After completing her Peace Corps service, Katie Zawacki sent this update of CHARACTER COUNTS! activity in St. Lucia:

Vieux Fort’s Education officer, District Counselor, Counselors, Principals, Teachers and Children from the St. Lucia's Education District VI presented a Gala Spectacular in February to demonstrate their commitment to CHARACTER COUNTS!. The Spectacular was timed to coincide with the departure of Peace Corps Volunteers who initiated the programs district-wide. It was more than two hours of song, mime, poetry, and dance; most of it original work celebrating the creativity and uniqueness of St. Lucian educators and children.

CHARACTER COUNTS! educators adapted their implementation techniques to suit the local culture in a way their children could understand. For example, the Character Carousel animals were unfamiliar to St. Lucian children, so some schools incorporated native species like frogs, bees, parrots, and donkeys to depict the traits. One school even used local flowers in Six Pillar colors. The children from one primary school said "thank you CHARACTER COUNTS! for the colors because they make it easier to remember what to do."

The sixth District is well-equipped to assist the rest of St. Lucia in creating CHARACTER COUNTS! programs. The Minister of Education, A Gala attendee, stated his commitment to the continued development of CHARACTER COUNTS! as a proven, and much needed, character education strategy.

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Middle school students in Queensland, Australia are not just living by the Six Pillars, they’re living under them. Whitsunday Anglican School purchased special Six Pillar banners to display in their new Middle School precinct.

Chris French, head of the middle school, shared in his students’ enthusiasm for the new banners when they arrived. "The students were so excited,” he said.

The CHARACTER COUNTS! framework is evident in the language used by everyone from educators to parents. Students have each other to thank – they are the driving force behind CC! programs and activities for the school. Beyond the new signs, the initiative has offered morning character announcements, assemblies and chapel times centered on Pillar themes, and a noticeable reduction in negative behavior.

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The Bahama Journal reports:

Breathless from a wildly-cheered, high-energy "Christie shuffle," Prime Minister Perry Christie told hundreds of attentive schoolchildren gathered for the 2007 Character Counts Talent Explosion on Monday how vital a good character is to reaching their dreams....

Read the full article.

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Each year the Parents Association at the American School of Monterrey decorates a big Christmas tree that sets the stage for all of the Christmas presentations during the month of December. The tree is huge and takes almost a week to decorate.  This year the Parents Association took a different take on the tree decorating. They decided that they wanted the tree to represent Character Counts! So not only does the school have ONE BIG tree, but they have a tree decorated for each pillar as well!

The third grade students and their moms helped create the ornaments that went on each tree and the Parent Association decorated, decorated, and decorated in order to finish up the trees. At the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, the trees lighted up and the message was, "Haz una Feliz Navidad" ...."MAKE a MERRY CHRISTMAS."

Pictured above: Children help celebrate the tree lighting ceremony  with a boisterous musical presentation...And Pillar-colored wigs.

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The Parent Association at the American Institute of Monterrey understands that successful character building is a T.E.A.M. (Teach Enforce Advocate Model) effort.

The parents have created a school-for-parents program offering courses such as Introduction to CC!, Decision Making, Self-Esteem, and additional courses throughout the year. An impressive 400 parents have taken the five-hour Introduction to Character Counts! Course.

Additionally, 200 mothers are involved in the "CC! Moms" program, which brings moms into the classrooms once a month to do a Six Pillar activity with the students.

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"CHARACTER COUNTS! has been caught in St. Lucia," says Katie Zawacki, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Eastern Caribbean island.

Principals, school counselors, teachers and students can identify all Six Pillars, including the Pillar color and the Character Carousel animal representing each trait. For the entire school year, Augier Combined Primary has been using CHARACTER COUNTS! language in assemblies, special events, daily classroom activities and as part of disciplinary actions.

The children are absorbing the character traits through the use of the language by everyone at the school and especially the use of the animals from the Character Carousel.

The year ended at this school with the dedication of a Character Garden, where all children recited the Kids for Character Pledge. The Augier Character Garden, which displays brightly painted pillars, became a main feature of an island-wide "Grounds Beautification" project that is part of the CC! program. The Pillars were designed, built and painted by Peace Corps Volunteers John & Katie Zawacki in partnership with the school principal.

All of the other primary schools in this southern education district of St. Lucia have received training in implementation and maintenance of CHARACTER COUNTS!. Using the approach of identifying desired behaviors, Katie has led the entire staff of each school in developing "unique" definitions for each character trait. The idea is for each school to develop their CHARACTER COUNTS! programs according to their needs using all their St. Lucian creativity.

When Katie completes her Peace Corps Volunteer service in March 2007, she expects CHARACTER COUNTS! in St. Lucia "will continue its growth and will be producing an abundance of good character."

But ideas, materials and resources are still in need, she says. "We work from having no supplies or materials provided by the Ministry of Education and many parents cannot contribute." To help with resources or by sharing ideas, contact Katie at papazawacki316@yahoo.com. Please identify your e-mail by mentioning "CHARACTER COUNTS!" in the subject line.

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An article in the national Ministry of Education magazine inspired three more schools to join the CC! efforts, spearheaded by Peace Corps volunteers in St. Lucia. New projects include A Tree of Character using the six traits in the designated colors, a park with Pillar rest areas, and a Pillar Play Park announcing “RESPONSIBILITY is key to all other growth in character leading to good citizens of the future.” Schools will use the sample proclamation to plan a district-wide media event for CC! Week in October.

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