BUILDING CHARACTER: GETTING KIDS TO HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND BEYOND! MARCH 4, 2014

BULIDING CHARACTER CENTER CITY PCS BACKGROUND Opened in the SY 6 schools with 230 students/campus Neighborhood-based (naming) Staff converted from Catholic schools In conversion, removed religion but kept the focus on character

BUILDING CHARACTER ORIGINAL CHARACTER PROGRAM But what did keeping the focus on character mean? What did we have?

BUILDING CHARACTER SOJOURNERS FRAMEWORK Core Values: * Respect * Discipline * Collaboration * Compassion * Peacemaking * Integrity * Knowledge * Curiosity * Perseverance * Justice * Curriculum and Programs  Using the models of Responsive Classroom and Developmental Designs, we create positive classroom culture and help students build academic and social skills  Students trained in conflict resolution and peer mediation  Middle school advisory period focused on developing study skills, responsible choices, and leadership Rituals and Practices  Daily morning and afternoon meetings  Monthly school assemblies that celebrate diversity and are framed by Core Values  Celebrations of dance, art, and music  Peacemaking and reflective discipline practices  Rites of passages (e.g., graduation ceremonies) Student Leadership  Student Government  Peer Mediators  PreK-8th Grade Buddies  Students-of-the-Day, -Week, and - Month  Enrichment to develop student talents Service Learning  School beautification  Community service projects  Yearlong Capstone Project focusing on a locally and globally relevant topic

BUILDING CHARACTER What was wrong with SOJOURNERS? SOJOURNERS’ LIMITATIONS

BUILDING CHARACTER It is a list of “things” we do but not a measure for what we were teaching our students, a strategy for our long- term goal to get them to college, or a reflection of our long-term goals. SOJOURNERS’ LIMITATIONS

BUILDING CHARACTER UNDERSTANDING WHAT DEFINES CHARACTER 1.How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character By Paul Tough 2.The Duckworth Lab at UPENN worth/pages/educators worth/pages/educators 3.Character Lab at Harvard

BUILDING CHARACTER OUR MATRIX FOR A SUCCESSFUL CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE ACADEMIC SUCCESS ENGAGED FAMILIES POSITIVE CLASSROOM CULTURE Character Education

BUILDING CHARACTER START WITH ACADEMICS From the Character Lab: Character + Academics = SUCCESS

BUILDING CHARACTER CURRICULUM, CURRICULUM, CURRICULUM START WITH ACADEMICS

BUILDING CHARACTER -Teacher-created curriculum -Aligned to CCSS -Performance-based tasks -Collaborate with other school districts START WITH ACADEMICS

BUILDING CHARACTER Spelling Bees, Geography Bees, and Science Fairs build “grit.” “Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart?” NYTimes 2/10/13 some-kids-handle-pressure-while-others-fall- apart.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=general&src=me START WITH ACADEMICS

BUILDING CHARACTER ENGAGE PARENTS Parents… -Are critical to building character in students. -Have to be invested in what schools are doing and reiterate it at home. -Need to own and understand student performance so that they can support – and push – students at home. -Need to understand the language we use in schools.

BUILDING CHARACTER ENGAGE PARENTS Academic Parent Teacher Team (APTT) -Parents and teacher PARTNERSHIPS -Set goals together -Let parents know what’s going on in the classroom model-parent-teacher-partnerships

BUILDING CHARACTER You can only build positive school culture if there is a positive culture in every school classroom. Culture of your school = Culture of EACH classroom BUILD A POSITIVE CLASSROOM CULTURE

BUILDING CHARACTER BUILD A POSITIVE CLASSROOM CULTURE No Nonsense Nurturer (NNN) -Highly effective teachers have high expectations for students -A focus on teachers’ “nurturing” strong relationships with students -Students are on-task, engaged -Positive narration, precise directions, nurturing relationships w/ students & families, individual consequences with class-wide rewards -Kids “listen” to adults who believe in them -Micro-moments and constructive responses

BUILDING CHARACTER BUILD A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE What’s going on in the classroom needs to be supported by what’s going on in the building. And kids, like everyone, need: Celebrations Rewards Honors

BUILDING CHARACTER BUILD A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) -School-wide systems to define, teach, and support appropriate student behaviors -Model social behaviors and increase social competence

BUILDING CHARACTER WHAT’S NEXT 1)Set goals for long-term student success What high schools are we sending students on to? Are the goals rigorous? Are students successful when they get to high school? Are students successful post-high school? We know we’re doing well when they’re with us but how are they doing when they’re not?

BUILDING CHARACTER WHAT’S NEXT 2)Align our rhetoric with our goals What are our core values? Do the core values represent us? What is our mission? Does our mission accurately reflect our long-term goals for kids? Where are our students now? Survey! How will we measure success y-o-y? Our brand is character education, now we need to make sure that is in everything we communicate.

BUILDING CHARACTER WHAT’S NEXT 3)Codify and disseminate our goals Where is all of this information housed? How are new staff members trained on our program? What is the framework for teaching this to and sharing this with our staff? How do we recruit staff who believe in and “fit” with this culture of character ed? Whatever we do should not be held by a person or persons but rather, should be replicable by any new teacher or leader.