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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.
UPDATE INCLUDES:
OPPORTUNITIES & AWARDS
- Mental Health Awareness Month
- Growing Success for MLs and The Standards Academy
- Teach and Learn Conference
- 2025 RISE Back to School Safety Summit
- Honors Professional Development Day
- Webinars
- Grants
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
- 11 Principles of Character 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
HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK!
Thank you North Carolina teachers for the incredible dedication you show each day to your students and their families. Your impact reaches far beyond the classroom, and we’re truly grateful for your partnership. This week, and always, we celebrate you and the powerful difference you make!
May is Mental Health Month
Mental Health America is excited to announce the release of our highly anticipated 2025 May is Mental Health Month toolkit! This year’s theme for Mental Health Month is “Turn Awareness into Action.” It can be overwhelming to navigate the various challenges and changes happening around us. The pressures of work, relationships, and societal factors, like politics, climate change, and the economy, can significantly impact our mental well-being, sometimes even more than we realize.
Mental Health America's toolkit provides fact sheets, worksheets, sample communications materials, sample social media, and include:
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Innovative outreach ideas to spark engagement
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Ready-to-use communication templates to save time
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Activity examples to inspire your planning
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Partnership opportunities to amplify your reach
Whether you’re launching your first awareness campaign or have been celebrating Mental Health Month for years, the planning guide will help you create impactful events and initiatives.
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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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Empowering Educators and Elevating Outcomes: Growing Success for MLs and The Standards Academy
June 24-26 West: Buncombe County
July 22-24 East: Chatham County
July 25 Virtual Day (Growing Success for MLs only)
All educators of Multilingual Learners (MLs) are invited to participate in the Growing Success for MLs Summer Conference. This summer's conference provides educators with an opportunity to explore innovative ELD resources and broaden their understanding of effective practices for supporting MLs. Attendees will have the chance to exchange ideas on how to enhance instruction, implement research-based teaching strategies, and create inclusive learning environments that foster the academic and social success of MLs.
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Teach AND Lead Conference
Join educators for a transformative conference that explores a variety of dynamic approaches to leadership and equips educators with the tools, strategies and confidence to become influential leaders in their schools and communities. Through interactive sessions, networking opportunities, and an inspiring keynote from 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year Heather Smith, you will discover innovative practices and actionable insights for all educators. Please attend June 11, 2025, to feel connected, inspired and empowered as a leader to make a lasting impact.
Honors Team Planning Day
Spend the day with your district team to plan how the Honors Policy will be implemented as you begin the 2025-2026 school year. This day will give you the opportunity to step away from your traditional work setting and brainstorm and plan as a team without outside distractions. While this component of the day is not a presentation style, there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions with members of the NCDPI Honors Team.
 Fostering Resilience Through Literacy in Our Classrooms and Beyond
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
Why do some children thrive despite adversity? How can educators help children and families cope with adversity? Resilience is a scale that balances negative circumstances with positive supports. With the right support, we can nurture the resilience skills and capacities students need to thrive both academically and emotionally.
Join author and professor Dr. Michele Myers in this edWebinar as she explores five resilience-promoting capacities through quality children’s literature, routines, and activities. These capacities are built on research from the Yale Child Study Center. This interactive session will equip you with look-fors and strategies to help students:
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Form positive self-identities and develop confidence
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Build curiosity and motivation to learn about the world around them
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Engage in flexible thinking to welcome new information and think creatively
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Demonstrate altruism for family, friends, and the community
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Develop strong relationships with people who can support them
GRANTS
Healthier Generation, Healthier North Carolina 2025 Seed Money Grant Opportunity
North Carolina community partners (non-profits, businesses, or community organizations) are invited to request funds up to $10,000 to support school communities in the northeastern and southeastern part of the state. Applicants for the Healthier Generation, Healthier North Carolina Seed Money Grant must submit a proposal that focuses on increasing access to healthy foods and nutrition health opportunities.
Deadline: May 16, 2025
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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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