National and State Schools of Character Awards A Path to Excellence Part I

PART I: Overview & Updates 2011 Application Guidelines National and State Schools of Character Awards (NSOC) and (SSOC)

National Schools of Character Awards (NSOC) Provide a Path to School Improvement and Recognize Excellence

Character Education Partnership Identifies and honors exemplary schools and districts. Designates NSOC to serve as models and ambassadors.

Recognition NSOC are Honored at CEP’s National Forum Receive banner and award Use NSOC logo and name Receive press coverage .

CEP Showcases NSOC Articles in NSOC publication Webpage on CEP’s website Highlights in CEP newsletter Wow! This is a great help!

NSOC Outreach NSOC Present at CEP Forum Conduct trainings for other educators Contribute to CEP’s communication network

An Achievable Path to Excellence Expanded recognition in 2011 NSOC status achievable for ALL All schools and districts that implement the 11 Principles at an exemplary level receive the award Meeting a standard of excellence is the criteria, not competing with others

State Schools of Character 30 state sponsors give SSOC awards Prerequisite to the NSOC award State celebrations honor SSOC SSOC serve as state models SSOC on CEP website and in NSOC book

SSOC: What’s New? Designation lasts 3 years SSOC continue to apply for NSOC Goal is for all SSOC to achieve NSOC

Which states are SSOC states? California Massachusetts South Carolina Colorado Michigan South Dakota Florida Minnesota Texas Georgia Missouri Utah Illinois New Hampshire Virginia Indiana New Jersey Washington Iowa New York West Virginia Kansas North Carolina Wisconsin Kentucky Ohio Louisiana Oklahoma Maryland Pennsylvania 11

Continuous Improvement Process Application fosters self-assessment Applicants receive quantitative and qualitative feedback Self-reflection, study, and growth follows “The process of applying for the SSOC/NSOC awards program provides schools with a measuring stick to assess the effectiveness of their work.” ~Ron Tucker, former principal Bayless Junior High School

Eligibility K-12 schools: 3-year minimum K-12 districts: 4-year minimum 2006 NSOC and earlier are eligible to apply again *Not eligible? Consider applying for a Promising Practices award.

Revised scoring rubric Download and Review

The Eleven Principles as the Scoring Rubric Principle #1: The school community promotes core ethical and performance values as the foundation of good character. Each Principle has 2 to 4 numbered Scoring Items. 1.1 Stakeholders in the school community select or assent to a set of core values Each Scoring Item lists: Key Indicators of exemplary implementation: A highly inclusive representative group of stakeholders (professional and other staff, parents, students, and community members) have had input into or at least assented to the school’s core ethical and performance values. If the district selected the values or if the values have been in place for some time, current stakeholders have been involved in ongoing reflection on the values. Staff understand how and why the school selected its core values. 15

The Scoring Process 0 Not evident or visible; poor Items are scored from 0 to 4: 0 Not evident or visible; poor 1 Some implementation 2 Good implementation 3 Very good implementation 4 Exemplary implementation NOTE: (Change from previous years.) Items are scored from 1 to 4. Use the key indicators of exemplary practice as a guide: 1 Lacking evidence 2 Good implementation 3 Highly effective implementation 4 Exemplary implementation . You are to score each scoring item, using the key indicators of exemplary practice as a guide. Use whole numbers only. Generally, in order to rate a “4,” a school or district must have all examples of exemplary practice. Usually, the evaluator does not put the final scores on the score sheet until the end.

Directions for Districts NOTE: Districts are required to demonstrate additional evidence of character implementation that shows an explicit commitment to building character in its students, staff & community. Principle 1.3 Example: The district incorporates core values in its community and public relations efforts. The district establishes core values as part of its vision, mission, goals, objectives, regulations, and policies and seeks to promote a community of adults and students based on a commitment to excellence and ethics. Districts must show a total district commitment to character education. You will note that nine of the Principles have additional scoring items (listed on this slide) that apply to districts. The Principles also list exemplary practices that districts should employ. Some states have a special team that scores district applications as they have developed expertise in this area. If your state does not have many district applications, it is not necessary to do this. The following list of scoring items apply to districts: 1.3; 3.1; 3.2; 4.4; 5.1; 7.1; 8.2; 8.3; 9.1; 9.2; 10.3; 11.2

NOTE: Eleven Principles, not Quality Standards = the Scoring Rubric. What the application will look like: COMPOSITION: Length: Up to 25 pages for school; 30 pages for district Cover Page with school information Page 1 (not scored): WHY is the school doing CE? WHAT makes it SPECIAL to deserve NSOC status? Pages 2-25 (district: 30): HOW it is implementing CE according to the 11 Principles. Artifacts included in body . Self-evaluation sheet/responses CHANGES FROM THE PAST: Narrative Length: Applicant chooses proportion (text or artifacts at least ¼ of total). Placement of Artifacts: Inserted after each Principle, if possible. Some Changes in Key Indicators: e.g., Academic integrity, using data to shape plans; more SEL Key indicators now outline exemplary implementation. Appendix/Table of Contents Only if unable to insert artifacts Most applications this year will have the documentation (also called artifacts) inserted within the application itself, with the total pages for schools no more than 25 and for districts, 30. Each applicant can decide the proportion to give to each, but each aspect (text or artifacts) must constitute at least ¼ of the total. The cover sheet of the application, downloaded from the CEP Web site, gives information on school, Page 1 is not scored, but provides you with an overview of WHY the school is doing character education and WHAT makes it special so that it deserves NSOC status. Schools that have applied previously and/or have become Finalists often use this space to indicate changes they have made as a result of SSOC or NSOC “Areas of Growth” so be alert to these changes that may be explained in greater detail in the application. The artifacts should provide tangible evidence of what is given in the text. For example, if the school says that character is included in the curriculum, one of the documents chosen for support might be a lesson plan (3.2). Artifacts for Principle 11 (assessment) are very important. You might get some applications in which the artifacts are not inserted within the document. Here they will be included in a portfolio that contains a Table of Contents. NOTE: All applications conclude with a self-assessment as well as a response to questions (e.g. A school of district that has not met AYP will provide the explanation here.) NOTE: Eleven Principles, not Quality Standards = the Scoring Rubric.