Character Education 101

Lately your child may have mentioned terms like character ed, Teen Truth, Rising Up, or CEO.  Let me explain what it’s all about.

Character Education – This year we launched a school-wide character education curriculum designed to bring out the best in our students.  Students are separated by gender during flex and either go to the gym to work with student leaders or remain in the classroom to work with their flex teacher.  A student will be in class one week and the gym the next.

CEO’s –  In August students were asked to choose a group of their peers they feel are trustworthy, make good choices, and are leaders in their grade.  We named this group CEO’s which stands for Character, Excellence, Opportunity.  This group received training and now leads lessons three days a week in the gym.

Teen Truth – On September 17, JC Pohl presented an assembly to junior high and high school.  The goal of Teen Truth is to help students see we all have struggles and that in sharing our truth, we can support and help each other make it through difficult times.

Rising Up – After the assembly, JC trained our CEO’s to work with small groups using the Rising Up SEL curriculum.  SEL stands for Social Emotional Learning.  Here’s a link for more information about Rising Up.

Classroom lessons – My team of character builders, Susan Davidson, Shannon Weaver, James Wyatt, and Hondo Castillo and I worked together to develop lessons for each grade level.  Sixth grade lessons focus on topics designed to help students make the transition to junior high.  Seventh grade teachers were asked to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.  Their lessons are structured around these habits.  Likewise, eighth grade teachers read The 6 Most Important Decision You’ll Ever Make.  Their lessons help eighth graders realize the decisions they make today will effect their tomorrow.

If you have any questions about our character education program, please feel free to call me.  We’re having a great time together!