UPDATE INCLUDES:
NORTH CAROLINA STATE AND NATIONAL SCHOOLS OF CHARACTER
- Person Early College for Innovation and Leadership
- Sumner Elementary
OPPORTUNITIES & AWARDS
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
Person Early College for Innovation and Leadership Recognized as a National School of Character and North Carolina State School of Character
 Shirlrona Johnson, Principal
Steve Dunevant, Social Studies Teacher and Character Coach
Judy Bradsher, Executive Director of CTE, CCP and CIHS for Person County Schools.
Dr. Ron Anthony, Assistant Superintendent for Person County Schools
Person Early College for Innovation and Leadership (PECIL) opened in 2016 with an overall school focus on STEM, Character, Leadership, and Service Learning. The school administration, faculty, staff and students came up with the school's core values, known as Keys to Success. Core values were infused into daily classroom practices, school events, and disciplinary practices to fully embed them into the school culture. The staff recognized the need to model and demonstrate traits of kindness, grace and perseverance; they recognized the importance of teaching the whole child through the character initiative and seeing the impact of this initiative on our students. The goal has been to create a school culture in which our students, parents and staff feel valued and respected in a safe and positive environment to teach, learn and grow. All stakeholders have been involved in building the culture of character and supporting the core values through providing activities for service learning and community service as well as by participating in school events that support our character initiative. Everyone knows the school's core values and the role they play in supporting our school vision/mission that all stakeholders helped create.
The principal of PECIL, Ms. Shirlrona Johnson, stated "Character Education has had a big impact on our entire school climate. The 11 Principles of Character Framework has been an excellent resource for us to evaluate our school's culture and climate as part of our school's continuous improvement process. We have been intentional in the relationships we have built with our students, each other, and other stakeholders. We believe we are teaching our students the traits necessary for success in not only school but in life. Being a responsible citizen, being a team player in the workplace, and helping them to develop empathy and compassion for the plights of others-and know they can take moral action- are all part of why Character Education is important in schools. Our school is not a perfect place, but we are all growing and learning together because of placing emphasis on Character Education."
Sumner Elementary Recognized as a North Carolina State School of Character
 Tiffany Hinton, Principal
Shelena Chavis, Assistant Principal
Ashley Witten, 2nd Grade Teacher
In 2014, Sumner Elementary began researching how to implement Character Education to improve academic performance and school climate and culture. Research showed that Character Education helped students to learn, grow, and make positive choices. A Character Education team implemented initiatives that placed it at the heart of the school. The implementation of the 11 Principles Framework for Character Education informed the school improvement process and Sumner discovered character drives academic achievement. The administration and staff understood that before academics, they must instill positive character into their students for them to be successful lifelong learners. The faculty and staff at Sumner believe that providing students with a positive learning environment, embedded with opportunities to engage in character development is the foundation for students adopting a love for coming to school. As Sumner Elementary has continued to focus on Character Education and service to the community, the students and staff have grown in immeasurable ways, with the most rewarding being students becoming active participants. Character Education is, without a doubt, the driving force at Sumner Elementary.
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Survey for K-12 Guidance Essential Standards
The NCDPI team is seeking input on the K-12 Guidance standards from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, national organizations, and other education agencies.
These surveys are being shared to gather thoughtful input and comments from stakeholders familiar with the Guidance Standard Course of Study in order to inform revision decisions, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the current standards.
Any individual who wishes to provide input on the Standard Course of Study may complete the following surveys.
Stakeholder Survey
PSU Survey
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Grants
Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grants - Deadline: 1/16
Do you have a great idea about how to end childhood hunger in your community? Grants of $250 or $500 will support youth leaders ages 5-25 across the U.S. to turn their ideas into action and make an impact on the issue of childhood hunger in 2023.
Read more
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The Awesome Foundation Grants - Deadline: Ongoing
The Awesome Foundation is an ever-growing worldwide community devoted to forwarding the interest of awesome in the universe. Each local chapter supports awesome projects through micro-grants of $1,000, no strings attached, to projects and their creators, usually given out monthly.
Read more
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence.
MLK Day of Service is a way to honor his life and teachings through engaging in community action.
As you choose how you will participate in this year's MLK Day of Service, plan to work together to help communities thrive through awareness, service, advocacy, and philanthropy to achieve the Global Goals. YSA Knowledge Center has project ideas, examples, and how-to guides. Educators can use the Service-Learning Experience Toolkit to kick off a week-long, month-long, or semester-long service-learning project.
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Laws of Life Essay Contest
The Laws of Life essay contest encourages middle school and high school students to reflect and write about a core value that means the most to them – and why.
• The program is available to all students in middle schools and high schools across the world.
• All essay writers will be recognized by Character.org. We will also recognize the most compelling essays and feature them on our website and social media channels.
Submissions are due March 23, 2023, and can be submitted through this online form at any time.
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On-Demand Professional Development: Building Relationships
Watch our latest On-Demand Webinar on how to create a caring school community.
Register Here
Password: Character1 (Case Sensitive)
Helpful resources included in the professional development include:
You can find On-Demand Professional Development for your character journey on our NCDPI Character Education website. Topics currently include:
- How to apply to become a State and National School of Character
- How to use data to implement a comprehensive, intentional, proactive approach for character education at your school
- How core values are defined, implemented, and embedded into school culture
More webinars will be added throughout the 2022-2023 school year. If you have a topic you would like to know more about regarding Character Education please email Justyn.Burgess@dpi.nc.gov
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Building a Culture of Integrity at Your School
Choose one of the following dates (all at 3pm EST):
January 18
February 15
March 16
Register
This free 1-hour webinar will offer attendees the opportunity to learn how to create a culture of integrity in their classroom, school, and district. Dr. Cohen will introduce a wide range of approaches, strategies, and practices that school leaders can immediately implement to equip all students to choose the harder right than the easier wrong.
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