Three Birmingham Elementary Schools Named Finalists for National Character Education Awards

Three Birmingham elementary schools are finalists for National Schools of Character Awards, which recognize high-impact programs to develop respect, honesty, compassion and other ethical values, including reducing bullying and teasing.

, and schools are among 40 public schools across the country selected from among 140 applicants by the Character Education Partnership, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C. In total, 48 public, private and charter schools, as well as two school districts, were named national finalists.

The organization will select national winners in May, all of which will then be honored at a three-day national forum on character education in October in San Francisco.

"We are very proud of our three finalists," Birmingham Superintendent David Larson said. "Our district is fully committed to character education. This honor highlights the great work going on."

The number of national winners varies, with about a half-dozen honored each year. Those schools receive a character education development grant and an invitation to describe their programs at the annual conference, as representatives of did at the 2009 gathering near Washington. 

All finalists receive professional feedback from a detailed analysis of how their character education efforts affect academics, student behavior and school culture. 

One example of character education is a role-playing program called The Pierce Path, Larson said, which engages pupils one-on-one to teach four core values: kindness, cooperation, respect and responsibility.

"We are very proud of this and have worked very hard to have this honor," said Jim Lalik, principal of Pierce. The other finalists are led by Principals Jennifer Martella at Beverly and Colette Ivey at Pembroke.

Each school will be evaluated this spring to gauge the impact of character education on academics, student behavior and school culture — criteria used to select annual winners.

"Schools of character contribute to a nation of ethical citizens who know what is right and have the moral courage to do what is right," said Joe Mazzola, Character Education Partnership CEO, in a news release.

Benefits of character education include better discipline, reduced substance abuse, improved teacher morale, higher academic achievement and lower staff turnover, Mazzola said in his statement.

The 50 finalists comprise two school districts, 36 elementary schools, five middle schools, four high schools and three mixed-grades schools. Nineteen states are represented, with Michigan coming in third place for the number of schools recognized this year.

The only other Metro Detroit school to be named a National Schools of Character finalist is Roosevelt Primary School in Ferndale.

Birmingham Public Schools is no stranger to character education. Last October's Schools of Character winners included Beverly Elementary, while was selected in 2009. won the Michigan State School of Character Awards in 2010 and 2011, while also earned that honor in 2010.