Character Education Emphasis at Washington Elementary
Our Character Education program at Washington was expanded this year and has included several components. We had quarterly assemblies to introduce the character trait we are emphasizing for the quarter. The accompanying photo is from our final assembly introducing the character trait of “trustworthiness”. Respect, Responsibility, and Caring were the other traits we worked on during the year. Our staff members did a great job teaching about the character traits through role playing. You may have noticed the permanent banners we have in our main hall highlighting each trait.
We continued our “Good Kid Tickets” program. All the staff in the school have access to Good Kid Tickets, which they give students during the week for any act of kindness or positive behavior they think merits recognition. Each week we draw some of the tickets for small prizes. We also use the “Good Kid Tickets” program to emphasize one of the “Character Counts” character traits each quarter.
Mrs. Burggraaf (guidance counselor) is an integral part of our character program and regularly works with our classes on specific character issues through classroom guidance. She uses materials from “Steps to Respect”, “Get Real About Violence”, and “Here’s Looking at You” (among others) to help teach students the importance of positive character and related concepts and skills.
