Schools
Three Birmingham Elementary Schools Earn Character Education Recognition
Pembroke, Pierce and Bingham Farms double the number of local schools that have earned national honors.
has been recognized again for its efforts to strengthen cultures of respect at each building in the school district. , and elementary schools qualify as 2011 National Schools of Character, a nonprofit group announced Wednesday in Washington, DC.
"This is not an honor that is given out lightly," Birmingham Superintendent David Larson commented in a statement Thursday. "It is a true testament to the drive and dedication of our staff and students toward character education.”
The awards from the Character Education Partnership recognize effective efforts to develop respect, honesty, compassion and other ethical values, including steps to curb bullying and teasing. Selection is based on the impact of character education on academics, student behavior and school culture.
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Forty schools elsewhere also are cited, including Roosevelt Primary School in Ferndale—the only other Michigan honoree.
Each applicant school submitted a 25-page portfolio describing how teachers and administrators apply 11 character education principles drafted by the partnership. An examiner visited Pierce, Pembroke and Bingham Farms last month to see the programs in action and to speak with parents, students and educators.
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Among examples cited were community service campaigns, such as a food drive at Pembroke, and Pierce Path role-playing exercises that let students enact scenarios demonstrating kindness, cooperation, respect and responsibility.
Principals of the schools chosen are Jim Lalik at Pierce, Russ Facione at Bingham Farms and Colette Ivey at Pembroke.
The district now has six schools recognized nationally for character education. won the honor in 2010, was selected in 2009, and started the streak in 2007. In addition, won a statewide School of Character Award in 2010 and 2011.
"When schools embrace the critical role they have in shaping the character of young people, achievement and morale go up, and bullying and discipline problems go down," said Joe Mazzola, president and CEO of the Character Education Partnership.
Finalists will be honored in October at a three-day National Forum on Character Education in San Francisco, which at least one Birmingham representative will attend, according to district community relations assistant Ann Cron. Each finalist also receives professional feedback from the analysis of how its character education efforts affect academics, student behavior and school culture.
