Character Matters in Transforming Teaching and Learning

1. http://ssnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Character+Education Character Matters in Transforming Teaching and Learning Fay Gore, Section Chief, K-12 Social Studies Nakisha Floyd, Abstinence Education Consultant, NC Healthy Schools

2. 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

3. 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

4. Student Preparation • College • Career • Civic Life

5. Character Education is the Plate! Common Core Accountability Evaluations Parent & Community Involvement Essential Standards Discipline Legislation Student Performance

6. 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

7. Benefits of Character Education • Brings Schools and Communities together • Improving school and classroom climate • Creating safer (Safe & Drug Free) and more caring schools • Closing the achievement gap • Academic achievement for all • Academic integrity • Professional ethics • Health and physical education • Service to others • Community building and commitment

8. How can we begin to restore a culture of character, leadership, & service in schools? • Use a framework for changing school culture • Legislation • The 3 c’s: Community, Climate, & Curriculum • Character Education Partnership’s 11 Principles • Provide students the opportunity to lead and serve • NCDPI • Guilford County Schools • Cotswold Elementary • National Youth Leadership Council

9. STUDENT CITIZEN ACT OF 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.

10. Character Education Character Traits (from legislation) • Courage • Good judgment • Integrity • Kindness • Perseverance • Respect • Responsibility • Self-discipline

11. Character Education 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.

12. What Do Successful NC State Schools Of Character Have? Commitment Commitment Commitment

13. The Model • Communityrefers to the process of building consensus and sustaining community involvement in the shared responsibility of developing character and active citizenship in young people. • Climateincorporates 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.

14. Service Learning, Health & Other Content AreasHealthy Lives, Healthy Choices Source: The Complete Guide to Service Learning (Kaye, 2010)

15. Service Learning, Health & Other Content Areas Source: The Complete Guide to Service Learning (Kaye, 2010)

16. 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.

17. What is quality character education? Effective character education: Principle 1: Promotes core ethical values. Principle 2: Defines “character” comprehensively to include thinking, feeling, and behavior. Principle 3: Uses a comprehensive, intentional, and proactive approach.

18. What does a school with quality character education look like? Principle 4: Creates a caring school community. Principle 5: Provides opportunities for moral action (service learning). Principle 6: Includes a meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that meets the needs of all learners (performance character). Principle 7: Fosters students’ self-motivation.

19. Who should be involved in character education? Principle 8: Engages the school staff as a learning and moral community. Principle 9: Fosters shared moral leadership and long-range support. Principle 10: Engages families and community members as partners.

20. How are we doing? Where do we go from here? Assessment should guide the process! Principle 11: Evaluates the character education initiative.

21. 2012 NCDPI Student Leadership Institute I Am…Character, Leadership and Service Title V Abstinence Education and Social Studies Partnership

22. Title V: Abstinence Education • $1.7 million federal grant from ACF, USDHHS • 19 high need counties receive sub-awards • Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 • NC AEGP project focus • Mental and Behavioral Health • Health Services • Health Education • Parental and Community Involvement

23. Social Studies Education • Inherited Character Education in 2009 • Small appropriations from the NC General Assembly • 115 LEAs plus Charter Schools (8 State Board Districts) • Students in grades K-12 • Curriculum Focus • Citizenship Education • Service Learning

24. 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.

25. …What the Research Says…

26. 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

27. Service Learning & 40 Developmental Assets • 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 • Internal • Achievement Motivation • Bonding to School • Homework • Reading for Pleasure • Caring • Equality and Social Justice • Integrity • Honesty • Responsibility • Restraint Source: http://www.search-institute.org

28. 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)

29. 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)

30. 2012 NCDPI Student Leadership Institute • Two and a half day residential program • June 27th through June 29th • William Peace University • 16 Teams of Students with Adult Advisors • 7 Elementary • 6 Middle School • 3 High School • 84 total

31. 2012 SLI TEAMS REGION 1 NORTHEAST Lakeforest Elementary First Flight Middle REGION 3 NORTH CENTRAL Moore Square Museum Magnet Rocky Mount Preparatory Southeast Halifax North Johnston High REGION 5 PIEDMONT - TRIAD/ CENTRAL Efland Cheecks Erwin Montessori Mineral Springs Middle Penn-Griffith High REGION 7 NORTHWEST Snow Creek Elementary Alleghany Camden Currituck Northampton Gates Ashe Surry Stokes Rockingham Person Caswell Warren Vance Hertford Pasquotank Halifax Wilkes Watauga Granville Yadkin Forsyth Perquimans Chowan Avery Bertie Orange Mitchell Guilford Franklin Nash Durham Caldwell Alamance Davie Alexander Edgecombe Yancey Madison Martin Dare Davidson Wake Iredell Washington Tyrrell Burke Randolph Chatham Wilson McDowell Rowan Catawba Buncombe Pitt Haywood Beaufort Johnston Lincoln Swain Greene Lee Hyde Rutherford Cabarrus Harnett Henderson Wayne Jackson Graham Stanly Moore Polk Gaston Cleveland Montgomery Lenoir Mecklenburg Craven Transylvania Macon Cherokee Pamlico Clay Cumberland Richmond Hoke Jones Union Anson Sampson Duplin Scotland Carteret Onslow Robeson Bladen Pender REGION 6 SOUTHWEST Lincoln Charter Elementary Concord Middle REGION 4 SANDHILLS/ SOUTHCENTRAL Cameron Elementary Hoke County High New REGION 2 SOUTHEAST Penderlea Elementary Southwest Middle Columbus REGION 8 WESTERN Hanover Brunswick

32. The Experience • Team Building Session • Leading To Change (Charlotte, NC) • Elementary Teams • Training in Service Learning, Leadership and Character Development • Service Learning Project Planning with Centennial Middle School (Raleigh, NC) Leadership Staff • Experiential Learning Experience at the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education (Raleigh) • Middle High School Teams • Training in Service Learning, Leadership and Character Development • Service Learning Project Planning with Guilford County Schools Character Education Staff • Guest Speaker, Marty Wiggins, Environmental Education Consultant • Experiential Learning Experience at Lake Crabtree (Raleigh)

33. 2012 SLI Resources

34. 2012 SLI Testimonials • “The students absolutely loved the leaders from Leading To Change! They had a lot of fun moving around and participating in the activities. They were activities that the students have been able to share with their peers in the classroom as well.” • [Teambuilding Session with Leading To Change] “Really pushes our kids out of their comfort zone which was great!” • “The kids were on fire, and didn’t want to stop!” Quotes from 2012 SLI Evaluation Survey

35. 2012 SLI Testimonials • “NCDPI SLI Team provided wonderful resources!” • The Poe Center: “This was such a wonderful learning opportunity for the kids as well as myself! So many hands on experiences for them – I really think they took a lot away from that trip.” • “The stop by Durham (the American Tobacco District) was good.” • “I love that the students were able to participate in creating and leading the closing ceremony.” Quotes from 2012 SLI Evaluation Survey

36. The 2012 SLI Experience

37. 2012 SLI Outcome • Create A Service Learning Project • Elementary Teams had to create a health-related project or show the health link • Service Learning Project Focus • Raising money through exercise (walk-a-thon/bike-a-thon) to start and fund a school “Back Pack Buddies” program • Fighting Hunger • Bullying • Improving school environment through wellness • Planning and planting a school garden • Environmental Awareness and recycling • Providing support to youth battling life-threatening illnesses

38. 2013 SLI • June 23 – 26 • William Peace University • Veteran Cohort and Beginner Cohort • Focus: Building Capacity in Student Leadership, Service and Character Development.

39. State/National School/District of Character Brenda ElliottExecutive Director of Student ServicesProject Manager for Character Development Initiativeelliotb@gcsnc.com Yvonne FosterCoordinator of Character Development & Service-Learningfostery2@gcsnc.com

40. State/National School/District of Character Cotswold Elementary Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Alicia Giles Hash Principal p349@cms.k12.nc.us. Mary Hook Coordinator for Character Educationmary.hooks@cms.k12.nc.us

41. 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?

42. 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, d-hall participation, etc. • Communication logs • i.e., parent/community involvement, school/community collaboration, school program agendas and bulletins, etc.

43. “Nothing is more important to the public weal [well-being] than to form and train up youth in wisdom and virtue.” --Benjamin Franklin