http://ssnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Character+Education
http://www.charactermattersnc.com
Guiding Questions…
 Why does character education matter?
 What makes for effective character
education?
 What resources have you used to
support character education in your
school and/or district?
Why Character Matters
“Great learning and superior abilities will be of little value...unless
virtue, truth and integrity are added to them.”
Abigail Adams
"Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education"
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Effective character education is not adding a program or set of
programs to a school. Rather it is a transformation of the culture and
life of the school.”
Dr. Marvin Berkowitz
(Center for Character & Citizenship)
World in Crisis …
Lance Armstrong & Doping Chargers
Jerry Sandusky & Penn State scandal
Sandy Hook & other victims of gun violence
Corrupt Politicians
Wall Street greed
Reality TV
Bullying
Drug & alcohol abuse
Girls Gone Wild
Bieber Gone Bad
War
Student Preparation
 College
 Career
 Civic Life
Character Education is
the Plate!
Common Core
Evaluations
Accountability
Parent &
Essential
Standards Community
Involvement
Legislation
Discipline
Student Performance
What is Character Education?
Character education is the deliberate effort to help
people understand, care about, and act upon core
ethical values.
 Intentional and comprehensive
 Integrated throughout every aspect of the school day
 Provides long-term solutions to address moral, ethical, and
academic issues i.e. absenteeism, teen pregnancy, gang
violence, drug abuse, poor academic performance
How can we begin to restore a culture of
character, leadership, & service in schools?
 Use a framework for changing school culture
o Legislation
o The 3 c’s: Community, Climate, & Curriculum
o Character Education Partnership’s 11 Principles
 Provide students the opportunity to lead and serve
o Guilford County Schools
o Lincoln Charter Schools
o NCDPI
STUDENT CITIZEN ACT
(2001)
In the fall of 2001, the North Carolina State Legislature
passed the Student Citizen Act of 2001 (SL 2001-363).
 This Act requires every local board of education to
develop and implement character education instruction
with input from the local community.
 With the passage of this Act, the state of North Carolina
has affirmed that the development of character in our
children is the cornerstone of education.
STUDENT CITIZEN ACT OF 2001
Character Traits:
 Courage
 Good judgment
 Integrity
 Kindness
 Perseverance
 Respect
 Responsibility
 Self-discipline
STUDENT CITIZEN ACT OF 2001
Other elements:
1. Respect for school personnel—holding teachers, administrators, and all school
personnel in high esteem and demonstrating in words and deeds that all school
personnel
deserve to be treated with courtesy and proper deference.
2. Responsibility for school safety—helping to create a harmonious school
atmosphere
that is free from threats, weapons, and violent or disruptive behavior; cultivating an
orderly
learning environment in which students and school personnel feel safe and secure; and
encouraging the resolution of conflicts and disagreements through peaceful means
including
peer mediation.
Character Education Partnership:
www.character.org
What the Research Says
Works…
What Works in Character
Education?
The Model
• Community refers to the process of building consensus and
sustaining community involvement in the shared responsibility of
developing character and active citizenship in young people.
• Climate incorporates multiple factors that affect the school
environment, such as personal relationships, leadership, discipline,
sense of community, safety, civic involvement and democratic
leadership.
• Curriculum includes strategies and resource materials for
integrating elements of character into the entire school curriculum
and for strengthening the civics curriculum. Service learning is
suggested as a highly successful strategy for both character and
citizenship development.
 The KEY to a successful school
Character Education program is to
follow the “The 11 Principles of
Effective Character Education”
 Each principle outlines criteria that
should be considered when
developing an effective program.
 “The 11 Principles of Effective
Character Education” offer the
primary guidance for successful
implementation and outcomes.
What is effective character education?
1. Principle 1: Promotes core ethical values.
2. Principle 2: Defines “character” comprehensively to include
thinking, feeling, and behavior.
3. Principle 3: Uses a comprehensive, intentional, and
proactive approach.
What does a school with quality
character education look like?
4. Principle 4: Creates a caring school community.
5. Principle 5: Provides opportunities for moral action (service
learning).
6. Principle 6: Includes a meaningful and challenging academic
curriculum that meets the needs of all learners (performance
character).
7. Principle 7: Fosters students’ self-motivation.
Who should be involved in
character education?
8. Principle 8: Engages the school staff as a learning and moral
community.
9. Principle 9: Fosters shared moral leadership and long-range
support.
10.Principle 10: Engages families and community members as
partners.
How are we doing?
Where do we go from here?
Assessment should guide the process!
11. Principle 11: Evaluates the character education
initiative.
How Do You Know If Your
Character Education Program Is
Working?
Observable Behaviors:
 Do students demonstrate that they know right from
wrong?
 Do students’ actions show a respect for others?
 Do students work well cooperatively?
 Do students influence others in a positive way
 Is the school becoming a more caring community?
 Is the entire school staff working on being a
positive role model and friend to students?
How Do You Know If Your
Character Education Program Is
Working?
Collect Definitive Information:
Attendance data
Suspension data
Data on specific behaviors
 i.e., fighting, bullying, cutting class, etc.
Communication logs
 i.e., parent/community involvement, school/community collaboration, school
program agendas and bulletins, etc.
State/National District of
Character 2013
Brenda Elliott
Executive Director of Student Services
Project Manager for Character Development
Initiative
elliotb@gcsnc.com
Yvonne Foster
Coordinator of Character Development & ServiceLearning
fostery2@gcsnc.com
School To Watch
Lincoln Charter School
Denver
Melissa Lasarsky
Development Director
melissa.lasarsky@lincolncharter.org
A Partnership with
The Character Matters
Campaign
 Public Service Announcements
 Website: www.charactermattersnc.com
 Educator Toolkit
 Youth Advisory Council
NCDPI Student
Leadership Institute
I Am…
Character, Leadership and
Service
Title V Abstinence Education and Social Studies Partnership
Title V: Abstinence Education
 Students in grades 4, 5 and 6
 NC AEGP project focus
– Mental and Behavioral Health
– Health Services
– Health Education
– Parental and Community Involvement
Social Studies Education
 Students in grades K-12
 NC Essential Standards
– Citizenship Education (Curriculum
Development)
– Service Learning (Instructional Practice)
Service Learning
Service-Learning is a pedagogy that connects meaningful community service
experiences with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility.
Service-learning goes beyond extracurricular community service because it
involves participants in reading, reflection and analysis; provides students an
opportunity to develop a personal connection to what they are learning;
and creates a context for the application of concepts introduced in the
classroom.
Benefits:
•
It enhances the educational goals of the curriculum through experiential learning and
critical reflection.
•
It helps students develop the skills and virtues required for full participation and
leadership in their democratic communities.
•
It serves the public good by providing a needed service to individuals, organization,
schools, or other entities in the community.
Service Learning &
40 Developmental Assets
External
• Community Values Youth
• Youth as Resources
• Service to Others
• Positive Peer Influence
• High Expectations
• Creative Activities
• Youth Programs
Source: http://www.search-institute.org
Service Learning &
40 Developmental Assets
• Internal
• Achievement Motivation
• Bonding to School
• Homework
• Reading for Pleasure
• Caring
• Equality and Social Justice
• Integrity
• Honesty
• Responsibility
• Planning and Decision
Making
• Interpersonal Competence
• Cultural Competence
• Resistance Skills
• Peaceful Conflict Resolution
• Personal Power
• Self-Esteem
• Sense of Purpose
• Positive View of Personal
Future
• Restraint
Source: http://www.search-institute.org
Service Learning & Healthy Outcomes
• Personal and Social Development
– Increase measures of personal and social responsibility
– Increased self-esteem and self-efficacy
– Less likely to engage in “risk” behaviors
– Less likely to be referred for disciplinary measures
– Less likely to engage in behaviors that lead to pregnancy or arrest
• School Environment/Climate
– Improves overall school climate
Source: Research on k-12 School-Based Service Learning (S.H. Billig)
The Benefits of Service
Learning
•
Civic Responsibility
– Increase awareness of community needs
– Relate to culturally diverse groups
– Feel they can make a difference
•
Academic Learning
– Improved grades including test scores
– Improved grade point averages
– Improved problem-solving skills
– Increased interest in academics
– Increased student attendance
Source: Research on K-12 School-Based Service Learning (S.H. Billig)
The Institute Structure
 Four day residential program
– July 6th through July9th 2014
 Teams of 4-6 students with 1-2 school-based mentors
 Team-building Exercises
 Interactive Classroom Sessions
 Experiential Learning Opportunity
 FREE!!! (except transportation to and from Raleigh)
SLI Resources
2012 & 2013 SLI TEAMS
REGION 7
NORTHWEST
Efland Cheeks
Erwin Montessori
Mineral Springs Middle
Penn-Griffith High
Ronald E. McNair
Elementary School
Grove
Park Elementary
Alleghany
Bonlee Elementary
School
Ashe
Surry
Stokes
Rockingham
Snow Creek Elementary
Bethlehem/Ellendale
Elementary Schools
Alexander
Yancey
Buncombe
Henderson
Polk
Jackson
Macon
Cherokee
Alamance
Catawba
Rutherford
Cleveland Gaston
Bertie
Nash
Edgecombe
Chatham
Wilson
Pitt
Lee
Cabarrus
Stanly
Johnston
Harnett
Beaufort
Greene
Hyde
Wayne
Moore
Montgomery
Lenoir
Union
Anson
Richmond
Hoke
Cumberland
Sampson
Craven
Jones
Duplin
Scotland
Onslow
Robeson
Bruce Drysdale
Elementary
Pleasant Gardens
Elementary School
Alternative
Education Center
WashingtonTyrrell
Pamlico
Clay
REGION 8
WESTERN
Martin
Wake
Rowan
Mecklenburg
Transylvania
Gates
Hertford
Franklin
Durham
Davidson
Lincoln
Swain
Graham
Orange
Guilford
Randolph
McDowell
Northampton
Granville
Forsyth
Davie
Iredell
Burke
Lakeforest Elementary
First Flight Middle
Halifax
Yadkin
Caldwell
Madison
Caswell
REGION 1
NORTHEAST
Moore Square Museum
Magnet
Rocky Mount
Preparatory
Southeast Halifax
North Johnston High
Aurelian Springs
Elementary School
William G. Enloe High
Person
School Vance Warren
Wilkes
Watauga
Mitchell Avery
Haywood
REGION 3
NORTH CENTRAL
REGION 5
PIEDMONT - TRIAD/
CENTRAL
Carteret
Bladen
Pender
REGION 6
SOUTHWEST
Lincoln Charter
Elementary
Concord Middle
REGION 4 SANDHILLS/
SOUTHCENTRAL
Cameron Elementary
Hoke County High
Vass Lakeview Elementary
Gray's Creek Middle School
New
Hanover
Columbus
Brunswick
REGION 2
SOUTHEAST
Penderlea Elementary
Southwest Middle
Kenansville Elementary
School
Town Creek
Greene County Middle
School
Southwest High School
Dare
2014 SLI
 July 6-9, 2014
 William Peace University
 Veteran Cohort and Beginner Cohort

Focus: Building Capacity in Student Leadership,
Service and Character Development.

Application process to select teams
A Snapshot of SLI 2012
If Implemented Well,
Character Education Can…
 Bring Schools and Communities together
 Improve school and classroom climate
 Create safer (Safe & Drug Free) and more caring schools
 Close the achievement gap
 Improve academic achievement for all
 Increase academic integrity
 Foster greater professional ethics
 Lead to improved healthy behaviors
 Lead to service to others
“Nothing is more important to the public
weal [well-being] than to form and train up
youth in wisdom and virtue.”
--Benjamin Franklin
Contact Info:
Fay Gore
Section Chief, K-12 Social Studies
NC Character Education Coordinator
Fay.gore@dpi.nc.gov
(919) 807-3954