CHARACTER COUNTS!SM
How does a child become a person of character? Character
development starts with the family, of course, but schools and communities
can help. A group of District 25 staff members has been working with
CHARACTER COUNTS!, a national coalition of nonprofit organizations
that provides a framework for schools and communities to integrate
essential aspects of character development into curriculum.
CHARACTER COUNTS! provides guidance and training for staff and community members. It is a community-based effort to support the efforts of the family. A District 25 steering committee has been working on a volunteer basis.
Six pillars of character
A person of character lives according to "six pillars of character." This fundamental belief guides the CHARACTER COUNTS! program. Schools can promote the six pillars of character by integrating them into new and existing programs and by encouraging students and parents to model them.
The "six pillars of character" include:
- Trustworthiness (integrity, honesty, reliability, loyalty)
- Respect (golden rule, tolerance and acceptance, nonviolence, courtesy)
- Responsibility (duty, accountability, pursuit of excellence, self-control)
- Fairness (justice, openness)
- Caring (concern for others, charity)
- Citizenship (doing one's share, respecting authority and the law)
A community effort
By encouraging the people who have contact with children to model and reinforce the six pillars of character, children should be better equipped to make ethical decisions now and later in life.
CHARACTER COUNTS! is not a program with books and materials. It does not bring religion into the classroom. It offers help in working to develop good character in children. CHARACTER COUNTS! is a community effort, and District 25 plans to involve staff, families, and community groups in the effort.
CHARACTER COUNTS!SM is a service mark of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.
Visit the national CHARACTER COUNTS! website.
© 2009-10 Arlington Heights School District 25
1200 S. Dunton Avenue
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005