Transcript National & State Schools of Character Awards Program Sponsored by Leading the nation in helping schools develop people of good character for a just.

National & State Schools of
Character Awards Program
Sponsored by
Leading the nation in helping schools develop people of
good character for a just and compassionate society.
What is the NSOC awards program?
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Character Education Partnership (CEP)
selects approximately 10 schools and
districts each year that exemplify CEP’s
Eleven Principles.
National Schools of Character
 serve as models and ambassadors,
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receive a grant to provide outreach to other
educators at CEP’s Forum and at their
home site.
How do the NSOC lead the way?
Publicity
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Banner and
award
NSOC logo and
name
Local and national press coverage
How do the NSOC lead the way?
Modeling
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Articles in annual
NSOC publication
Pages on CEP’s
website
Lesson plans and
sample practices
How do the NSOC lead the way?
Outreach
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Present at CEP Forum
Conduct trainings for other educators
Who can apply?
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Any U.S. public or private K-12 school
engaged in character education for at
least 3 years
Any district (or smaller administrative
unit) engaged for 4 years
Not eligible? Consider applying for a
Promising Practices award.
What does the application consist of?
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Application Cover Sheet completed online then
printed
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Demographics / Application Information page
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7-page Narrative that explains how your initiative
exemplifies the Eleven Principles (10 pages for
districts)
15-page Portfolio with Table of Contents that
provides supporting evidence for the Narrative (20
pages for districts)
A Self-Assessment Score Sheet that shows the
results of your self-assessment according to the
Quality Standards.
More on this later!
What is the application process like?
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The NSOC application process requires a
group effort.
The process is competitive. In 2008, state
sponsors and CEP received 185 applications,
selected 27 finalists, and named 10 winners.
Applications must be postmarked December
1, 2009. Finalists are selected in March. After
site visits in March & April, a Blue Ribbon
Panel selects the winners in May.
So why apply?
Applicants find the process beneficial since it
is a chance to conduct a thorough selfassessment and receive detailed feedback.
“This process allowed us to really focus on integrating character
into everything we do—and keep a portfolio to tell our story.”
Applicants also receive a subscription to CEP’s electronic
newsletter and an additional month to apply for a
Promising Practices award.
Where do I send my application?
If you are in a state that is participating
in the State Schools of Character
(SSOC) competitions, you send 4
copies of your application to your state
sponsor.
All others submit their applications
directly to CEP.
Which states are
SSOC states?
29 participating states (2010):
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
How are applications evaluated?
Evaluators use CEP’s
Character Education
Quality Standards to
judge applications.
Download from
www.character.org
What are the Quality Standards?
 A self-assessment tool derived from the
Eleven Principles
 Useful in designing an effective and
comprehensive character education
initiative
 Useful to schools in assessing current
efforts
 Used to evaluate NSOC/SSOC applications
What are the Eleven Principles?
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Broad principles
that define
excellence in
character education
Based on the
practices of
effective schools
CEP’s Eleven Principles:
What is quality character education?
Effective character education:
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Principle 1: Promotes core ethical values.
Principle 2: Defines “character”
comprehensively to include thinking,
feeling, and behavior.
Principle 3: Uses a comprehensive,
intentional, and proactive approach.
CEP’s Eleven Principles:
What does a school with quality character
education look like?
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Principle 4: Creates a caring school
community.
Principle 5: Provides opportunities for moral
action (service learning).
Principle 6: Includes a meaningful and
challenging academic curriculum that
meets the needs of all learners (performance
character).
Principle 7: Fosters students’ self-motivation.
CEP’s Eleven Principles:
Who should be involved in character
education?
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Principle 8: Engages the school staff as a
learning and moral community.
Principle 9: Fosters shared moral
leadership and long-range support.
Principle 10: Engages families and
community members as partners.
CEP’s Eleven Principles:
How are we doing?
Where do we go from here?
Assessment should guide the process!
Principle 11: Evaluates the character
education initiative.
Application Process
Getting started:
Gathering documents you will need
Go to CEP’s website (www.character.org) to
familiarize yourself with the application
process.
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Print the NSOC or SSOC Application
Guidelines, the Quality Standards and
Guidelines for Districts (districts only).
Don’t miss the Helpful Information
documents available to applicants.
Getting started:
Gathering stakeholders
Bring together a representative group of stakeholders
(such as your Character Education Committee) to
discuss and plan how you will proceed.
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When will you complete the Self-Assessment Score Sheet?
Who will participate? Some complete it at the beginning and
some at the end.
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Who will take the lead in writing the Narrative? Who will offer
input? Usually one person is designated as the writer, but the
input of all is essential.
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Who will gather evidence for the Portfolio? Who will put it
together? You may wish to assign committee members to
each principle.
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Who will be responsible for putting the application together
and submitting it on time?
Getting started:
Preparing to tell your story
Have the group organize your story
according to the Eleven Principles.
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Principle 4: A Caring Community
Have individuals list ways
your school (or district)
exemplifies each of the 11
Principles.
 Freshman Orientation
Set up 11 large pieces of
paper, one for each
Principle.
 Anti-bullying Efforts
Have people list on each
paper the programs,
activities, strategies where
they fit for each Principle.
The writer then uses this
information as the basis of
the narrative.
 Peer Program
 Intergenerational Activities
 Service-Learning
Curriculum
 Mentoring Program
 Class Meetings
 Teacher Involvement
℘
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(Sample)
Putting it all together:
The Application Cover Sheet
Begin the application process by
completing the online Application
Cover Sheet.
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Enter information about your
school, contact person, date your
initiative began, and how you heard
about the award.
This data enables CEP/state sponsor
to keep track of your application and
communicate with you.
When finished, print the Application
Cover Sheet.
Putting it all together:
The Demographics and Application
Information Page
In a one-page document, describe:
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Student and faculty demographics
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AYP status
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Who completed the self-assessment and the
application
Information about previous NSOC/SSOC applications
Putting it all together:
The Narrative
Now comes a 7-page narrative (up to 10 for districts)
that explains how your character education “story”
exemplifies the 11 Principles.
Follow these guidelines:
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1 inch margins, 12 point type, Times New Roman font
Double space and use one side of the paper
Number pages
The Narrative: Page 1
Page 1 is an overview of your school or district in terms of
character education.
It answers the question:
What are your character education goals?
It should include:
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How/when you agreed upon your core ethical values
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What you are trying to accomplish
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Why you are doing what are doing
The Narrative: Helpful hints
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Write a separate paragraph (or more) for each Principle and
include specific examples that address the Quality Standards
scoring items.
Clearly number each section with the number of the Principle
you are describing.
Only mention information once, even if it fits under more than
one Principle – to make the most of your limited space.
Provide specific qualitative and quantitative evidence to make
your case. Show that you have gathered data and acted upon it.
Putting it all together:
The Portfolio
The Portfolio:
Putting evidence in order
2.
Organize the evidence in sequential order according to
the Eleven Principles.
Number your pages from 1 to 15. (up to 20 for districts)
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Examples of Appropriate Evidence:
• Mission and belief statements
• Newspaper accounts
• Data on behavioral changes and survey results
• Meeting and staff development agendas
• Student work and reflections
• Lesson plans that integrate character
The Portfolio:
Providing documentation
(How have results changed since
you started character education?)
1. School climate surveys of
students, parents, staff (Provide
total response numbers;
comparison of “before” and “after”
indicates growth.)
2. Exit surveys of graduates
3. Number of students Involved in
volunteer service
4. Follow-up studies of graduates
5. Improved disciplinary,
attendance, dropout rates
6. Improved academic
performance on standardized
tests
7. Agenda of faculty meetings
reporting on progress
8. National, state, local awards for
character education
The Portfolio: Helpful hints
The evaluators need to be able to read all
evidence supplied in the Portfolio!
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Do not reduce items so much that they cannot easily be read.
Be mindful of how your pages will reproduce when copied.
Do not cover items with other items.
Keep photos to a minimum.
Putting it all together:
Portfolio Table of Contents
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Now that your portfolio is
complete, create your Table of
Contents.
Don’t forget page numbers.
Optional: Return to your written
narrative and insert portfolio
page numbers that support your
evidence.
Example from a winning
narrative:
“Kindness and Justice” awards for
compassionate behavior (7,15), and
clubs such as Cares Council, Hand-inHand and Diversity reinforce
empathy and tolerance (12,16).
Putting it all together:
The Self-Assessment Score Sheet
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Have stakeholders score your initiative
individually according to the Quality Standards.
Send in a compilation (average) of your scores
as the last page of your application.
An Excel score sheet is available
at CEP’s website for you use – or
you may use the score sheet
page of the Quality Standards.
Promising Practices
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Unique and specific character education strategies
and programs that address the Eleven Principles
Applications are due March 15, 2010.
CEP features winning practices in the annual NSOC
publication and on its website, where educators may
search for ideas that work.
NSOC/SSOC applicants receive special consideration.
Questions
What questions do you have about
the NSOC application process?
Remember there are resources for
applicants available on CEP’s
website.
www.character.org
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NSOC / SSOC / Promising Practices
National Forum on Character Education
Staff Development Opportunities
Resources
Membership