Four Wheels of Success

CHARACTER COUNTS! is an overarching framework designed to work in conjunction with rather than supplant other academic support, pro-school climate, and anti-bullying programs as well as behavior modification programs including PBIS. Properly implemented, CHARACTER COUNTS! is braided with other programs to produce meaningful, measurable, and sustainable outcomes in four domains (The Four Wheels of Success).

Wheel One: Academic Domain

Curriculum. Character Counts - character education curriculum, lessons, and activities

The first Wheel of Success focuses on the values, attitudes, mindsets, and skills that assist each student to reach their intellectual and academic potential.

The CHARACTER COUNTS! Implementing a Six Pillar Culture Workshop showcases teaching practices and strategies that address cognitive and intellectual development.

  1. Achieve college and career readiness goals
  2. Improve performance on standardized tests
  3.  Implant a love of and commitment to lifelong learning and self-improvement
  4. Increase high school graduation rate and percentage of students who pursue advanced education
  5.  Promote a commitment to academic integrity to prevent cheating and plagiarism
  6. Instill a growth mindset that increases persistence in the face of difficulties, confusion, and failure
  7. Develop progressively complex cognitive and critical thinking skills
  8. Improve proficiency in decision making and problem-solving
  9. Stimulate creativity

Wheel Two: Social & Emotional

Curriculum. Character Counts - character education curriculum, lessons, and activities

The second Wheel of Success focuses on the values, attitudes, mindsets, and skills commonly embraced in the concept of emotional intelligence. These critical non-intellectual traits and qualities are essential to personal well-being, life satisfaction and various aspects of personal and career success.

The objective of this aspect of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Implementing a Six Pillar Culture Workshop is to help each student:
  1. Improve their personal lives by promoting self-respect and confidence and a healthy understanding and acceptance of their personal attributes and the emotional aspects of their personalities
  2. Improve school safety by developing the skills empowering students to express their emotions in an appropriate manner and exercise the self-discipline to recognize and overcome negative emotions and impulses and resist temptations to engage in anti-social or personally harmful conduct
  3. Become more effective and successful by developing traits of resilience, flexibility, patience, and poise as well as the skills in planning, goal-setting, time management, and organization
  4. Create a positive school climate by instilling and enhancing the traits of empathy and social awareness to assist students in forming positive social relations with peers, parents, teachers, and others
  5. Enhance the social and academic experience and contribute to a positive school climate by teaching students the skills of effective communication, collaboration and teamwork, conflict management, and leadership
  6. Develop 21st Century skills, attitudes, mindsets, and traits critical to success in school, personal life, and career (e.g., conscientiousness, commitment to excellence, perseverance, positivity, and others)

Wheel Three: Character

Curriculum. Character Counts - character education curriculum, lessons, and activities

The third Wheel of Success focuses on the values, attitudes, mindsets, and skills that assist each student reach his/her development and understanding of The Six Pillars of Character. Developmental outcomes embodied in the character dimension of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Student Development Workshop addresses all Six Pillars traits necessary in the development of a safe and caring learning environment.

The objective of this aspect of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Implementing a Six Pillar Culture Workshop is to help each student:

  1. Develop moral character and commitment in its use
  2. Improve decision-making qualities
  3. Demonstrate integrity, honesty promise-keeping, and loyalty which are essential in relationship building and career readiness
  4. Demonstrate respect for authority figures and others without regard to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other distinguishing attributes
  5. Make students accountable for their actions and the consequences of choices made
  6. Increase cognitive skills related to being just and fair with others
  7. Display compassion and a concern for the well-being of others
  8. Demonstrate their civic duties and social responsibilities

Wheel Four: School Climate

Curriculum. Character Counts - character education curriculum, lessons, and activities

The fourth and final Wheel of Success focuses on a positive culture which consists of five components. School Climate outcomes embodied in the climate dimension of the CHARACTER COUNTS!  Student Development Workshop addresses all essential dimensions of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program.

The objective of this aspect of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Implementing a Six Pillar Culture Workshop is to help achieve:

  1. A welcoming and accessible environment
  2. Respectful, positive, and supportive relationships
  3. Clean, fair, and consistently implemented rules and policies
  4. A culture of excellence through high expectations set upon students and staff
  5. A growth mindset among students and staff
  6. Engagement among student and a belief in ownership for their environment and each other
  7. Parental involvement and connectedness
  8. Teacher input, assessments, and accountability