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When two Jefferson High School students were invited to talk to teens at another school about the importance of character, they wondered if it would be a hard sell. An all-school assembly – that’s a tough audience.
Character Conference
The 4th annual Character Education Conference, sponsored by the School District of Jefferson Character in Action Initiative, is June 23-26, 2008, at Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center in Waukesha. The conference provides professional development in the best practices of character education and is attended by educators from throughout the United States. The conference features nationally-known speakers and interactive workshops. This year, almost half of the materials and sessions will target character education at the high school level. Keynote speakers include Michele Borba, Ed.D., an internationally-renowned educational consultant and recipient of the National Educator Award; Dr. Rita Pierson, nationally-known education consultant; Matthew Davidson, president and director of the Institute for Excellence and Ethics; and Ray Lee, a principal in Union, West Virginia, with experience in turning a school around through character education. One or two graduate credits are available through Viterbo University for this conference. Conference Brochure |
But the Jefferson students were well-trained, thanks to a character education program in their community, and received a standing ovation from their peers.
Jefferson’s Character In Action program, in its fourth year, is an effort to create a community in which behaviors such as respect, honesty and kindness are modeled, taught, expected, celebrated and continuously practiced in everyday interactions. While some may think that’s easier said than done, Jefferson educators and involved residents have dedicated themselves to the work at hand.
“It seems so natural and second nature to us. It’s become so much a part of who we are,” said high school English teacher Cath Alvey, who has 35 years’ experience in the classroom.
Jefferson teachers note that infusing everyday curriculum with basic character education is not a new idea. Forty states in the nation mandate character education in public schools. While Wisconsin is not one of those states, Jefferson teachers embrace character education with a team attitude.
Character education played a key role in the decision to hire Superintendent Michael Swartz, because he started a similar program at his previous district.
Nona Schrader, president of the Jefferson Education Association, said the JEA was thrilled to have his commitment to character education. The association was equally thrilled with the superintendent’s wife, Sandy, a professional fund-raiser for 25 years who volunteered to coordinate the program. Together, a partnership was forged between teachers and administration, school district and community.
Schrader said staff members continue to be involved at every level of the program and help the program grow. “Across the district, a lot of teachers discuss this. It’s mushrooming,” she said.
One component of character education is that children are all on the same page when it comes to behavior expectations. “We make kids more aware of good character traits, so we all are walking the same walk, talking the same talk,” said Fran Vandre, a 6th-grade language arts/reading teacher.
“We can’t assume anymore that kids know what it means to have a good character,” Alvey said. “A lot of children aren’t learning this at home.”
 JEA President Nona Schrader, seated, and Sandy Swartz team up to make Character In Education a success. |
“For those children, their role model is the media,” Schrader added.
The teachers try to weave the positive character traits their students are developing into parent interactions. This carries over into parent-teacher conferences, as teachers take care to share with parents what kind of children they have. “Parents love to hear that their child is responsible, caring, empathetic to others,” Vandre said.
While character education is infused throughout the district, it has especially rooted itself at the middle school level, the teachers agreed. That’s key, they said, as the middle school years can be among the toughest for children to find their place and feel accepted by peers.
“This has changed behavior in the middle school,” said Schrader, a teacher for 16 years. She said students tend to keep the halls cleaner and there is less vandalism. “There’s a huge difference now. There is respect for each other and the building.”
High school math teacher Joan Fitzgerald said character education at the high school level spills over to activities outside of the classroom. Discussions about character at this level often are facilitated by coaches and advisers for extra-curricular athletics and activities. The discussion also fits nicely into service projects of the student council and National Honor Society, and there is even a group called STAR – Students Talking About Respect.
 It takes a dedicated staff and community to implement a character education program into a school district. The Jefferson School District will show how it can be done during its 4th annual Character Education Conference June 23-26, 2008. |
Character In Action is funded entirely through donations and proceeds from an annual raffle calendar sale, and a community action team of 25 residents meets each month to discuss the program. “The community action team is tremendous,” said Jan Tremain, 8th-grade math teacher. “They are great, great people and they believe in this.”
“The way this pulled the community and school together is incredible,” Schrader said, pointing to examples of businesses and groups adopting classrooms, and the use of public access cable television, billboards and posters to keep the program in the public eye.
Jefferson’s program is recognized throughout the state as one of the best, and that’s what drew the two high school students to be invited to talk to teens in another district. Sandy Swartz, who accompanied the students on their recent trip, said the entire student body was moved as a result of the discussion about bullying and respect.
As part of the presentation, the Jefferson girls asked students to write down a statement that someone has said about them, by which they felt wrongly judged. Students crumpled those statements into paper balls and threw them. Students then picked up an anonymous statement and read it. Some were shared with the crowd. “When you read these statements that have hurt somebody, you think, ‘those poor kids,’” Sandy Swartz said. “It was a very powerful presentation.”
Afterwards, she continued, students hugged the Jefferson teens, and teachers expressed interest in the program.
“We have so much to teach our students,” Sandy Swartz said. “We also have so much to learn from them.”
Posted November 28, 2007