Sign up for the Character Education Updates to stay informed, and visit our Character Education Website for information on legislation, resources, and State Schools of Character.
Character in Action: North Carolina's Response to Hurricane Helene
Like many of you, the images and videos of the destruction and devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene leave us heartbroken for everyone. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with Western North Carolina.
Yet, in the face of this adversity, the true character of North Carolinians shines through. North Carolinians are demonstrating remarkable resilience, compassion, and community after this disaster. From neighbors helping neighbors to volunteers traveling across the state, we're seeing true character in action.
Below are resources for individuals interested in donating or volunteering. Your actions will testify to the strong character we strive to instill in all North Carolinians. Remember, character is not just taught—it's lived. Let's show the world what North Carolina's character truly means.
UPDATE INCLUDES:
SPOTLIGHT ON CHARACTER
- North Shelby School Student Demonstrates Character
OPPORTUNITIES & AWARDS
- Character Education Professional Development Opportunities
- Laws of Life: Essay Contest
- Webinars
- Honors Level Course Work
- Grants
- Save the Date: Growing Success for ML
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
- 11 Principles of Character Revised Guidebook
- Professional Learning Opportunity: How to Integrate Character Education in ELA & Social Studies by Learning About the Holocaust
- On-Demand Professional Learning
- External Implementation Guide
North Shelby School Student Demonstrates Character
North Shelby is a school in Cleveland County Schools and serves students from ages five to twenty-one who have significant disabilities. Z'Moria is an 11th grader at North Shelby School. She told her teacher, Mrs. Patterson, that she wanted to be a teacher one day. Z'Moria possesses strong advocacy skills and advocates for herself to become a teacher. Her teacher, Mrs. Patterson, coordinated with school leadership at North Shelby and James Love Elementary to help Z'Moria live her dream of becoming a teacher to help others.
Z'Moria takes her job very seriously and loves working with the kindergarten class she co-teaches. As excited as Z'Moria is to see her students, they are always eager for her visit. Before her lessons, Mrs. Patterson coaches Z'Moria's teaching skills and supports her in preparing for the lessons ahead of time.
Z'Moria's story highlights how "advocacy" is an essential characteristic for students to learn—teaching students how to advocate for themselves and others empowers them to stand up for themselves and others. It encourages students to be aware of social issues and injustices, fostering empathy and understanding. Advocacy requires effective communication, helping students develop articulation and persuasion skills. It encourages students to consider ethical implications and make moral choices.
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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. They will also recognize the most compelling essays and feature them on their website and social media channels. Submissions are due February 20, 2025.
Would You Like To Learn More About Character Education?
Are you eager to create a culture of character in your classroom, school, and district using the 11 Principles of Character Education? NCDPI has professional learning opportunities to assist your school or district with your character education journey. If your school or district is interested in hosting a Character Education Professional Learning Opportunity, please take a moment to complete this survey to help our NCDPI team understand your needs. Contact Justyn Burgess, State Coordinator for Character Education, if you have questions.
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 Teaching Resilience and Responsibility in the Classroom: Up to the Challenge
Thursday, December 5, 2024 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST
School is a series of challenges. Every assignment, project, presentation, and assessment is a challenge; however, not all students understand why they are doing these challenges and how to persist when the challenge becomes difficult. To help students take charge of challenges, Jay Jackson helps educators lead class discussions regarding necessary character traits, including self-awareness, integrity, purpose, passion, positive mindset, courage, commitment, and grit.
In this edWebinar, attendees will:
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Learn to use tools to lead important student-led discussions about how students can best take on challenges to lead to success and happiness
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Use tools to reflect on their own practices in the classroom regarding taking on challenges
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Hear about areas that affect how students and teachers approach challenges, including self-awareness, integrity, purpose, passion, positive mindset, courage, commitment, grit, and flow
- Brainstorm lesson ideas that teach content but also allow students to reflect on the character trait above that the educator wants to emphasize
NCDPI Honors Level Coursework
Regional Professional Learning
In this session, participants will delve into the components of the new honors policy and learn how to evaluate current honors-level courses to ensure they meet the required depth and complexity. They will explore the Honors Level Course Development and Evaluation Tool and other resources while receiving guidance on policy implementation. Additionally, participants will deepen their knowledge of advanced learning indicators and engage with best-practice instructional strategies that support honors-level coursework.
Bring a team of 4-5 people who are involved with overseeing honors implementation in the district. Consider the roles of CAOs, Instructional coaches, high school principals and APs, lead teachers, etc. This PD is a “train-the-trainer” model.
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GRANTS
National Civics Bee - Deadline: February 4
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The application for the 2025 National Civics Bee is now open for 6th to 8th-grade students. This competition encourages young people to flex their civics knowledge and get involved in their communities by identifying real issues and offering solutions. Top students will compete for grand prizes including a $100,000 529 plan contribution for the national champion.
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Save the Date: Growing Success for MLs – The Standards Academy
Mark your calendars for an exciting professional learning opportunity designed to support the success of Multilingual Learners (MLs). Join NCDPI for The Standards Academy, a comprehensive event focused on effective strategies and standards-based instruction for MLs.
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Buncombe County: June 24–26, 2025
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Chatham County: July 22–24, 2025
Stay tuned for more details on registration and session highlights. This is a fantastic opportunity to deepen your expertise and collaborate with fellow educators dedicated to supporting MLs.
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11 Principles Guidebook
Character.org has released the newly revised version of the 11 Principles Framework for Schools: A Guide to Cultivating a Culture of Character. The Guidebook explains each principle and key indicators, along with recent school-based examples.
Professional Learning Opportunity: How to Integrate Character Education in English Language Arts & Social Studies through Holocaust Education
Are you looking for ways to implement both Character Education and the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act in ELA and Social Studies classrooms?
Learning about Character Education through the lens of the Holocaust allows students to build their character and develop skills like empathy and social awareness. In an effort to foster these skills, NCDPI partnered with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to create standards-based resources for implementation in secondary grades. These resources are based on using the texts Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Night by Elie Wiesel. The goal of the resources is for teachers to be able to embed both character education and Holocaust education seamlessly into the core curriculum.
Contact Thomas.Daugherty@dpi.nc.gov and Kelly.Schultz@dpi.nc.gov to set up a professional learning experience or to learn more about these resources and how they can be used in your classrooms.
On-Demand Professional Learning
Take advantage of recordings of NCDPI Character Education & Social-Emotional Learning on-demand webinars. Watch these recorded presentations to help you enhance your classroom experience and empower your students to become more empathetic, responsible, and caring citizens. These webinars will help you discover practical strategies to help your students regulate emotions, set goals, and demonstrate self-discipline. Character1 is the password for each On-Demand session.
Character Education
Leading With Character: Improve the climate and culture of your school community based on the 11 principles of character education; Gain ideas and resources to improve school climate and culture from a state and national school of character; and understand the impact of character development on teachers, students, and overall school climate and culture
Intrinsic Motivation: Foster intrinsic motivation in students; develop a comprehensive, intentional, and proactive approach to character education at your school
Integrate Social-Emotional Learning in Your Classroom
Self Management: Discover practical strategies to help your students regulate emotions, set goals, and demonstrate self-discipline.
Responsible Decision-Making: Discover strategies to empower your students to think critically, make ethical choices, and contribute positively to society.
Self and Social Awareness: Discover strategies to help your students develop a deep understanding of themselves and others, fostering empathy, emotional intelligence, and positive social interactions
Relationships Skills: Discover strategies to help your students discover effective strategies to help your students cultivate strong interpersonal connections, communication skills, and conflict resolution
New External Implementation Guide
The External Implementation Guide is a repository for all North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSOS) stakeholders. This repository provides a variety of resources for supporting administrators, educators, and parents during the implementation of the Standard Course of Study for each content area. The range of resources offers users an opportunity to determine their own specific needs and find materials that suit them.
This Canvas repository can be accessed with or without a Canvas account. Browse through resources to help you learn, plan, instruct, review, and inform yourself or others.
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