In This Issue:
- "Bully" the movie - free tickets
- Call for Nominations - Sandy Award
- Remembering Sandy McDonnell
- Conference News
- Promising Practices focus on Family & Community
- Advocacy for Spring 2012: Think Outside the Box
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Free tickets to see "Bully"
The Character Education Partnership and The Virtues Project have teamed up to sponsor the 4:30 showing of the movie, "Bully" on opening day, April 13 at Bethesda Landmark Theatres, in Bethesda, MD.
 We invite people who are committed to creating safe and caring school communities to join us for this movie, followed by a short discussion focused on real solutions for bullying prevention and restorative justice. Following the movie, those who wish to continue the conversation are invited to join us at a local restaurant (TBA).What: "Bully" the movie
Date: Friday, April 13, 2012
Time: 4:30-6:30
Place: Bethesda Landmark Theatres, Bethesda, MD
Cost: Free (sponsored by CEP and The Virtues Project) Note: All tickets not picked up by 4:30 will be given away to people on a first come first serve basis. We appreciate your understanding.
Feel free to contact Dara Feldman at 301-529-1302 or at
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National Forum "Developing Leaders of Integrity"
Nov. 1-3, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
Registration for the Forum is now open. Register early to save. With two full conference days surrounded by exciting pre- and post-conference opportunities, the Forum offers you a fantastic opportunity to learn from and network with top scholars and experienced character educators. Register on or before July 1st to save up to $100!
 As one of our pre-conference opportunities, the International Summit on Character and Leadership will bring together thought leaders from numerous countries to discuss character education efforts across the globe. This groundbreaking Summit is just one of the many pre-conference options for day 1 of the conference. Even if you don't sign up for the Summit, you may enjoy meeting these international representatives at one of the Forum's networking breaks.
Finally, we recently selected our breakout session presenters from a pool of incredible applicants. Featured conference strands include leadership, research & assessment, service learning, academic achievement, bullying, cyberbullying and other aspects of school climate. We are also excited to offer several presentations involving students.
Register now >>
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Promising Practices
By Lisa Greeves, Manager, Promising Practices
We may not always realize it, but celebrating Earth Day each April actually goes hand-in-hand with focusing on family and community. Often, schools and students can partner with families and community to help save our Earth (as do many of our featured Promising Practices showcased in last month's edition of Essential Character). But often the focus on the health of our planet serves as a quiet reminder that the health of our family and community is just as important. See how many of our 2011 Promising Practices incorporate family and community into their winning character education practices across the country. Read more >>
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Be Creative in Making Parents your Partners
By Eileen Dachnowicz
Just as the concept of the traditional family has changed drastically in the last decades, so too our 2011 National Schools of Character have pursued some nontraditional approaches to making parents their partners in education. Not only do these schools seek the help of the parents as volunteers in the classroom and at home, but they also give help to parents in navigating life's turbulent waters. They identify and address the needs of parents in order to enrich the education of their children. Read more >>
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Try This!
Staff Development Reflection Activity from CEP's
11 Principles Sourcebook
You want your students' parents to be more involved - and they want to be more involved. What now? How do you make it happen? Before beginning to learn more about how to implement Principle 10, teachers and staff should think about the following questions. Some of these questions have to do with your personal experience, while others address schoolwide practices. Reflecting on your own experiences can help you better understand how to involve families and members of the larger community. This reflective activity will help the staff as a whole develop a more consistent approach towards family and community involvement in character education.
Inviting Parent Involvement - How do you like to involve parents in your classroom?
- What level and type of parent involvement does the school have as a whole?
- How do you and the school communicate with students' families and vice versa?
- What strategies and activities currently involve families in character education?
- In what additional ways can families add to the character education initiative?
- What reservations, if any, do you have about parent involvement?
Building Community Partnerships - Who are the stakeholders in the surrounding community?
- What efforts are already underway to involve community members in the work of your school and in character education in particular?
- Which efforts are successful, and why?
- What other resources might these groups offer?
- What obstacles do you face in enlisting their support, and how can these obstacles be overcome?
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Advocacy
Advocacy for Spring 2012: Think Outside the Box
By Linda McKay
As spring arrives in the Capitol consistent news on the education front is the Senate and House continue to struggle with joining together to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and it looks very unlikely this will happen this year.Also consistent from the House and the Senate is the message for the federal government to return decision-making authority back to the state and local education officials, take away burdensome requirements, let states and local districts decide how they should spend their federal dollars. Read more >> "Reprinted with permission from the National School Climate Center's quarterly e-newsletter, School Climate Matters. You can view the full issue at: www.schoolclimate.org" |
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Views from the States
Thomas Panter's (CEP webinar presenter) took his class to the Georgia state legislature and got Character and History month approved for Sept 2012--first time ever! September will be declared "Georgia History and Character Month - Celebrating Georgians of Great Courage and Character" These middle school students have truly learned about democracy, service learning and more. Please take a look at this wonderful article.
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Schedule Your Professional Trainings Now!
Where has the school year gone? It is time to schedule professional development for the spring and fall. Using your professional days to focus on developing a culture that will help kids connect, help parents feel involved and help teachers really teach will pay off in improved academics, increased attendance and reduced behavioral issues.
CEP stands ready to address these needs with a professional cadre of trainers to bring the 11 Principles to life-tailored to your individual needs.
Right now, CEP is offering a 20% discount for every new training booked along with one free companion
Please call Barbara Luther at 202 296 7743 ext. 26 for more information.
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Employment Opportunity
The Character Education Partnership (CEP), an education-based nonprofit in Washington, DC, is seeking a highly qualified professional to become their Director of Leadership Development. Read job description >>
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Correction: The Utah State School of Character coordinator is Penny Keith. She was misidentified in last month's newsletter.
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CEP is Seeking Nominations for 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award in Character Education. More information >>
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Remembering Sandy McDonnell
Mark Hyatt and Joe Mazzola represented CEP at the funeral service for Chairman Emeritus and inspirational leader, Mr. Sandy McDonnell.
The service was held at the small but very beautiful Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. Everyone in attendance was struck by the beauty of the service. Beyond respectfully mourning the loss of Sandy, it was a true celebration of and thanksgiving for his life. Read more >> A Legacy of Character McDonnell-Douglas CEO showed nice guys can finish firstBy Mark Hyatt
President & CEO
We who knew the late Sandy McDonnell, the former CEO of McDonnell-Douglas who died last month at age 89, certainly have been heartened by all the national coverage of his lifetime achievements in the aerospace industry and his global success as a businessman. But really, at most, that only tells half the story of this inspirational man. His other life passions-i.e. ethics and character-arguably warrant equal time (at least) for the lessons they hold both for Wall Street and Main Street. Read more >> See tributes >>
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What I Learned from Sandy McDonnell
by Joe MazzolaVice President, CEP
I have a very heavy heart while writing these words. Sandy McDonnell passed away. He was my hero. Like many others who knew and loved this great man, I now feel a huge emptiness in my life. It will never be filled. You see, I loved Sandy like a father.
It was a great blessing to have Sandy McDonnell in my corner for the five years I served as CEP's executive director. And, anyone who knows me would surely tell you that I needed all the help I could get. Read more >>
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Webinar Series
Transform School Culture-Make it Happen! | Don't miss the concrete tools and resources presented in CEP's upcoming webinars.
April 12-"Using Character in the Curriculum to Build Meaningful Academics and Social Skills," led by school transformation expert Dr. Richard Benjamin and middle school social studies teacher Thomas Panter. This webinar will explain how social-emotional learning skills support academic goals, with explicit attention to the transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation.
April 26-"Recognizing Opportunities for Moral Action," led by David Wangaard, Ed.D, Director of the School for Ethical Education (SEE). This webinar will include examples of exemplary service-learning activities from CEP's NSOC along with specific planning documents to support classroom-based implementation.
Sign up a team from your school for this accessible, affordable training from experts in character education. All webinars are 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST and the series runs every two weeks until June 14. Each webinar is $49, but sign up for the series of 12 for $299 (half price). Recordings of past webinars are available. Register >> |
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What Works in Character Education
If you or your school don't subscribe to the Journal of Research in Character Education, now is a good time to start a subscription. It's a good way to keep up with the research that shows what works. The Journal includes scholarly, peer-reviewed articles as well as "Voices from the Classroom. Here are just a couple titles from the latest issue: "The Hidden Virtues of Harry Potter: Using J. K. Rowling's Novels to Facilitate Character Education with Juvenile Delinquents" and "Coaching for Character." More information >>
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News Briefs
Check out CEP's latest video on Schools of Character. Using only a representative sample of the 2011 National Schools of Character, the video showcases how effective character education can transform the culture and climate of a school and boost academic achievement in the process. The video focuses mostly on the testimonials of students, staff and parents. New Bullying Movie
CEP Board member Michele Borba is featured in the movie "Bullied to Silence" which will open at the Boston International Film Festival, April 16.
This bullying documentary focuses exclusively on words, and includes an inspirational call to action.
CEP Board Member Honored
Dr. Betty L. Siegel, President Emeritus, Kennesaw State University, was unanimously selected by the University System of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees as the 2012 Elridge McMillan Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Mark Hyatt said, "CEP is proud to have Dr. Siegel on our Board of Directors and be the beneficiaries of her leadership, wisdom and virtuous character."
Earlier this year, Nicholas Kristof reported on Lady Gaga's campaign against bullying, and learned that experts and the federal Department of Education increasingly see bullying as a huge education problem. Now he is consulting the experts - American teens - by holding an essay contest about bullying. You must be aged 14 to 19 to participate.Submissions must be received by April 30, 2012 and cannot exceed 500 words. One submission per person. Nicholas Kristof has sole discretion to select which submissions, if any, will be posted. | |
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Calendar of Events
April 20-22
Global Youth Service Day
Youth Service America publishes a set of posters, toolkits, and curricula guides to help you plan your Global Youth Service Day (or Semester of Service!) event. This year's theme is Youth Changing the World. Find out more at the Global Youth Service Day website.
April 22 Earth Day
On this day each year, we talk about ways we are protecting the environment and ways we can take stronger action during the coming year.
June 11-13 Patriotism, Pride & Character Presented by the School District of Jefferson County, and the Wisconsin Character Education Partnership at Springs Hotel, Pewaukee, WI. Learn more >>
See more calendar items >>
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Interesting Blog Posts
CEP's Blog
Posted by Lara Maupin
Posted by Rebecca Sipos
Special Olympics The Special Olympics Project UNIFY Blog Creating safe, equitable and engaging school climates that are helping to combat bullying in schools. Annie Fox's Blog Thoughts about teens, tweens, parenting and this adventure of living on Earth in the 21st century. |
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