CEP, the nation’s leading advocate for quality character education, chose the 27 National Finalists from a record 185 applicants across the United States. CEP will be conducting site visits to all National Finalists throughout the end of April. CEP’s Blue Ribbon Panel will then meet to select approximately 10 winners in May.
Winners to be selected in late May.
“CEP congratulates all the applicants and commends them for the important work they are doing to develop young people of good character,” CEP Executive Director Joe Mazzola said. “Character education has never been more important. It is a genuine honor to recognize these exemplar schools that are setting the standard for the rest of the nation.”
Schools or districts selected as the 2009 National Schools of Character will receive the award, national recognition, and a financial grant at CEP’s 16th National Forum on Character Education, Citizens of Character – the Foundation of Democracy, to be held October 29–31, 2009, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center outside of Washington, DC.
Having demonstrated the success of their initiatives through the rigorous NSOC application and screening process, winners use their grants to serve as national leaders and models for other schools and districts seeking to improve their character education efforts.
“We know the NSOC application process is time-consuming and demanding,” NSOC Director Janice Stoodley said. “But applicants repeatedly tell us they benefit from applying. We know the process works. We are able to find schools and districts doing innovative things to connect with kids and connect kids to their communities. We see first-hand the remarkable results these schools are able to achieve in terms of academic achievement and school climate.”
CEP selects the National Finalists on the strength of their written applications, which demonstrate their outstanding work in encouraging the ethical, social, and academic growth of their students through effective character education. In addition to the 27 National Finalists, 28 schools will receive national honorable mention as a result of the strength of their work.
CEP’s Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education, which defines excellence in character education, guides the evaluation and selection of finalists and winners.
Each year since 1998, the NSOC awards program has recognized K–12 schools and districts that provide exemplary comprehensive character education programs that consistently yield positive results in student behavior, citizenship, school climate, and academic performance.
For more information about CEP or the NSOC awards program, visit www.character.org.
Character Education Partnership
2009 National Schools of Character Award National Finalists
Alta S. Leary Elementary School, Warminster, Pennsylvania
Ashland High School, Ashland, Ohio
Aventura City of Excellence School, Aventura, Florida
Bayless Elementary School, St. Louis, Missouri
Bayless Junior High School, St. Louis, Missouri
Beverly Elementary School, Beverly Hills, Michigan
Beverly Woods Elementary School, Charlotte, North Carolina
The Blake School, Hopkins, Minnesota
Brigantine Elementary School, Brigantine, New Jersey
Col. John Robinson School, Westford, Massachusetts
First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fox C-6 School District, Arnold, Missouri
Fuguitt Elementary School, Largo, Florida
Greenfield Elementary School, Beverly Hills, Michigan
Hamilton Township School District, Hamilton, New Jersey
Kehrs Mill Elementary School, Chesterfield, Missouri
Lake Riviera Middle School, Brick, New Jersey
Long Elementary School, Crestwood, Missouri
Lore Elementary School, Ewing, New Jersey
Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy, Alexandria, Virginia
Milwaukee College Prep School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Parkside Primary Center, Bethalto, Illinois
Peak to Peak Charter School, Lafayette, Colorado
Seminole Elementary School, Seminole, Florida
Sullivan Primary School, Sullivan, Missouri
Walnut Street Elementary School, Uniondale, New York
Westwood Elementary School, Friendswood, Texas
Geographic distribution:
The 2009 National Finalists represent 15 states. Five states have two or more National Finalists: Missouri (6), New Jersey (4), Florida (3), Michigan (2), and Pennsylvania (2). In 2009, 26 states participated in the State Schools of Character awards program, a preliminary step in reaching the national level of competition. All of the 27 National Finalists were part of this process and named State Finalists in their states.
Demographics:
Most of the 2009 National Finalists are public schools although two are districts and one is a private school. Nineteen of the twenty-five schools are elementary schools, two are middle schools, one is a high school, and three have a mix of grade levels. Most National Finalists are located in suburban settings, although nine of the schools are urban and one of the schools is located in a rural area. A number of the National Finalists have student populations that may be described as low-income; 10 have one-third or more of their students eligible for free and reduced price lunch. |
