SISI - Standards and Indicators

Standard 1 - Academic Performance - Curriculum
1.1d There is evidence of vertical communication with an intentional focus on ley 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 education, 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 consistently 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, and equitable learning environment (e.g., culture audits/school opinion surveys).
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 behaviorally, 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 recognizeand accept their professional role in student success and failure.
4.1f The school intentionally 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 indivudal students' progress (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 commitment 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 the curriculum (e.g., school guidance, FRYSC's, ESS).
5.1c The school/district provides organizational 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 student 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 Professional development is on-going and job-embedded.
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 There is evidence that the SBDM council has an intentional focus on student academic performance.
7.1k There is evidence that the principal demonstrates leadership skills in the areas of academic performance, learning environment, and efficiency.

Standard 8 - Efficiency - Organizational Structure and Resources
8.1e Staff promotes team planning vertically and hortizontally across content areas 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 school's mission and designed to ensurethat all staff provide quality instructional time (e.g., flex time, organization based on developmenta needs of students, interdisciplinary units).

Standard 9 - Efficiency - Comprehensive and Effective Planning
9.1a There is evidence that a collaborative process was used to devlop the vision, beliefs, mission, and goals that engage the school community as a community of learners.
9.3b The school/district analyzes their students' unique learning needs.
9.3c The desired results for students 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 the goals and objectives 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 tosustain the commitment to continuous improvement.

Scenario

Sidney, a 9th grade student, had always been an average student in school; however, his grades have gradually fallen since entering high school. Having attended a small middle school, Sidney was comfortable with the close-knit family atmosphere.  He has no record of discipline concerns nor is there any complaints from teachers regarding misbehaviors. Sidney is not involved in any extracurricular activities and feels disconnected from his school. He is starting to lose interest in his schoolwork and is gravitating toward students of questionable behaviors.

Many students do not feel connected to their school.  They do not have the motivation to succeed academically and do not feel like a contributing member of the school community. Continued feelings of disconnectedness lead to the potential of Sidney and students like him dropping out of school.

Introduction

How can Sidney's feeling of being disconnected from the school be addressed? What can the school do to help Sidney feel more a part of the school community? How can feeling connected to the school help Sidney become a successful student and prevent him from dropping out?

Students who are considered to be at risk of dropping out of school have been identified as having characteristics such as not being involved in school activities and feeling as though they are not a part of the school community. Character education can provide a gateway to prevent students from dropping out by including them in school activities, and the school community, and teaching the value of their own effort. Psychological attachment and investment in learning are keys to remaining in school (link to co-curricular/extra curriculum). (NASP Center: School Dropout Prevention- Strategies for Parents http://www.naspcenter.org/adol_sdpp.html).

Character education has been linked to decreased dropout rates, decreased discipline problems, and an improvement in the overall school climate of students in middle and high school. (Educare Programs, www.educarefoundation.com/ace.htm), (Tennessee Department of Education, www.state.tn.us/education/sp/spcecrreport.pdf),
(Character Counts, www.charactercounts.org/doing/survey-reports.htm).

What is Character Education?

Character education is a blending of overt teaching, modeling, acknowledging, and rewarding personal and social integrity. Schools across the country recognize the undeniable need to promote good character to not only produce productive citizens in an ever growing global society, but to accomplish their primary responsibility of building an educational foundation for our youth. We should be teaching our children not only the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, but also how to apply this knowledge using moral and ethic judgments.  

Martin Marazzo, International Center for Leadership in Education describes character education as the area of the educational system that helps develop student attributes and behaviors that promote:

• Higher level personal and academic functioning
• Positive interpersonal relationships
• A school environment conductive to learning and academic achievement
• A civil society

The primary way to bring ethics and character back into schools is to create a positive moral environment.  The ethos of a school, not its course offerings, is the decisive factor in forming character.  The first thing we must change is the moral climate of the schools themselves (Kirkpatrick). 

Character education is a “process” that is woven into the fabric of a school culture and blended into existing curriculum and all extra-curricular activities. A successful character education initiative helps students to develop their own set of values and beliefs that translates into behaviors in and outside the school.

Schools need to help students to take their work seriously, perform it to the best of their ability, and thereby develop the qualities of character inherent in the capacity to work well. (Murphy)

Character education is a process of learning, acknowledging, and celebrating good character. Students realize that they are not required to be a straight “A” student to have good character nor must they be a star athlete to be recognized for being respectful or responsible. Character education is a tool that can be used to recognize your average students that have good behavior and attitude.  While grades for conduct no longer exist, accolades for character can abound.

Dropout prevention usually suggests preemptive measures that take place during the elementary school years will last well into the high school academic career of students. Research indicates that the impact of character education not only lasts, but it is also never too late to start.

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Strategies

There are many resources available to schools on strategies to make their school more of a community and helping students feel connected through character education. The following is a list of strategies that middle schools can implement to make the climate and culture of their school character-centered.

Service learning is a joint effort between the school and community where both the students and the community benefit (Winings). Thomas Lickona, in Educating for Character (1991), cites several example of how schools can nurture a caring environment through service within the school.

Service learning projects both within and outside the school. In the elementary school years, the focus is on trait recognition; at the middle school the emphasis evolves to applying the traits into feeling and actions.

Awareness projects that promote character traits such a Word of the Month are easily implemented. The mere process of putting character traits in front of the students and making them visually accessible will reinforce their importance and value to the school.

Awareness activities include:

• Character posters
• Character banners
• Posting character traits and quotes on the school marquee and school newsletters/newspapers
• Character quotes during the morning announcements
• Character centered Public Service announcements

Integration character traits and examples into existing curriculum programs/units is a efficient way of teaching character and content simultaneously. Link positive character traits to content areas such as:

• people/characters
• concepts/processes
• cultures/processes
• cultures/diversity. 

English and Social Studies classes have numerous areas where character education can be integrated. Find ways to make writing assignments content and character centered.

Wynne and Ryan (1993) list specifics of moral education methodology that teachers should use when integrating character traits into their lessons: 

1. to focus students' attention on the ethical dimension of a story
2. to lead students to thoughtfully consider the ethical principles
3. to focus students' attention on the moral aspects of a historical event in order to analyze and discuss it
4. to engage students in the moral of the story and see how it may apply to their own lives
5.  to build among students the skills o moral discourse, that is, the serious thinking about what is correct and about what “ought to be done.”

Recognition projects (Kilpatrick), rituals, and ceremonies are often considered extraneous to the real business of school. However, they are among the most effective ways of impressing students with the significance of values held in common. Activities include:

• Salute to Student and Staff of the Month at school and district level
• Citizenship Awards
• Media spotlight on students and staff of good character.
• Character can be infused into existing school experiences such as (Marazzo):
• Student government
• Athletics
• Theatrical productions
• Student clubs

Everyday adults and students model good character and take advantage of teachable moments.  Character is modeled from staff-to-student and/or student-to-student.

For Character education to have a lasting and generalized effect of students, parents, business-faith community, students, local government, and law enforcement must work together in emphasizing and practicing good character. When students see their school focusing on honesty, their churches focusing on honesty, business focusing on honesty, their parents focusing on honesty, etc. they soon realize the importance of honesty not just in one setting, but in all aspects of their lives.

Character Education is a great tool for building partnerships between schools and the business/faith communities.  More importunately, character education can make important connections between the student and their school, thereby lessening the chance of them dropping out.

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Barriers

Is teaching character the same thing as teaching  religion in schools?

Though schools must be neutral with respect to religion, they may plan an active role with respect to teaching civic values and virtue, and the moral code that holds us together as a community.  The fact that some of these values are held also by religions does not make it unlawful to teach them in school (Vessels). Horace Mann (1880s): “There is a secular morality which is not opposed to religious morality…bubut is the result of human experiences, is recognized by all civilized people, is taught by the philosophers of all nations, and is sanctioned by all established creeds.”

How much does a character education initiative cost?

The most frequent statements heard regarding the implementation of a character education initiative is “our district is low on funds” and “our district has not budgeted for a character education program”.  Having financial resources in itself does not make a character education program successful. The main factor in a character program that works is the attitude and commitment of all stakeholders).

Kilpatrick writes that even some of the wealthiest school districts have serious problems with drugs, discipline, and teen pregnancy.  Money is important, if you know how to use it. Teaching character is more a mind set rather than something that can be purchased.

However, having funds available does make implementing awareness, recognition projects, and strategies easier. Funds can be obtained through various sources:

• Grants (federal, state and private)
• Title funds
• General Funds
• Corporate donations/sponsorship
• Restricted to federal/district guidelines

Does teaching character education in schools compete with family values?

The 1996 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup pole revealed that 98 percent of Americans viewed the preparation of students for responsible citizenship as a quite important or very important role for public schools.

Marazzo states that teaching character and appropriate behavior is first and foremost the responsibility of the family. However, schools and communities should play a very supportive role.

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, because 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 resources 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. Respect, responsibility, courage, and honesty for example, are characteristics that cross the majority of cultural boundaries. These values should be an effective part of a character education program and not represent a conflict in the community.

As a teacher, where do I find time to teach character?

Adults are teaching character everyday to students through what they do and what they say. Modeling and being a good example of character can be one the most effective ways to teaching character. Teachers must not feel the need to rewrite their lesson plans. Instead, character education can and should be infused into the existing curriculum (see Strategies). Finding teachable moments and opportunities to give examples of good character helps students to generalize the concepts of these virtues into everyday experiences and situations.

Teaching good character is not anything new in schools.  Good schools and good teachers have done this for years.  The best way to begin a character education centered initiative is to first take a look at what your school is already doing to promote good character and look for ways to make it more meaningful.

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Resources

Character education initiatives can be very successful when developed at a district and local level by piecing together various programs and resources to meet the individual community needs and interest.  In addition, there are many resources that schools can purchased and implement in their districts.  The following is a sampling of resources that can aide schools and districts in their character education efforts:

CHARACTER EDUCATION INFORMATIONAL SITES

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 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  C

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

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. (Studies in Moral Development and Education, http://tigger.uic.edu/%7Elnucci/MoralEd/practices.html).  O

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

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

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

RESOURCES FOR STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING CHARACTER EDUCATION WITHING THE CURRICULUM

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

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…StStay in school”. (Decision Making, http://www.filmideas.com/decision.html.)  FFILM IDEAS, INC. 308 North Wolf Rd. Wheeling, IL 60090 (800)-475-3456 E-mail: filmid@ais.net

Goodcharacter.com  pprovides 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. http://www.goodcharacter.com/  ssearchable by elementary, middle or high school level 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  PPorchLight Entertainment 11777 Mississippi Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 477-8400 E-mail: infor@prochlight.com

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 RRipple 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. K-12 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

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. The program focuses on teaching responsibility, preparedness, and friendliness. This program teaches 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

CHARACTER EDUCATION THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING

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.)all ages

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.

Building Ethical Communities through Service Learning is a program from the School for Ethical Education. The site discusses the many ways that service learning (link to 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. All ages. 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

Ethics & Service, Curriculum & Student Workbooks, by Patricia Born, is designed to teach ethical decision making skills and incorporate concepts of Service Learning (link to service learning). A video titled Tough Choices: Today and in History is also available at this site. It discusses ethical decisions made by real people and encourages critical thinking about ethical dilemmas that Middle school students may be currently facing. Institute for Global Ethics. http://www.globalethics.org/ordering/details.tmpl?sku=80002&flag=edu  IInstitute for Global Ethics Camden, Maine 04843 E-mail: webethics@globalethics.org

CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT CAN BE PURCHASED

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.  NNational Center for Youth Issues P.O. Box 22185 Chattanooga, TN 37422-2185 (800) 477-8277

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 which 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

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  aall ages. 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/csc/csc_index.htm.  KK-6 elem and middle 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  CCHARACTERplus 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

The Caring Habits Experience is a program designed for ninth graders. Each month a new topic is introduced to students. The goal of the program is to teach students to resist negative influences, do their best in school, develop employment skills, and learn to be sensitive and expressive of good values. High school http://www.jeffersoncenter.org/caring.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 and teaches them 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. High school students on the other hand are taught integrity, diligence, and courage to name a few. 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

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

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 all ages 4093 Specialty Place Longmont, CO 80504 (303) 651-2829 (800) 547-6747 E-mail: customerservice@sopriswest.com

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. The high school version, It's Up To Us, provides students with stories that include concepts such as planning, leading, and reflecting on a meaningful life. 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

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

WORK CITED AND ADDITIONAL READINGS

Abourjilie, Charlie (2000). Developing Character for Classroom Success. North Carolina: Character Development Publishing.

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.

Elam, S., Rose, L., and Gallop, A. (1993-94). The 25th annual Phil Delta Kappa/Gallop Poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. Phi Delta Kappa, October 1993, 137-52; The 26th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallop poll of the public's attitudes toward the pub schools. Phi Delta Kappa, September 1994, 41-56.

Kidder, R. M. (1996). How Good People Make Tough Choices. Fireside, New York, New York.

Kilpatrick, W. 1992. Why Johnny Can't Tell Right From Wrong. Simon & Schuster.

Lickona, Tom (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.

Mann, H. (1880s). Wisconsin Journal of Education.

Marrazo, Martin J. Character Centered Teaching (1999). International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc.

Murphy, Madonna (1998). Character Education in America's Blue Ribbon Schools: Best Practices for Meeting the Challenge. Technomic Publishing Co., Inc.

Ryan, K. A. & Bohlin, K. E. (1998). Building Character in Schools: Practical Ways to Bring Moral Instruction to Life. Jossey-Bass Publishing.

Vessels, Gordon G. (1998). Character and Community Development. Preager Publishing.

Vincent, Philip Fitch (1999). Developing Character in Students: A Primer for Teachers, Parents, and Communities. North Carolina: Character Development Publishing.

Vincent, Philip Fitch, Reed, N. and Register, J. (2001). A Gift of Character: The Chattanooga Story.  North Carolina: Character Development Publishing.

Winings, Kathy (2002). Building Character through Service Learning. North Carolina: Character Development Publishing.

Wynne, E. and K. Ryan. 1993. Reclaiming Our Schools A Handbook on Teaching Character, Academics and Discipline. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.

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Key Words

Character Education, Ethical Education, social skills, emotional skills, Values, Virtue, Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Trust, self-esteem, moral reasoning, ethical reasoning Service learning, family, ethics, character, postive, good citizen

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