The Results of an Effective Character Education Program on School Climate and Student Success at Lincoln Elementary School By: Christina Garland and Kimberly Tooley

Lincoln Elementary Demographics Troy R – 3 School District Lincoln Elementary Free/Reduced Lunch41.2%32.5% IEP11%14% White91%95% Black.05%.02% Hispanic.03%.02% Asian.01% Indian.003%0%

Character Education Comprehensive Whole School Reform Model This approach integrates character development into every aspect of school life. It is a transformation of the culture and life of the school. This model embraces the whole child and involves the school, community, and home in character development. The key to this model is relationship building among all the stakeholders of the school.

Character Education Caring Schools Community Research based initiative designed to build the ABCs in the school, home and community. The ABCs are autonomy, belonging, and competence. It is built on the foundation of the following essentials: community participation, character education policy, identified and defined character traits, integrated curriculum, experiential learning, evaluation, adult role models, staff development, student leadership, and the ability to sustain the program. All of these activities promote relationship building, collaborative learning, a forum to reflect, discuss and make decisions, family and school relationships as well as focusing on the family participating in collaborative activities that promote responsibility and inclusiveness. Schools that participate commit to a three-year training and implementation phase.

Character Education Classroom Lesson Based Model This model integrates character education into academics. This includes making character building a part of each lesson, implementing a school-wide curriculum that teaches both moral and academic virtues, and managing the class, teaching curriculum content, and structure discussions as if character matters. Developing character through the curriculum promotes ownership, a positive classroom climate, and community building that builds trust between the students and staff.

Character Education Conscious Discipline This model focuses on the social-emotional and current brain research on child development. It is geared on creating a safe environment for children to learn and practice the skills needed for healthy social, emotional and academic development. The program teaches the skills of anger management, helpfulness, assertiveness, impulse control, cooperation, empathy, and problem solving, which result in the learned values of integrity, interdependence, respect, empowerment, diversity, compassion, and responsibility among the students (Bailey, 2000).

Inspiration Mrs. Garland was attending the Leadership Academy for Character Education Prior to her tenure, Lincoln Elementary had been through Caring Schools training. There were many inconsistencies with the implementation of the Caring Schools components at Lincoln Elementary. Staff expressed desire to have a common language and school-wide discipline plan that tied in core values. Ms. Tooley was implementing a new Character Education Initiative, Conscious Discipline, at Carman Trails.

Results Discipline

Results Attendance

MAP Results

DIBELS Results Kindergarten= from to there was a decrease in the percentage of students reaching end of year Benchmark, 4% decrease but percentage remained high at 88% First Grade= from to there was a 16% increase in the percentage of students reaching end of year Benchmark Second Grade= from to there was a 22% increase in the percentage of students reaching end of year Benchmark Third Grade= from to there was a 35% increase in the percentage of students reaching end of year Benchmark Fourth Grade= from to there was a 6% increase in the percentage of students reaching end of year Benchmark

Survey Results and Data Survey results measured students, staff and parents on attitudes of school climate and the Caring Schools components of Autonomy, Belonging, and Competence. Survey baseline data indicated a high percentage of satisfaction among students, staff and parents. Post survey data showed slight increases and decreases in the areas of Autonomy, Belonging and Competence.

Questions that measure Belonging K-2 October 2009 % of positive responses May 2010 % of positive responses % increase or decrease in positive responses My class is like family. 68%74%+6% Students in my class treat each other with respect. 95%87%-8% Teachers care about my family and my friends. 91%93%+2% I like my school. 94% 0% I would be very sad if I had to go to a different school. 76%83%+7% I have lots of friends at school. 87%89%+2% I feel safe and comfortable with the teachers in this school. 95%97%+2% The teachers here really care about me. 96%95%-1%

ANALYSIS Overall the results of our action research have positively affected student success and school climate at Lincoln Elementary School. The implementation of Caring Schools activities such as weekly class meetings, monthly cross age buddy activities, quarterly home site activities, student reflection logs on core values, a school wide common language and a discipline plan using these core values and common language proved to make positive achievement and success gains. Analysis of discipline data showed a significant decrease in office and bus referrals. From 2008 to 2010 office referrals decreased by 101 and bus referrals decreased by 45. Both areas showed a substantial improvement. Attendance data also showed a slight increase from an already high percentage. Although not a significant increase, attendance increased by.98% from to When analyzing the Communication Arts MAP data both increases and decreases where noted. Adequate yearly progress was attained during both academic years. The area of noted improvement was increased percentages in the proficient category for both third and fourth grades.

ANALYSIS The Mathematics MAP data did not result in positive significant results. Adequate yearly progress was not met in either academic year. The data remains constant with minimal increases or decreases in the basic and proficient categories. Across all grade levels DIBELS data showed positive increases from beginning benchmark data to end of the year benchmark data. In grades kindergarten, first, second, and third over 80% of students were at benchmark by the end of the academic year. In the fourth grade, 64% of students were at benchmark by the end of the academic year which calculated to a 6% increase from the beginning of the year benchmark in Survey baseline data indicated an already high percentage of satisfaction among students, staff and parents in regards to the character education initiative at Lincoln Elementary. Therefore, the survey data showed slight increases and decreases in the areas of autonomy, belonging and competence. Analysis of the results of this study have proven that implementing an effective character education initiate, incorporating the caring schools components, positively influenced school climate and student achievement throughout the school and among stakeholders.

Limitations Recommendations Actual number of participating students in data gathering and survey answers in October and May Anonymity of survey answers limits ability to ensure the same participants on both survey dates District restructuring into K-5 model which incorporated fifth grade into building in Restructuring resulted in DIBELS and MAP data being gathered and compared on different students Self contained Emotionally Disturbed classroom added in (data not included in discipline data) Outside factors and daily interactions skew survey results Share areas of deficiency with the building Character Team Yearly evaluation of the overall Character Education program Frequent checks of fidelity in each classroom throughout the school Use feedback from the National School of Character Association report should be used to note needed areas of improvement Continue collaborative efforts to analyze data, plan instruction and plan individual interventions to meet the needs of each individual student