"We have had so much fun with CC! this year!" said Bonnie Kassen in June 2004. "Much to my pleasure, the staff development committee selected character development as a districtwide focus for the 2003-2004 school year. WOW!" 

She attended a CDS at Downers Grove in February 2003, and when she returned she told her two principals, "This is what we need!" They believed her and sent four more staff to training in July.

Then the five of them held one full and three half days of staff in-service trainings on CC! One team member developed a PowerPoint presentation -- complete with magazine covers, movie clips, music and lyrics -- showing how important it is to begin work on character at once. Ms. Kassen included character information from the 2001 Minnesota Student Survey on student risk behaviors such as drinking, drugs and sexual behavior.

Among the achievements in 2003-4 were:

1. The schools reworked Student of the Week criteria K-12 to highlight the Six Pillars.

2. A music teacher created three elementary concerts with the Pillars in mind.

3. The elementary school had a CC! kickoff as well as a year-end wrapup before summer vacation, complete with freezy pops in most of the Pillar colors. 

4. The elementary school held Pillar dress-up days.

5. Ms. Kassen talked with the high school SADD chapter about the Pillars. "We found the words were being used throughout the school, among staff, and students," she said.

6. The high school art class painted garden pillars for the elementary school and put the Six Pillars on them.

7. Ms. Kassen gave character lessons in nine of 14 elementary classrooms at least every other week. The fifth graders developed "pillar man," a variation on the hangman game. Ms. Kassen used it when introducing a new character trait. She'd draw a man atop a Pillar and each time kids guessed a letter wrong, she'd erase part of him. Students tried to guess the term before the man disappeared. "It was corny, but FUN and loved by the kids," she said. "I used it from third grade up!"

8. The administrative team brought in a speaker who helped the staff evaluate their progress on the character initiative. Using that data, at the final staff in-service they identified areas they wanted to work on and developed "action teams." Those teams pinned down steps to keep CC! thriving and move it out into the community. For the 2004-2005 staff in-service days, they built in almost two hours for the teams to meet and revisit their list. "This will include work outside the typical day, but I think there are many who will do this!" she said.

9. The school created a new character award to honor a graduating senior of great character. The student received a check for $500 at the Senior Awards Night.

"I think CHARACTER COUNTS! will be here to stay!" Ms. Kassen said. "Though there is much more to do, I am very proud of what has been accomplished. Yes, it will take work, but we have some committed staff members! I have also recommended the program to some of my fellow school social workers elsewhere in Minnesota. I can't wait to see what we accomplish in 2004-2005!"