding, cooperative learning, student-directed learning, peer or cross-age tutoring help foster traits of respect, self-worth, responsibility, and trust among student and adults and can serve as the foundation of a school's Character Education program.   

Numerous commercial Character Education programs are available to enhance and support the school's Character Education program but vary greatly in the degree to which they integrate Character Education into the classrooms and throughout the school; however, there are indications that many of these programs positively impact dropout rates, office referrals, school climate, and achievement. When choosing a pre-existing program, schools often select a program that includes the traits the school and community feel are most important.

Character First is a program implemented school-wide that follows a three step approach. The program emphasizes, requires, and recognizes acts of good character throughout the school. This site not only presents specific details about the programs but it also provides numerous videos, workbooks, and other resources related to character education. The site is also divided into sections such as faculty training, elementary and secondary resources. http://www.characterfirst.com/education/gettingstarted/index.htm Character Training Institute 520 West Main Street Oklahoma City, OK 73102-2220 (405) 815-0001

Character Counts is a national program that has identified and supports 6 pillars of character that include respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, fairness, and citizenship. Character Counts offers programs to assist in community involvement, sports success, teacher trainings, and youth “at risk” workshops. Many other resources are available at this site. www.charactercounts.org Character Counts National Headquarters 4640 Admiralty Way, Suite 1001 Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6610 (310) 306-1868

The Center for the 4th and 5th R’s is a character education centered facility. It focuses on developing characteristics such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. (implementation of this program in schools has been shown to affect dropout rates). The center also provides information regarding ways that teachers can incorporate these areas into the classroom as well as the whole school. Teachers are mentors of behavior to children (link to mentoring). Moral reasoning, cooperative learning, ethical reasoning, and conflict resolution are also areas that teachers can provide character education in the classroom. http://www.cortland.edu/c4n5rs/char_v.htm#good%20character Center for the Fourth and Fifth R’s SUNY Cortland P.O. Box 2000 Cortland, NY 13045 (607) 753-2455 E-Mail: c4n5rs@cortland.edu

EduCare’s ACE (Achievement and Commitment to Excellence) Programs have been found to reduce dropout rates by 39%. During school-wide workshops for students, parents, and teachers the program teaches aspects of character development. These include topics such as attitudinal development, personal management, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. http://www.educarefoundation.com/ace.htm EduCare Foundation 31225 La Baya Drive, Suite 104, Westlake Village, California, 91362 ( 818 ) 735-6600

The Caring School Community Program is focused on incorporating a sense of community into schools. It also teaches aspects of helping, responsibility, service learning and improving the school climate with activities for students to engage in with buddies, parents, classroom, or school-wide. This program provides parents with a book titled Homeside Activities. This resource provides parents opportunities to have conversations with their children about their education and encourage parents to stay involved. http://www.devstu.org./csc2001/csc_index.htm. Developmental Studies Center 2000 Embarcadero, Suite 305 Oakland, CA 94606-5300 (800) 666-7270 or (510) 533-0213

CharacterPlus is an approach to character education based on eleven essential elements. The aspects of broader elements include implementing a character education policy, community involvement, role modeling, staff development, evaluation of the effectiveness and maintaining the program over time. The academic aspect of this program requires teaching the traits in the classrooms as part of the curriculum, defining traits, and providing opportunities for students to learn from their experiences. http://info.csd.org/staffdev/chared/Process/process.html CharacterPlus Cooperating School Districts 8225 Florissant Road St. Louis, MO 63121 (800) 835-8282 or (314) 692-9723 characterplus@info.csd.org

Project Wisdom approaches character education through on-going communication about character education traits and themes in the school setting. It also provides materials for classroom discussions, journals, and quotations. Project Wisdom 4747 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 210 Bellaire, TX 77401-4518 (800) 884-4974 E-mail: pwteam@projectwisdom.com

MegaSkills Education Online is a school-wide program designed to teach character, decrease discipline referrals, and improve overall school climate. The program has identified 11 basic concepts that constitute the basic framework of MegaSkills. They are confidence, motivation, effort, responsibility, initiative, perseverance, caring, teamwork, common sense, problem solving, and focus. http://www.megaskillshsi.org/intromegaskills/innerengines.htm MegaSkills® Education Center The Home and School Institute 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 466-3633 E-mail: edstaff@megaskillshsi.org

Mentoring and serving as a role model (link to mentoring) for children is an important part of character education. Teachers, care givers, and the community are visible examples of the character and values they would like to instill in their students and children. This aspect of character education has been linked to decreased drop-out rates http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/effstrat.htm National Dropout Prevention Center Clemson University, 209 Martin Street Clemson, SC 29631-1555 (864) 656-2599 E-mail: ndpc@clemson.edu

Character Education Curriculum: These programs all provide specific strategies and resources for implementing character education curriculum in the classroom. Film Ideas, Inc. is a website that sells videos covering character education and dropout prevention. Each video has specific information such as “What to do when I’m angry?”, “Cheating, Lying, and Stealing”, and “Personal Ethics and The Future World”, and “Make the Choice…Stay in school”. (Decision Making, http://www.filmideas.com/decision.html.) FILM IDEAS, INC. 308 North Wolf Rd. Wheeling, IL 60090 (800)-475-3456 E-mail: filmid@ais.net

NCPublicSchools.org has a web site that provides curriculum suggestions and lesson plans. Incorporates character education into the curriculum of art, science, English and other subjects. It also lists the activities by grade level. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nccep/lp/subjects.html North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 919-807-3300

Goodcharacter.com provides free resources related to character education. This site provides teachers with curriculum guides, and ways to incorporate character education into sports, service learning and other activities. It also provides information related to encouraging great group discussions and ways to teach ethics for the workplace. This site can be searched by grade level. http://www.goodcharacter.com/ Live Wire Media 3450 Sacramento St. #619 San Francisco, CA 94118 (800) 359-KIDS(5437) E-mail: info@LiveWireMedia.com

PBS Kids Adventures from the Book of Virtues is a cartoon designed for elementary age students. The cartoon has several characters that are faced with difficult situations or questions. The wiser characters in the cartoon provide important guidance about making decisions based on having good character. http://pbskids.org/adventures/index.html PorchLight Entertainment 11777 Mississippi Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 477-8400 E-mail: infor@prochlight.com

Choose To Win is a program that is implemented school wide. It combines art and music to teach kids about values and character education. Lloyd Mabrey and Charlie Gorsuch are the artist and songwriters who use fun methods to teach important characteristics, such as goal setting, respect, and multicultural sensitivity to children. This program focuses on grades K-6. http://www.doyourbest.com/School_Program.htm Lloyd Mabrey: 474 W. Scenic, Grand Junction, CO 81503 (970) 241-8637 E-mail: lmabrey@gj.net

Relate for Kids is a program targeted at students in grades 3-5. It utilizes video, animations, and computer software (link to instructional technology ?) to convey messages about talking back, bullying and fighting. It is intended to teach empathy and impulse control. Relate for Teens is a program addressing the issues of adolescents and covers issues such as sexuality, social and emotional skill building, and depression. This site provides success stories and testimonials. http://www.rippleeffects.com Ripple Effects 333 Bryant St., Suite 110 San Francisco, CA 94107 (888) 259-6618 E-mail: info@rippleeffects.com

The Values In Action Program is a school-wide program in which students are taught seven core values throughout the school year. Materials are provided for teachers to apply in the classrooms, and also materials are provided for parents to keep them up to date and encourage their support. http://www.ethicsusa.com/via.cfm?page=VIAProgram Values In Action P.O. Box 80208 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-0208 (949) 888-2670 E-mail: ethicsusa@cox.net

Elementary Decision Skills, K-5 is a curriculum guide for elementary schools by Paula Mirk is designed to teach students ethical decision- making skills. (Institute for Global Ethics http://www.globalethics.org/ordering/details.tmpl?sku=40005&flag=edu).

The S.T.A.R. (Success Through Accepting Responsibility) Program comes in two age appropriate versions, one for kindergarten through 5th grade, the other is for middle school age students. Both programs focus on teaching responsibility, preparedness, and friendliness by encouraging students to stop, think, act, and review their actions to resolve conflicts and solve problems. http://www.jeffersoncenter.org/STAR.htm Jefferson Center for Character Education P.O. Box 4137 Mission Viejo, CA 92690-4137 (949) 770-7602 E-mail: infor@jeffersoncenter.org

The Wise Skills program differentiates identification of the skills appropriate for elementary age and high school age students. It teaches these skills within the classroom setting with examples of inspiring role models and world figures. The Elementary student program includes characteristics such as positive attitude, respect, citizenship, and personal goals. This program also provides valuable links to career awareness, and service learning. http://www.wiseskills.com/about.html WiseSkills Resources P.O. Box 491 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (888) 947-3754 E-mail: info@wiseskills.com

ASCD Tutorials provides numerous resources for parents and teachers related to character education. The provide both printed material as well as video files related to how the programs help students, time strains for teachers, and what makes the programs work. http://webserver2.ascd.org/tutorials/ They also provide on-line professional development courses related to respecting others and conflict resolution. http://www.ascd.org/framepdonline.html Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development 1703 N. Beauregard St Alexandria, VA 22311-1714 (800) 933-2723 E-mail: Member@ascd.org

Charactered.net provides samples of lessons, activities, and other resources that can be accessed through a subscription. http://www.charactered.net/preview/main/menu.asp. National Center for Youth Issues P.O. Box 22185 Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185 (800) 477-8277

This article discusses the implications of teaching the Socratic method, and critical thinking for students so they can analyze their spoken values in comparison to their actions. Through self-discovery students learn how to make good decisions, which is a good measure of character. Instead of just telling kids why something is wrong you lead them through a series of questions to make their own conclusion that it is wrong. The Socratic approach to character education is an article that also provides a sample lesson plan for the Socratic method. Elking, D.H. and Sweet, F. (1997). The Socratic Approach to Character Education. Educational Leadership, 54, n8, p56(4). From InfoTrac Web. Live Wire Media and Elkind+Sweet Communications, Inc. 3450 Sacramento St. San Francisco, CA 94118 E-mail: davelkind@aol.com and sweet@well.com

The Studies in Moral Development and Education website has articles on classroom practices and example curriculums. It provides information about classroom discipline, guided discussions, and activities. http://tigger.uic.edu/%7Elnucci/MoralEd/practices.html Office for Studies in Moral Development and Education University of Illinois at Chicago (312) 996-5580 E-mail: lnucci@uic.edu

Center for Character Development provides specific, creative activities designed to teach character. Puppet shows, puzzles, and physical activities are some of the types of activities presented. The activities are most appropriate for elementary and middle school students. http://www.charactercenter.com/act1/index.htm Center for Character Development (806) 720-7452 E-mail: ethics@lcu.edu

Character Building Stories provides a bibliography of books that teach values such as, courage, honesty, and respect. It is organized by the character trait and provides numerous resources for each trait listed. http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/char_ed/stories/books.html Utah State Office of Education 250 East 500 South P O Box 144200 Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200

All About Respect is a website that has strategies for specific character trait of respect listed for elementary, middle, and high school students. It discusses 8 strategies for respect in the classroom, respect checklist, and project respect. http://allaboutrespect.net/ Character Education Center P.O. Box 80208 R.S.M., CA 92688-0208 (800) 229-3455 E-mail: ethicsusa@cox.net

CHAMPs and Foundations are instructional programs for teachers. Teachers can use these resources to teach appropriate classroom behavior and set guidelines for dealing with inappropriate behavior. They not only teach responsible and respectful behavior, but they also create a safer school environment by reducing misbehavior. A summary of these and other related programs can be viewed at the Sopris West Products web site. http://www.sopriswest.com/swstore/product.asp?sku=187 4093 Specialty Place Longmont, CO 80504 (303) 651-2829 (800) 547-6747 E-mail: customerservice@sopriswest.com

 Character Education with Service Learning: Service Learning (link to service learning) can be a way to provide some key aspects commonly included in character education. For example, Low self-esteem is commonly a characteristic associated with a student at risk of dropping out of school. Service Learning activities have been found to successfully increase a student’s feelings of self-esteem and self-worth, while at the same time instilling other important traits, such as problem solving skills and responsibility. http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/goopre.htm (Duckenfield, M.)

Building Ethical Communities through Service Learning is a program from the School for Ethical Education. The site discusses the many ways that service learning can be incorporated in character education. For example, students plan service projects in their community and academic curriculum and personal reflection is encouraged before, during and after the project. Two of the program’s goals are to facilitate increased leadership and better cooperation skills. This site also has information on memberships, conferences, essay contests for students, and additional resources. http://www.ethicsed.org/programs/bec/ethicalcommunities.htm The School for Ethical Education 440 Wheelers Farms Rd Milford, CT 06460 (203) 783-4441 (800) 232-0013 E-mail: aknox@ethicsed.org

The Giraffe Project is a program that teaches children K-12 altruism and citizenship. Their slogan is “sticking your neck out for the common good.” Teaches a child to do the right thing even when it isn’t easy. Part of the K-9 Curriculum focuses on exposure to a story, then students engage in additional research to learn more about the topic, and then they engage in creative service projects that they design to promote even more enhanced understanding. This program encourages finding ways to make a difference by doing service projects to improve the problems they see. http://www.giraffe.org/gate.html The Giraffe Project PO Box 759, Langley, WA 98260. (360)-221-7989 Email: office@giraffe.org

Character Education with School Safety: In light of the violent acts of the recent years, schools have initiated a new focus on prevention of violence. Applying character education has served as a way to teach children skills they need to learn to communicate, make choices, and relate to others. These programs not only teach character but they also affect the school climate and make school’s safer places for children to learn. (link to school safety)

Second Step- a comprehensive school based program that uses specific curriculum and classroom activities to teach social skills such as, empathy, impulse control and other pro-social behaviors that help to prevent violence in schools. These behaviors have been found to increase positive interactions and improve social skills. The Second Step program is available for pre-K, elementary, middle and high school students. This program also offers a video for families called a Family Guide: Parenting Strategies for a Safer tomorrow to help parents reinforce the skills at home. http://www.cfchildren.org/ssindepth.shtml Committee for Children 568 First Avenue South, Suite 600 Seattle, Washington 98104-2804 (800) 634-4449 E-mail: info@cfchildren.org

Don’t Laugh at Me is a program designed for grades 2-5 and 6-8. It attempts to teach children social and emotional skills such as compassion, conflict resolution and healthy ways to express feelings. This program also focuses on making children aware of bullying, ridicule, and disrespect and makes them realize that they can make a difference by preventing these types of behaviors and making their schools safer. DLAM: School Programs http://www.dontlaugh.org/programs.htm . Retrieved from the World Wide Web on September 9, 2002. Elementary and middle school Operation Respect 2 Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor New York, New York 10121 E-mail: info@dontlaugh.org

Take a Stand is a program that teaches conflict resolution and non-violence. The program is presented on CD-ROM and video. It provides supplemental materials such as student workbooks and lesson plans. This research based program was developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and MTV. http://www.takeastand.com/ (800) 421-6999 E-mail: info@takeastand.com. 

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Barriers

One of the major barriers to character education programs relates to whose values should be taught. It has long been thought that the school should not interfere in the personal family realm of character education. The school should not teach morals and values to children, that is a parent’s responsibility. This commonly held view often creates conflict for developing and implementing a character education plan. However, this barrier can be overcome by including the caregivers, community, and students in the decision making process. Families and communities are the school’s most valuable resource for implementing a character education plan. The character traits taught should reflect those traits most valued, represented, and supported by their community. Students are also the focus of these efforts. Their ideas and views should also be considered. Efforts should be made to teach students to cultivate their own views on values and on making good decisions. In addition, some character traits are thought to be universal. They appear to be important in many different cultures for children to learn. Courage, diligence, and honesty for example, are characteristics that cross the majority of cultural boundaries. These values should not represent a conflict in the community and with their support should be an effective part of a character education program. http://www.bu.edu/education/caec/files/FAQ.htm Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character Boston University School of Education 621 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 (617-353-3262 E-mail: CAEC@bu.edu 

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Resources

Ron Paige, Secretary of Education notes that in keeping with the guiding principle of the No Child Left Behind law, what matters in character education is product, not the process.  Under Title V, Part D, Subpart 3 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Character Education is identified as a valuable component of making schools safer in the 21st century. Funding is provided for schools that meet the qualification criteria so they can implement programs that include traits such as caring, civic virtue, citizenship, justice, respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness.  process.http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/progsum/title5b.html

 

 

The Kentucky Department of Education Character Education Home Page has information regarding teaching strategies, Kentucky Character Education Project Demonstration and Pilot studies, strategic videos for teachers, and House Bill 157. Under Title IV of House Bill 157, several guidelines for character education such as teacher mandated responsibility for character education of their students within the regular classroom setting. Characteristics of students with qualities of good character exhibit altruism, citizenship, courtesy, honesty, human worth, justice, knowledge, respect, responsibility, and self-discipline. Also check out the link to Free and Literature-Based Resources. (Kentucky Department of Education, http://www.kde.state.ky.us/osis/resources/tp/ce/default.asp). Retrieved from the World Wide Web on August 20, 2002.

The Character Education Network lists the nine most common character traits such as, responsibility, caring, honesty, and self-discipline. This site also provides definitions of each trait. http://charactered.net/main/traits.asp National Center for Youth Issues P.O. Box 22185 Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185 (800) 477-8277

The Ohio Valley Education Cooperative has an Expanding Character program that offers resources that have been utilized in Kentucky schools. Examples include the KET three-part videos and guidebooks on “Developing a character Education Program”, the Character Education Lesson Plans and “Activities Workbook”, and individual training videos. This site also provides dates, costs, and descriptions of professional development opportunities. http://www.ovec.org/CharacterED/Character_Education.htm Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative P.O. Box 1249 100 Alpine Dr. Shelbyville, KY 40066 E-mail: dtalley@ovec.coop.k12.ky.us

This article encourages teachers to focus on universal characteristics of human moral development. These traits include fairness and concern for human welfare and can avoid help teachers avoid interfering with religious beliefs. Domain Theory: Distinguishing Morality and Convention, Elliot Turiel taken from An Overview of Moral Development and Moral Education. This website also includes discussion of moral education as it relates to development and ethics, by psychologists such as Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan. http://tigger.uic.edu/%7Elnucci/MoralEd/overview.html Office for Studies in Moral Development and Education University of Illinois at Chicago (312) 996-5580 E-mail: lnucci@uic.edu

Educators for Social Responsibility are concerned with teaching responsibility, convictions, and concern for others. Teaching students these skills will not only make them more valuable to society it will also help them to keep their school safe and free from violence. This site provides resources, training, and free lesson plans. http://www.esrnational.org/ Educators for Social Responsibility 23 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 (800) 370-2515 (617) 492-1764 E-mail: educators@esrnational.org

Education World presents a discussion of the Word of The Week Program that was developed by Your Environment. It is a program that teaches children the meaning of one word each week related to character education. Not only is the whole school involved in this program but parents are also provided an activity book to provide input and additional information about the words. The community business also are involved. They announce the word of the week on the radio, news and local sports teams support the efforts. This makes children feel that they are important and that their community is making an investment in them. This article is a resource of program implementation, accountability, and reported success. One Character Education Program That Works, Http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr114.shtml Education World Education World Executive Headquarters 1062 Barnes Road Suite 301 Wallingford, CT 06492 E-mail: webmaster@educationworld.com

Schaps, Eric. (2002). Community In school: Central to character formation. Presented at the White House Conference on Character and Community, June 19, 2002. This article emphasizes the positive outcomes associated with successful community involvement in character education programs. http://www.ed.gov/inits/character/schaps.doc Retrieved September 5, 2002 from the World Wide Web.

National Parent Information Network is a virtual library that provides educational resources to parents. Character Education: The role of Parents, Teachers, and the Community is a specific part of the library that provides character education information. http://npin.org/library/2001/n00584/n00584.html. Retrieved September 13, 2002, from the World Wide Web.

TN department of education evaluation of character education programs, including Second Step and Life Skills Training, found a reduction in office referrals and suspensions. Overall school climate improved as well as the rate of students dropping out of school. This site shows the procedure that was followed to implement the program in TN as well as the results. (Tennessee Department of Education, http://www.state.tn.us/education/sp/spcecrreport.pdf). Retrieved September 2, 2002, from the World Wide Web.

Sanchez, Tony, R. (1998). Using Stories about Heroes to Teach Values. Bloomington, IN.: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education. Retrieved September 6, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed424190.html Character is often taught through stories about heroes and heroines. This article explains why stories about heroes are useful and how to use them in the classroom.

The Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University’s School of Education provides reading lists, resource links and answers to frequently asked questions about character education. http://www.bu.edu/eduction/caec/files/FAQ.htm Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character Boston University School of Education 621 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 (617-353-3262 E-mail: CAEC@bu.edu

The Character Education Partnership is an organization that recognizes schools with exceptional character education, provides resource information and discusses the 11 quality standards of character education, as they relate to the standards and Indicators for School Improvement. http://www.character.org/resources/standards/ The Character Education Partnership 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1011 Washington, DC 20036 (800) 988-8081

The Josephson Institute of Ethics. Book Watch, Issues in Character Education: Parenting, Education, Youth-service and Community Building is a web-based resource that provides books about character education. This web site is searchable by professional or personal viewers to better suit the searchers needs. (The Josephson Institute of Ethics, http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/books/bookchar.htm). Retrieved September 1, 2002, from the World Wide Web. Wynne, E., and Ryan, K., (1997).

Reclaiming our schools: Teaching Character, Academics, and Discipline. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

A resource for Parents, Schools and Communities is the Partners for Good Citizenship: Parents, Schools, and Communities is a guide designed to present sample classroom lessons that apply character education from Kindergarten through 12th grade. It also discusses the importance of family and community (link to family involvement) in character education. (Indiana Department of Education, http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/publications/pdf_citizenship/ctztoc_new.pdf). Retrieved September 16, 2002, from the World Wide Web.

Duckenfield, Marty. Service Learning: Real dropout prevention. This article discusses the benefits of service learning for students. http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/goopre.htm retrieved from the World Wide Web on September 23, 2002.

National Center for Youth Issues is a non-profit agency that provides information to teachers and parents related to character education. It also provides videos, books, and software for use in classroom settings. They have numerous articles, links to other resources and conferences. http://www.cyi-stars.org/about_cyi__who_we_are.htm National Center for Youth Issues P.O. Box 22185 Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185 (800) 477-8277

Lickona, T. (1991). Educating for Character. How our schools can teach respect and responsibility. Bantam Books. This book explains many aspects of character education, such as whose values should be taught, ways to approach curriculum, conflict resolution, and community involvement.

Kidder, R. M. (1996). How Good People Make Tough Choices. Fireside, New York, New York. This book is designed to teach ethical decision making skills in difficult situations or when both choices are seemingly “right.”

Brooks,B. D. & Goble, F. G. (1997). The Case for Character Education: The Role of the School in Teaching Values and Virtue. Studio 4 Publications. This book sheds light on the need for character education as well as resources that are effective.

Ryan, K. A. & Bohlin, K. E. (1998). Building Character in Schools: Practical Ways to Bring Moral Instruction to Life. Jossey-Bass Publishing. This book serves as a guide for parents and teachers to teach children to “know the good, love the good and do the good.”

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Key Words

Service learning, family, ethics, character, postive, respect, good citizen

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