Kansas Schools of Character Recognition

Character education is a planned, comprehensive, and systematic approach for teaching self-respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, and citizenship.

• Kansas Schools of Character Program

• Character Education Partnership (CEP)

• Other State Character Education Programs

• Character Education Materials

• Financial Support (or Funding Considerations)

• Suggested Reading

 Coordinated by the Kansas Character Education Partnership with support and collaboration from the Kansas Department of Education. 

For further information about the application process, please email Kent Reed.

The Kansas Character Education Partnership is pleased to announce the creation of the Kansas Schools of Character (KSOC) awards program in conjunction with the Character Education Partnership's National School of Character Awards Program. The KSOC will recognize schools, school clusters, or districts that demonstrate an outstanding character education initiative that yields positive results in student behavior, school climate, and academic performance. The best applicant(s) will advance to the national level competition to become a National Schools of Character (NSOC) finalist.

2008 Kansas Schools of Character will be honored at an awards ceremony sponsored by the Kansas Character Education Partnership in May 2008. 

 To be eligible to apply for the National School of Character (NSOC) award, a school must have been engaged in character education for a minimum of three full years, starting no later than December 2004 for the 2008 awards. Districts need to have been engaged in character education for a minimum of four full years, starting no later than December 2003 for the 2008 awards. Schools must have a minimum of 175 students to be eligible. A school cluster is a K-12 grouping within a district. See the guidelines for further details. Full applications MUST be postmarked by December 3, 2007.

 To be eligible for a Kansas School of Character (KSOC) award for 2008, full applications MUST be postmarked by February 18, 2008. There will be no minimum number of students at the school or district for this award in 2008. Programs must have been in place for at least one school year (August 2006 to June 2007) to quality for the 2008 awards.

• Application for the Kansas School of Character

• Character Education Overview

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Kansas Schools of Character Program

• State Schools of Character Application Forms

• Promising Practices Awards Application Guidelines

• Kansas Timeline for Awards 2007-08

• Character Education Quality Standards – A Self-Assessment Tool for Schools and Districts

• Character Education Partnership’s (CEP) Eleven Principles

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Character Education Partnership (CEP)

• Link to the national site, www.character.org

• Eleven Principles for Effective Character Education

• Character Education Quality Standards – A Self-Assessment Tool for Schools and Districts

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Other State Character Education Programs

• North Carolina – great Resource section with lesson plans 

• Illinois – curriculum resources and lesson plans for K-12 programs for schools, community groups, and families plus marketing tips for your program –

• Wisconsin

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Character Education Materials

No or small cost:

• University of Illinois Extension - curriculum resources and lesson plans for K-12 programs for schools, community groups, and families plus marketing tips for your program

•  Center for the 4^th and 5^th R’s: Respect and Responsibility, School of Education, SUNY Cortland, NY. Email: character@cortland.edu

• Breaking the Code: Understanding and Intervening in Teen Bullying. Elaine Johannes, PhD, Alisha Hartman, Kansas State University Extension Services. Materials for schools and community organizations related to cyber-bullying. 

• Kansas State Historical Society  Read Kansas!

  Grade level materials to support study of Social Studies and Reading standards related to Character Education 

Materials with a cost:

• Character Counts: Developed the Six Pillars of Character Program

• Character First:  School and Community resources used in Topeka’s City of Character initiative. Contact: Cindy Patton, Topeka City of Character

• CHARACTERplus: Character Education initiative in Missouri

• Lion’s Quest (grant support possible through Lion’s Clubs)

  K-12 materials, curriculum and staff development support

  • Skills for Growing – K-5

  • Positive School Climate

  • Service Learning

  • Family Involvement

  • Community Involvement

  • Skills for Adolescence – 6-8

  • Cooperative Learning and Conflict Resolution Skills

  • Service-Learning

  • Drug Education and Refusal Skills

  • Multicultural Understanding

  • Parental Involvement

  • Skills for Action Grades 9-12

  • Service-Learning

  • Skills Development

  • Integration of Service and Skills into Curriculum

  • Community Involvement

• Girls and Boys Town

  • Girls and Boys Town Education Model with training such as The Well-Managed Classroom, Administrative Intervention, Specialized Classroom Management and Dealing With Bullying.

  • The Reading is FAME program is a researched-based reading intervention program which builds upon the strengths of adolescents reading below grade level.

• Positive Action:  K-12 Curriculum for Counselors, Family, Community

• Wise Skills:  Curriculum and materials to support K-12 programs

• School Connect: Optimizing the High School Experience:  A curriculum for boosting social, emotional, and academic skills in high school students.  Develop by the author of Second Step, A Violence Prevention Curriculum, Kathy Beland.

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Financial Support (or Funding Considerations)

• Lion’s Quest - Kansas
  Jerry Loney

  785-969-6056

*also talk with your local Lion’s Club officers for support with Lion’s Quest

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Suggested Reading:

• Lickona, Thomas and Matthew Davidson. Smart and Good High Schools: Integrating Excellence and Ethics for Success in School, Work, and Beyond. 2005, Character Development Group, or download from www.cortland.edu/character

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KSDE does not endorse any of the products, vendors, consultants, or documentation referenced in this web site. Any mention of vendors, products, or services is for informational purposes only.

An Equal Employment/Educational Opportunity Agency

The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.  The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:  KSDE General Counsel  120 SE 10th Ave. Topeka, KS  66612 785-296-3204.