Six Area Schools Honored With Missouri Schools of Character Award
Six area schools have each earned the title of Missouri School of Character through a program sponsored by CHARACTERplus, a division of the Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis, Inc. (CSD), in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The six schools are: Bayless Junior High School in the Bayless School District; Bowles Elementary School in the Rockwood School District; Mark Twain Elementary School in the Brentwood School District; Sappington Elementary School in the Lindbergh School District; Sullivan Primary School in the Sullivan School District; and Valley Park Middle School in the Valley Park School District.
Three of the six schools advanced to the national level to compete for Character Education Partnership’s (CEP) National School of Character. Additionally, three 2007 Missouri Schools of Character also advanced again this year.
The local finalists are: Bayless Junior High School, Bayless School District; Chesterfield Elementary School, Rockwood School District; Francis Howell Middle School, Francis Howell School District; Lindbergh School District; Sappington Elementary School, Lindbergh School District; Valley Park Middle School, Valley Park School District.
Missouri is one of 20 states to initiate the 2008 State Schools of Character Awards. Modeled after the Character Education Partnership’s (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 the national standards expressed in the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education and experience positive results in behavior, attendance, academic performance, safety, staff-parent relationships and school leadership.
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.
“Missouri is recognized as a leading state in the field of character education and the schools who earn this award are considered among the highest quality across the nation,” explains CHARACTERplus Director Liz Gibbons. She adds, “These schools show how character education becomes a seamless, natural part of a very young learning community. As they do, they become models for all other schools.”
CHARACTERplus and Cooperating School Districts will honor the selected schools at the 14th annual CHARACTERplus Conference, July 16-18, 2008 at its new location, the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.
Cooperating School Districts (CSD) is an educational consortium serving 65 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.
