This March CHARACTER COUNTS! President Michael Josephson received a letter from a parent of a child whose school was implementing the CHARACTER COUNTS! framework. The principal of the high school was seen as a man of high standards, morals, and ethics, and he was an ardent supporter of CC!. The author of the letter went on to say that the day a CC! assembly was scheduled at the high school, the principal was arrested in a sex-sting operation.

The school’s response was to cancel the assembly, claiming it was inappropriate given the timing. Is this appropriate?

Students step it up at the second annual CHARACTER COUNTS! in Chaves County Summer Leadership Camp. Held at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico, from June 11-14, 2007, the camp focuses on the Six Pillars of Character to motivate student leaders and their advisors. Participants also learn about developing and sustaining their community-wide CHARACTER COUNTS! program.

Participants included 78 students and 21 adult advisors from 20 New Mexico schools — a significant increase from last year's program. Plans for next year's camp are already underway.

View more photos of CC! in Chaves County.

The LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport has helped maintain and restore the health of thousands of community members. But Linda Hatcher thought the hospital itself could use a checkup.

"It’s such a big place," Hatcher said. "We do a noble thing here — some of the best health care in the region. But hospital staff needed a way to communicate and work together as a team to feel more effectively connected to that mission. They needed a way to take pride in their good work."

After learning about the success of CHARACTER COUNTS! in local schools, Hatcher and others in her human resources department teamed up with the LSU AgCenter's 4-H staff to deliver a healthy dose of ethics training to the entire 3,000-member hospital staff.

North Star Elementary School students showed their colors by creating and riding a Six-Pillar float in Nikiski's 4th of July parade. View more photos of this event in the Alaska section of the CC! Local News Photos.