CC!: When did you begin your character-education initiative?
Westwood: About 120 community citizens initiated a district effort in 1987, then it went by the wayside. To re-energize, we sent district employees to a CHARACTER COUNTS! Character Development Seminar training in 2000. The Board of Education adopted the Six Pillar framework the next year. We introduced the Pillars slowly and taught the students the Pillar language. Every teacher got a Pillar poster to hang in their classroom, and we put character tips of the month into faculty meetings. We offered a Parenting by the Pillars class to teach the language to parents and guardians and nominated students to a Character Honor Roll each month.
Alta S. Leary: We began slowly in 1995 with conflict resolution, peer mediation, and a Peace Center. In the past three years we added CHARACTER COUNTS!, service-learning, and the CEP process. CC! gave us a common language or thread that pulled together what we’d been doing.
Walnut Street: We’ve always provided students with a variety of school-wide character-education activities. In 2005, due to an increase in gang violence and suspensions, we implemented character-education district-wide and formed a Character Education Committee to change the school climate.

CC!: How has character development changed your students or your school?
Westwood: Kids want to be in school because they feel safe, valued, and loved. In 2001, our school lost its Exemplary status and fell to a Recognized rating. The following year, we regained Exemplary, and our scores have continued to rise. We’ve had a 100% passing rate the last five years on our Reading TAKS test. During the same time, discipline referrals fell 65%. Our 97% attendance rate met the Gold Level Recognition this year. In a survey taken last month in grades 2 and 3, 99% of our kids agreed or strongly agreed that “My teacher cares about me.” The Intermediate school (grades 4-6) has grown stronger as well. Our students leave Westwood with four years of a character-education foundation and take their knowledge and experiences to the next level. Parents comment that their children solve issues on their own at home with respect, courtesy, and kindness. Students are complimented on their behavior outside of school while representing the school on field trips or community outreach opportunities.
Alta S. Leary: Our students and teachers have integrated the Pillars into their everyday language and behavior. Students speak up if another isn’t acting “Pillar-like” and notice when others are. They show pride in modeling the character traits. An unsolicited comment from a first-grader was “I’m going to use the Pillars of caring and responsibility this week by helping my little sister when my mom has surgery.” We’ve seen positive changes, and the common language has been extremely effective in helping with that.
Walnut Street: One day a fourth-grade class walking toward the track found $200 on the ground. Instead of keeping it, they brought it to the phys-ed teacher, who gave it to the principal, who turned it over to the superintendent. When no one claimed the money, the superintendent returned it to the class, which donated it to a Pennies for Patients fundraiser to help children with cancer and other diseases. Every day students bring in money, cellphones, jewelry, and books that they find. It’s heartwarming to observe students thank those who found and returned their lost items. From all the money found during the year, we purchased a new bicycle for our annual Student of the Month Raffle.

CC!: How do you sustain your program?
Westwood: We’ve tried to go deeper rather than wider by creating programs that connect to kids with meaning and purpose. Our third-grade choir was created to be Westwood musical ambassadors in our community. Our Veteran’s Day program connects to locals who’ve served in our armed forces. The second-graders present an annual musical based on making good choices, honoring others, and character education. The third-grade Grandparent’s Day helps students absorb the knowledge and heritage of their grandparents by sharing stories. Our service projects have evolved into service-learning opportunities. This past spring, we asked animal-rescue groups to bring in animals and teach our students about the needs of many creatures. Some classrooms adopted animals and worked on research projects, which got them more involved than simply bringing in a can of dog food for a collection box.
Alta S. Leary: By generating results. The students seem happier, the test scores are higher, and there are more referrals to the peer-mediation process, meaning that students want to solve their problems peacefully, not violently. We also maintain our leadership committee of teachers, staff, and parents that brings new ideas to the table and surveys existing ideas to see if they’re still getting results. It’s a fluid process, but we don’t want to overwhelm your staff and faculty so we bring ideas to the faculty meeting, discuss the pros and cons, and decide what will work.
Walnut Street: Character education is embedded in everything we do. A common language and core set of values are constantly being taught and reinforced by every member of the school community. Our Character Education Committee expands every year with new members. It annually assesses the program and sets new goals and initiatives for the upcoming year. Ongoing staff development and staff/parent training are available throughout the year.

CC!: Even decorated programs such as yours need to maintain momentum during the summer. How do you keep everyone involved?
Alta S. Leary: Our leadership committee has in-service days to maintain it. We also plan a seminar for our district and the CEP conference.
Walnut Street: To celebrate our honors, including winning the 2009 New York State School of Character Award, we’ll hold a school-wide Character Education Celebration this month. We’ll highlight student writing and poetry related to respect, responsibility, honesty, and friendship. State and local dignitaries will impress on our students, staff, and parents the importance of these honors and how good character is the foundation for becoming self-reliant, productive, and responsible citizens. Many of our teachers will also enroll in summer courses to enhance their character-education knowledge and skills.
Westwood: Our marquee message reads: “Teach character this summer by your example.” We’ll have CC! in our community posters, and our websites will post character-building activities and quotes. We’re holding a character-training afternoon in August and will bring in a trainer to strengthen our curriculum integration. And our collaborative teams will write and share a character lesson for our resource bin.

CC!: After summer, how will you reinvigorate and reinforce your program?
Alta S. Leary: We’ll start the year with a Back to School assembly to refresh the Pillars.
Walnut Street: We’ll begin with our Respect Day Kickoff Assembly Program. All classes will hold Morning Meetings to create a caring learning community. Our Character Education Committee recently conducted a School Climate Survey of students in grades 3-5, and we’re working on a Parent Survey to review the effectiveness of our program from their perspective. The committee constantly reviews literature and character-education websites on new ways to address each Pillar and give staff additional resources and activities.
Westwood: We’ll kick off the year with an assembly featuring our favorite ventriloquist Dennis Lee. He’s got an amazingly powerful message on which we’re usually able to piggyback all year long. We’ll also get our new third-graders on duty as Pillar Patrol helpers and host Open House so we can announce our NSOC status and review our expectations with parents and community stakeholders. By October, we’ll start the Knitting Club and Choir and celebrate CC! and Red Ribbon Week. Then we’ll be off to the Forum to share our school’s story with other participants.

We thank the following individuals for their assistance with this interview:
Westwood: Laura Rachita, music teacher
Alta S. Leary: Lisa Stecklein, first-grade teacher
Walnut Street: Linda Friedman, principal; Michael Bruno, first-grade teacher and chairperson, Character Education Committee; Debbie Adler, second- and third-grade teacher and member, Character Education Committee