This Month's Best Practice
Each Month the Maryland Center for Character Education (MCCE) picks one of the Best Practices from a Character Education award winning school to share with you.
AUGUST
This month's Best Practices is from an award winning school from 2006-2007.
BEST CHARACTER EDUCATION PRACTICES
School: Joppatowne Elementary School
Address: 410 Barksdale Road, Joppa, MD 21085
Principal: Chris Cook
Phone: 410-612-1546
E-Mail: Chris.Cook@hcps.org
Title of Best Practice: BEST STARS PROGRAM - Monthly Character Trait and Awards Assembly
Primary Character Trait(s) Emphasized: Character Trait Each Month during School Year 2006-2007
Objective:
To help students build "Pride Inside" while improving student achievement, character and attendance.
Brief Description:
Character Education Program: BEST STARS
Monthly character trait beginning with school rules: BE SAFE, BE RESPECTFUL, and BE RESPONSIBLE (September); followed by a new trait each month totaling eight traits for the year. Additional traits are: Kindness, Leadership, Goal-Setting, Perseverance, Trustworthiness, Loyalty, and Cooperation. Each classroom as well as all public areas have a bright yellow piece of laminated paper that displays the theme for each month so that it is always visually present and part of the daily vocabulary of the school. Anyone entering the building will immediately see the theme being practiced that month. The school rules hang from banners exhibited in all hallways as well as the cafeteria and outside the main office of the school.
There is a monthly assembly designated to celebrate the completion of the practice of a trait. At this celebration, each classroom teacher designates a student as “BEST STAR for………..” The teacher writes a statement describing the reasons for the student choice. This statement is reproduced on the back of a STAR STUDENT certificate and read out loud by the principal at the assembly. The student receives the certificate, a ribbon, a star student pencil, computer mouse eraser with the school rules, and a certificate from Chick fil-A. There is also a “Class Award” for that month’s trait and the special area teachers determine the recipient of that award. There is a trophy for primary level and a trophy for intermediate. The class gets to display the trophy the entire month and when they pass the trophy on the next month, they receive a green banner with a star to display for the rest of the year. Pictures are taken of the individual students and placed on a star on the STAR WALL in the main hallway under a larger star designating the character trait. The student’s nomination statement is reduced and attached to their displayed star for everyone to see and read.
There is a primary assembly and an intermediate level assembly. A grade level is invited each month to present their thoughts on the trait that will be introduced for the next month. They can use song, skit, or thoughtful readings to present their ideas. By the end of the year, even the Pre-kindergarteners have presented a theme. The songs or quotes are then used on the daily announcements that month. Parents of the BEST STAR student recipients are invited to attend the assembly to see their child recognized.
Star tickets can be earned on a daily basis, throughout the school, by a student “caught” practicing any month’s theme. All adult staff members, including the bus drivers, have rolls of tickets and can award a student at any time. Each classroom has a star box and their tickets are stored there all week. On Friday, the tickets are tallied and one student’s ticket is drawn. That student is the Joppatowne Star Student for that week and gets to bring their tickets, the tally, and his name to the counselor’s office to dump the box into a container with all other earned tickets and choose a prize. There is a chain of stars around the school with the name of each weekly winner written on the star. The counselor keeps a tally of the total and displays all the tickets earned as well as the total on a clear container in the school lobby.
Materials Needed:
Yellow display papers for character themes, character themes for display in each room and all public areas, rolls of star tickets, star ticket boxes, large star pads for each classroom for weekly winner, copies of trait presentations or songs provided to each classroom for display use or to adapt to a lesson, Star Student certificates for entire year (31 per celebration), star student pencils, ribbons, plain star pads for wall display, two disposable cameras for each month, two trophies, 16-20 green banners with stars on wooden dowels, prizes, and clear ticket display bin. The teachers have accessed various songs from the Peacemaker Program.
Responsible individuals: School Climate Committee for Character Trait selection and ongoing evaluation of process, School Counselor, Individual Grade level teams and individual classroom teachers, Special Area Teachers, Parents, Community members for special prizes at monthly assemblies, Principal/Assistant Principal, and all staff for ticket distribution.
Community Support:
There has been tremendous community support for our program. A parent who owns a local beauty salon offered free children’s haircuts for the monthly winners. McDonald’s and Chick fil-A have provided certificates and free ice cream coupons. A grandparent guardian who works for Raymond Geddes Co. had special computer mouse erasers made with our school rules printed on them.
Additional Components:
There is an attendance piece to our program also. Our motto is “Here all day! I’m never late and I never leave early!” At the monthly assembly, each teacher reads the names of the students who have practiced this motto and they receive a Perfect Attendance Pencil. The staff members receiving this recognition are also mentioned, including cafeteria and custodial workers! It is important the students know we “walk the walk, and talk the talk”. The names of the students recognized are then posted on poster size paper and displayed in the main hallway of the school. Children in our school are really eager for this recognition and parents are always talking about how important it is for them to be recognized. It has become a school community effort.
The Maryland Center for Character Education
29 West Susquehanna Ave., Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21204Phone: 410-823-4902
Fax: 410-828-9661
E-Mail: MCCEcharacter@aol.com
