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Research & Results
Anecdotal Highlights from the Pilot Schools
1995 - 2000
Al Tahoe Elementary School - Lake Tahoe Unified School
District
Character education has sparked many activities at Al Tahoe Elementary,
including peer tutoring, teacher and student appreciation days,
family nights, and a kudos box for positive staff comments. "Our
character education program has brought an awareness to teachers
about how to integrate character education with our academic curriculum,"
said first grade teacher, Rhonda Van Deusen. Principal, Jim Watson,
attributes the positive changes in the school to character education.
"Our focus on character education has been a major component
in the positive transition in our school," he said. "As
you enter our school, office, staff lounge, classrooms and playground
areas, you can feel it - our school has been touched and enriched
with character education!"
Arbuckle Elementary School - Pierce Joint Unified School
District
The halls are alive with the sound of music! Each Monday morning,
students and staff at Arbuckle Elementary gather in the multipurpose
room for the Monday Morning Sing. "Many of our children come
from weekends of turmoil, and this gives them an opportunity for
a fresh start," explains Principal Patricia Hamilton. Monday
Morning Sings introduce the Word-of-the-Week with a short performance.
Each week, a different class is responsible for the program. The
responsible class performs for five minutes, anything from reading
short phrases to singing a song or acting out a skit. The only requirement
is that it needs to relate to the character Word-of-the-Week. Monday
Morning Sing initiates a new week of learning and brings the entire
school together to demonstrate character.
Dry Creek Elementary School - Rio Linda Union Elementary
School District
Intermediate students at Dry Creek Elementary are showing character
through a mentoring/tutoring program in which older students support
chosen first, second and third graders. Kathleen Walker, a sixth
grade teacher, sees the positive effects of the mentoring relationship
on both sides. "The tutoring/mentoring program is not only
a positive experience for the younger children," she explained.
"It is giving the older students the opportunity to touch a
life, show caring and experience success." Sixth grader, Danielle
Wilkinson, said, "I think it's nice because we get to help
little kids and it feels good to know that they are getting better
in school."
Nicholas Elementary School - Sacramento City Unified School
District
Nicholas Elementary is spreading character throughout their community.
Their community projects include recycling, collecting canned food,
delivering friendly cards throughout the neighborhood, holding family
nights and collecting coins for the Leukemia Society. Joe Morrow,
a sixth grader, enjoyed delivering cards to community members. "It
was nice because the people were friendly when we delivered the
cards," he said. The community outreach efforts have helped
make character education a part of the students' daily lives. They
see it is not just something they do at school. "It was good
[to collect cans] because some families don't have food," said
Bianca Rodriguez, third grader.
Skycrest Elementary School - San Juan Unified School District
Character education has become a way of life for students at Skycrest
Elementary. Not only is it part of the curriculum, but its effects
can be seen outside of the classroom as well. Colette McMurry, a
teacher at Skycrest for 30 years, has noticed the positive results
of character education. "Children are applying the skills taught
in the Character Education Program on the playground, in class meetings,
and when reflecting in their journals," she said. Students
new to Skycrest have felt the effects of the program. "Kids
were friendly to me when I came to Skycrest," said Dustin Sandoval,
fifth grader. "It helped me to adjust better."
Fern Bacon Middle School - Sacramento City Unified School
District
Being a good citizen at Fern Bacon Middle School can improve more
than your attitude! Fern Bacon has implemented a character-based
citizenship program where students actually receive a grade that
goes on their transcript. "Students must have a C average in
Citizenship to stay at Fern Bacon," explained Principal Lynn
Tafoya, "so parents and students take it seriously." This
citizenship program, coupled with a school uniform policy, has brought
attendance up and decreased disciplinary referrals to the office.
"It has been a wonderful focus along with academics to educate
the whole student," said Tafoya.
Lloyd G. Johnson Junior High School - Pierce Joint Unified
School District
Lloyd G. Johnson Junior High School's character education program
has created a friendlier, more tolerant atmosphere. Students, staff
and parents have noticed the change and are excited about the future.
Valerie Williams, a parent at Johnson Junior High School, said,
"Collectively we need to infuse character values into our schools
and our families. What a wonderful world it would be if we all showed
good character toward one another." As part of the school's
character education program, students are being recognized for good
character through student-of-the-month awards, sportsmanship awards
and assemblies.
Rio Linda Junior High School - Grant Joint Union High School
District
Rio Linda Junior High School is dedicated to the concepts involved
in character education. One way character education is implemented
on campus is through the California Cadet Corps. In this program,
the high standards of respect, responsibility and cooperation are
taught and modeled on a daily basis by staff. The rest of the school
participates in a variety of ways, including Squire Bucks to reward
students who demonstrate respect and responsibility in the halls
and classrooms. These bucks are used to purchase things at the student
store. The school has developed character posters that will be posted
in all classrooms. Character education is something that is supported
by the entire school community.
South Tahoe Middle School- Lake Tahoe Unified School District
At South Tahoe Middle School, students are reminded daily of the
school's focus of mutual respect through posters and charts around
the school and an announcement of the Word-of-the-Week on Timberwolf
Television, the school's closed-circuit station. Their hallways
have been renamed after character traits, such as Respect Road,
and the art department is painting the character elements on permanent
wood pillars to be displayed in each hallway. South Tahoe Middle
School's focus on mutual respect impacts everyone at the school,
adults and students alike. Rich Alexander, Lake Tahoe Unified School
District's Superintendent, believes this is necessary to move schools
into the future. "With the diversity in socio-economic status
and ethnicity in our schools, the theme of mutual respect is essential,"
he said. "Through respect and tolerance, we can move our schools
forward."
Will Rogers Middle School - San Juan Unified School District
Will Rogers Middle School has put their character education program
on the air! Through a school-wide cable TV network, students share
a daily character message. "Character commercials" are
taped ahead of time and aired daily with the live student bulletin.
Kim Luttgen, an ESL teacher, noticed that the commercials speak
to every student. "Since we've started the video production
of commercials in our school, my ESL students feel more a part of
the school," she said. "They feel included when they see
others they know." Illustrating that character education reaches
beyond the classroom, Maren Ayers, an eighth grader at Will Rogers
Middle School, said, "You're teaching us good character so
we'll be this way at home, and it's working."
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