|
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:
SPOTLIGHT ON CHARACTER
- North Shelby School Named a 2025 National School of Character
OPPORTUNITIES & AWARDS
- Growing Success for MLs and The Standards Academy
- Teach and Learn Conference
- 2025 RISE Back to School Safety Summit
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
- Honors Professional Development Day
- Webinars
- Grants
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
-
New eBook from Character.org: A Proactive Approach to Fostering Honesty and Integrity in Schools
- Professional Learning Opportunity: How to Integrate Character Education in ELA & Social Studies by Learning About the Holocaust
- On-Demand Professional Learning
- New Resources for External Implementation Guide
North Shelby School Named a 2025 National School of Character
 Pictured Left to Right: Beth Lloyd, School Counselor; Kevin Carr, State School of Character Evaluator; Justyn Burgess, State School of Character Coordinator; Paula Stevens, Principal; Cynthia Mitchell, State School of Character Evaluator; Dr. Stephen Fisher, Cleveland County Schools Superintendent
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is proud to announce that North Shelby School has been named a 2025 National School of Character by Character.org, a national leader and adovcate for character development in schools and communities.
North Shelby joins a prestigious group of 71 schools and 3 districts across the nation to receive this distinction for 2025. This recognition celebrates schools that demonstrate a dedicated commitment to fostering character development and cultivating a school culture where students thrive as learners, citizens, and leaders.
Character.org’s National Schools of Character program is grounded in the 11 Principles Framework for Schools, a nationally recognized guide that outlines key practices for creating and sustaining a culture of character. Schools that apply for this recognition undergo a rigorous evaluation by trained reviewers who assess the implementation and impact of character initiatives.
Since its inception, the National Schools of Character program has impacted more than three million students, educators, and families nationwide. North Shelby’s recognition is a testament to the school’s intentional and inclusive approach to character education, and its ongoing efforts to empower students to make ethical choices and positively contribute to their school and community. This recognition highlights the school’s unwavering dedication to building a strong, caring community centered on core values like respect, responsibility, and integrity.
For a complete list of the 2025 National Schools and Districts of Character, and to learn more about the program, visit https://character.org
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.
|
 |
|
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.
|
|
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.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches adults who regularly interact with youth how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 12-18. Certified instructors are authorized to teach YMHFA both in-person and online. Those trained can include school staff and administrators, law enforcement, mental health professionals and social workers.
Center for Safer Schools Programs staff and Regional School Safety Specialists are certified to teach Youth Mental Health First Aid in North Carolina public school units.
|
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.
 Student-Centered Schools: An Inventory for School Transformation
Thursday, June 12, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
Gone are the days when learning meant students sitting at their desks in neat rows, simply absorbing knowledge from the teacher at the front of the room. We now know that learning should be more active. It should be differentiated and personalized to the student and it should operate at their learning pace and help them achieve mastery. It’s one thing to know what learning should look like, but it’s another to design school communities that actually create student-centered learning.
In this edWebinar, the Modern Classroom Project team will share their new School Transformation Inventory and opportunities for leaders to continue growing their school’s capacity for student-centered learning. Leaders will have the opportunity to join the MCP Leadership Collaborative Network, free of cost.
GRANTS
9/11 Day of Service Grants
|
|
Youth Serve America's We Serve to Remember 9/11 Day of Service Grants are for organizations, schools, and youth ages 5 to 25 to lead service projects on or around September 11, 2025. Programming efforts should also honor and pay tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, their families, and those who rose in service in response to that tragedy. (We suggest starting with these eleven reflections about 9/11/01 and related ideas for service or service-learning projects.)
This year, YSA will award up to 60 grants of $1,000 each. Grantees are required to engage at least 100 youth as volunteers in planning and implementing the service activities.
- Projects must be youth-led;
- Projects must include elements to honor and pay tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, and those who rose in service in response;
- Projects must take place on or around September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance (September 11, 2025);
- Project organizers must make their best effort to recruit and engage youth volunteers who are not usually asked to serve; and
- Applicants must be based in the United States, and activities must benefit people in the United States. This includes American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC.
Reflecting on the spirit of togetherness that brought people together in the days, weeks, and months after September 11th, we are especially looking for ideas that bring together all members of the community.
|
|
 Character.org has released a powerful new eBook: A Proactive Approach to Fostering Honesty and Integrity in Schools. This resource offers a dynamic roadmap for schools seeking to intentionally integrate honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness into their school-wide character initiatives.
A highlight of the eBook is the section on "How to Help Students Develop an Integrity Mindset," which outlines five key insights:
-
Students need to own their values and beliefs
-
Leverage the power of commitment
-
Honesty and integrity can be strengthened through intentional practice
-
School-wide ethical reminders make a difference
-
Reflection matters
School leaders have also found great value in the "Five Essential Checkpoints" and how each one is thoughtfully connected to Character.org’s 11 Principles Framework.
If you are interested in learning more about how to integrate the publication’s exercises and approach into your school or district’s character journey, please complete this short survey.
We’d love to connect you with additional resources and support your ongoing work in character education!
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
Access New Content in the External Implementation Guide: A Place for All Standards Resources
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.
New Content:
- Spanish Translation Documents
- Arts Education
- English Language Development
- Healthful Living
- Science
- Social Studies
- Student Success Standards
- World Languages
|
