Character Counts! organizers at Juniata Valley Elementary School, in Alexandria, Pennsylvania, have launched a unique campaign to improve the character of their students. Their theme is “Good Character Has No Off-Season.”
During Character Counts! Week 2007, the school held an assembly featuring a former Penn State Football player, who used pieces of his uniform to discuss the Six Pillars of Character. Between Character Counts! Week and the holiday break, students who exhibited Trustworthiness were awarded a blue (paper) football helmet, which stated their name and their Trustworthy action. The helmets were posted on the school’s Trustworthiness Pillar “Wall of Fame” and the names of students who received the helmet awards were included in the morning announcements.
Juniata Valley Elementary plans to feature one Pillar of Character during each of the remaining five months of school. Assemblies will kick-off each new Pillar and are scheduled to include performances by the Juniata Valley High School drama club, Juniata’s own staff members, and additional groups. In January, the school will focus on Respect. Because January is basketball season, blue football helmet awards will be replaced by yellow basketballs.
Students aren’t the only ones who are rewarded for exhibiting good character. Every week, Juniata Valley Elementary School highlights one staff member who models the Six Pillars of Character. That staff member is given a coveted parking space for the week and their picture is posted at the school entrance. The staffer’s colleagues are invited to describe how that person lives out one of the Pillars in their every-day life. The school believes that teaching by example is imperative to creating a culture of character.
