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.

APRIL

This month's Best Practices is from an award winning school from 2004-2005.

 

BEST CHARACTER EDUCATION PRACTICES

 

School: Arrowhead Elementary School

Address: 2300 Sansbury Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Contact: Douglas Anthony, Principal   or
         Lauren Sipe, Guidance Counselor
Phone: 301-499-7071
E-Mail: Doug.Anthony@pgcps.org
              Lauren.Sipe@pgcps.org

 

 

Title of Best Practice: Arrowhead has Character

Primary Character Trait(s) Emphasized: Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, Respect, Citizenship, and Family Involvement.

Objective(s): To initiate a character education program that emphasizes the pillars of character and service learning.

Brief Description (including such items as materials needed, persons responsible, sequence of activities, observable results, references, etc.)

Description:

Arrowhead Elementary initiated a school-wide character education program for the 04-05 school year. A committee was formed that consisted of the Assistant Principal, counselor, Crisis Intervention Teachers, and classroom teachers. The counselor, Lauren Sipe, was the chairperson of the committee and coordinated many of the activities. The program was introduced at the first staff meeting of the school year and the following objectives were presented: building staff relationships, student of the month program, staff of the month, and daily character trait announcements.

•   Students and staff were recognized monthly for different character traits. Each month students and staff received awards and had their pictures posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.

•   The daily character trait announcements highlighted the monthly character trait. Each grade level and specialist was responsible for having students read quotes, situations, and explanations of the specific character trait.

•   A few of our classrooms held weekly class meetings to provide students with an opportunity to share information, solve problems, and compliment one another for successes.

•   Many Classroom teachers have their own student of the week program to recognize students demonstrating specific character traits. Teachers also model appropriate character behavior to their students.

•   Sixth grade has a checking account program for each individual student. Students can earn money into their accounts by receiving A’s on tests, compliments from teachers, and having appropriate behavior. The sixth grade math teacher worked together with Columbia Bank to teach the students banking skills, and providing prizes for students that had earned a specific amount of money each grading quarter. At the end of the school year the sixth grade held an awards ceremony and the top 32 students attended and received prizes. The student that had the most money in her account earned a fifty-dollar gift certificate to Circuit City. The student that came in second place earned twenty-five dollars

•   During the month of February Arrowhead participated in peace week and a school-wide project on family heritage. The objective of the family heritage project was to have students create a collage or other visual display to educate others about the unique differences their culture or ethnic group displayed in their daily life. Approximately 125 students designed family trees, pennants, or a photograph collage showing their family heritage. These projects were displayed throughout the school.

• Service learning was a large part of Arrowhead’s character education program. The following community service activities were completed:
  ¨ St. Jude’s Mathathon (done by second grade)
  ¨ Coin drive for the Tsunami Relief
  ¨ Toy drive with Starbucks for the Starlight Children’s Foundation (120 toys were collected)
  ¨ Pennies for Patients. The school raised $1,356.62 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
  ¨ Jump Rope for Heart sponsored by Mr. Cooke our PE teacher. Students earned $1,178.80 for The American Heart Association
  Family Gift Certificates (door prizes at family awards reception)

• The Upper Marlboro newspaper featured Arrowhead Elementary’s character education accomplishments in five articles.

 

Outcomes:

As a result of our efforts this year, discipline referrals were reduced from 87 in 2004 to 69 in 2005. The suspension rate also decreased 53% from 2004 to 2005. There were 17 suspensions in 2004 compared to eight suspensions in 2005. Arrowhead Elementary will continue to infuse character education into our daily instructional lessons, model appropriate social behaviors, and demonstrate the pillars of character through a community of caring.

 

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The Maryland Center for Character Education
29 West Susquehanna Ave., Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21204

Phone: 410-823-4902
Fax: 410-828-9661
E-Mail: MCCEcharacter@aol.com