Schools of
Character

Bolton Teaches Personal and Social Responsibility

The staff of Bolton Center School (K-8), Bolton, CT has developed award-winning programs to teach personal and social responsibility. In 1998, Susan Stillman, Bolton’s school counselor, was the recipient of the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) award for her program, On Being Responsible. Following this recognition Mrs. Hoisington, a Bolton fifth grade teacher, received the 1999 CAS award for her program, Character in Action. These awards recognized the joint efforts of Bolton Center School administration, counselors and teachers to launch a Personal and Social Responsibility Program.

Bolton’s Personal and Social Responsibility Program is led by Susan Stillman, Betty O’Brien, and Beth Calderoni with assistance from Kathryn Buth, a UCONN intern. The program includes several teaching and program strategies such as developmental guidance and health curriculum lessons, class meetings, teaching social/emotional skills, integrating character education into various subject areas, an eighth grade peer support group program, and a school-wide program in kindness and justice. 

Lessons in character and social/emotional skills are encouraged during class meetings and throughout the curriculum. The school staff has agreed to highlight character traits such as respect, honesty, caring, perseverance, responsibility, cooperation, and motivation. Teachers involved in this program are working to increase the awareness of social/emotional skills and the benefits of positive character. They reinforce monthly character themes by creating activities that emphasize a specific character trait. Teachers and students have decorated Bolton’s hallways and bulletin boards to illustrate the character themes such as caring and compassion. In addition, through teacher and counselor collaboration, students in all grade levels receive conflict resolution and anti-harassment lessons. Teacher involvement has increased as the positive outcomes of the Personal and Social Responsibility program become evident throughout the school.

An important aspect of Bolton’s program is the contribution made by Bolton’s eighth grade Peer Support group. These students demonstrate positive character and serve as role models. They provide individual and group peer mediation and conflict resolution. They often attend class meetings to assist teachers and counselors with issues of inclusion, caring, cooperation and discussion about character. Ms. Stillman, along with a team of students, presented a workshop on Class Meetings at the 1999 Connecticut’s Assets-Based Character Education Conference. One participant noted, “This is a great way to get kids talking to one another.”

While the Personal and Social Responsibility Program focuses on positive character and social/emotional skills, students are also encouraged to develop responsibility for their schoolwork, cooperate with others, and focus on skills necessary for a successful life. Bolton Center School teachers believe the introduction of a personal and social responsibility program has had a dramatic effect on students’ behavior and citizenship. SEE applauds the staff and students at Bolton Center School for their award winning efforts.