Missouri Schools of Character Award
New program designed to recognize schools or districts that demonstrate outstanding character education initiatives
Through a new program
sponsored by CHARACTERplus, a division of the Cooperating School
Districts, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education, three area schools and one
school district have each earned the title of Missouri Schools of
Character.
Overall, seven Missouri schools and one district filed applications
for the award with four earning the title. They are: Chesterfield
Elementary School in the Rockwood School District; Francis Howell
Middle School; Lindbergh School District; and Palmyra Elementary
School in the Palmyra R-1 School District. Four additional schools
earned the award Honored for Distinction in Character Education:
Sullivan Primary School in the Sullivan School District; Mark Twain
Elementary in the Brentwood School District; and Bowles Elementary
School and Uthoff Valley Elementary School, both in the Rockwood
School District. Rockwood’s Chesterfield Elementary will advance to
the national level competition as a finalist in the National
Schools of Character program.
Missouri is one of 14 states to initiate the 2007 State Schools of
Character Awards. Modeled after the Character Education Partnership
(CEP) national program, the Missouri Schools of Character (MOSOC)
Awards program has a two-fold purpose. One, to identify exemplary
Missouri schools and districts to serve as models for others; and
two, to help schools and districts improve their efforts in
effective character education. The MOSOC program recognizes schools
and districts that exemplify CEP’s Eleven Principals of Effective
Character Education and
demonstrate an outstanding character education initiative that
yield positive results in behavior, school climate, and academic
performance.
The Eleven Principles
define a comprehensive approach that promotes core ethical values;
defines character in terms of thinking, feeling and behavior;
requires an intentional pro-active approach; develops a caring
school community; provides opportunities to students for moral
action and leadership; includes a meaningful and challenging
academic curriculum; strives to develop intrinsic motivation;
develops a learning and moral community among the staff; recruits
parents and community members as full partners in
character-building; and evaluates the character of the school
community. To be eligible, a school must have been engaged in
character education for a minimum of three full years.
According to CHARACTERplus Program Coordinator Suzanne Christopher, “The applications that Missouri received were of the highest quality. Character education is education at its best. These schools show how it becomes a seamless, natural part of a learning community.”
CHARACTERplus and Cooperating School Districts will honor the selected schools and district at the 13th Annual CHARACTERplus Conference, July 19-20, 2007.
Cooperating School Districts (CSD) is an educational consortium serving 62 public school districts in Missouri and Illinois. CHARACTERplus is a project of CSD that works to advance the cause of character education and sustain its impact on educators and students.
To learn more, visit www.characterplus.org
