Almost two dozen Los Angeles area Catholic elementary and high schools will add CC! to their curriculum in 2005-06.

"We would like to be the first diocese in the country where the program is totally integrated," said Nancy Coonis, the archdiocesan superintendent of secondary schools.. "Each school is free to integrate CHARACTER COUNTS! the way they want. Some schools focus on a different Pillar each week.

"The reason we like the program is because the Six Pillars of Character are universal. They are values we can all agree on," Ms. Coonis told Tidings. Since January 2005, 77 teachers and administrative staff from 23 schools have attended CDS's with a Catholic version of CC!, offering Catholic moral instruction, Biblical passages and quotes from saints.

Dan Horn, principal of St. Genevieve High in Panorama City, has seen big improvements in students after five years of CC!. "Having a character education program has transformed our school. The students see the atmosphere of the school as just as much their responsibility as the administrators'," he said, adding that CC! has bred a climate unconducive to hazing or bullying.

This summer, seven St. Genevieve students took part in a national "Operation Respect" forum in Washington D.C. "It was a life-changing experience for them," said Mr. Horn. "More and more, the students want the opportunity to be leaders." He is grooming two more groups of students who will go to Atlanta and San Antonio this fall to speak on character education.

"I'm passionate about CHARACTER COUNTS!," said economics teacher Ron Rishagen of St. Bernard High, who integrated the Six Pillars in his classes after attending the January CDS. He says CC! has improved kids' academic performance and behavior, including their relations with parents.

"The students enjoy it so much. They learn social graces and how to respect each other. They also learn the consequences of such actions as cheating and lying. I personally am a changed person and I'm 62," said Mr. Rishagen.

CC! will become part of all St. Bernard classes in the next school year. Over the summer of 2005, Mr. Rishagen produced a CD for his fellow teachers with CC! exercises they can use in the classroom. The CD also contains essays from students about the impact of CC! on them. For instance, one wrote, "The program has changed my character because I am nicer to others and I think about their feelings." Another said, "I have become more responsible and [I] began trusting other people more." Still another stated, "'Responsibility' has changed me because my grades are way better. Before I wouldn't do my homework and I would be worried the next day because I would try to do it in other classes but now I go home and do my homework and feel much better knowing I am prepared to be in class."

"I would encourage every educator to get into the program because it works and life is so much more pleasant for everyone in the classroom," said Mr. Rishagen.