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Mountain View
Elementary
Marches
into the Millennium
By Ellen Almeida
The character education program at Mountain
View Elementary School in Bristol, Connecticut is flourishing
during its third year of implementation. Character traits such as
respect, responsibility, leadership and citizenship are integrated
into every facet of school life. In addition, this integration of
character into the school culture has been accomplished without
changing the general curriculum or creating an “add on” program.
The staff at Mountain View is committed to finding ways to promote
character through the existing curriculum and programs. The clear
and simple goal of including character as a focus during the school
day has had a positive impact on teachers’ willingness to
implement a school-wide character education initiative. To
strategically advance character education at Mountain View, teachers
have volunteered to form The Character Ed. Team. This team oversees
the implementation of several specific programs which have been
prioritized to advance positive character at school.
The Character Ed. Team initiated a review
of the school’s disciplinary process as one of its first tasks.
The team’s goal was to establish a proactive and prescriptive
disciplinary process with a focus on positive character
expectations. Focusing on positive character has encouraged students
to become actively involved in helping the school establish
excellent behavior standards. Fourth and fifth grade students
regularly meet with the school staff to make plans for school
improvement and upcoming events and projects. A first grader
recently summarized her learning experience in character education
by noting, “Our words help us do the right thing.”
Mountain View has also recognized the benefit of
developing a strong sense of community among the student body,
staff, and parents. The Character Ed. Team has helped
identify an annual character education theme which becomes a
framework for building collaborative projects throughout the year.
The shared focus on a unifying annual theme has encouraged great
working connections within the school and between the staff,
students, and parents. This year’s theme is “Hand in Hand,
Marching into the Millennium” and it has led to an emphasis of
service in the school. Students have taken ownership of projects
such as Habitat for Humanity and UNICEF. Fifth graders are given
meaningful responsibilities to assist in the school office. An
active student council helps with many existing community service
projects and the development of new project ideas.
Another initiative supported by the Character
Ed. Team encourages the staff to integrate character lessons and
moral reasoning into daily lessons and discussions. To support this
goal, teachers receive monthly informational packets which focus on
the “Word of the Month”. A new character trait is identified
monthly and reinforced through suggested lesson plans and
activities. Ann Kenyon, Mountain View’s principal, visits
each classroom and introduces the monthly character theme. The
information packets also provide age-appropriate definitions for the
monthly character trait, booklists to share with students and
parents, and a classroom poster detailing examples of the character
trait. These resources have helped teachers effectively integrate
character traits into their daily lesson activities.
Stimulating students to
engage in the use of character traits has had a major impact on
students’ vocabulary. Students now share a common, positive
vocabulary for action and discussion. Writing experiences serve as
opportunities for students to incorporate character traits within
their assignments. Selected literature provide opportunities for
ethical reflection as students share ideas, express feelings, and
engage in moral reasoning about the behaviors of characters in the
stories. Such opportunities encourage students to think about moral
action as part of their daily experiences.
Finally, the skills of
respectful conflict resolution have been taught and practiced at Mt.
View. Respectful conflict resolution has provided wonderful
opportunities for real-life ethical solutions. Such opportunities
foster ethical growth by engaging students in discussion and
reflection about moral action.
The Mountain View staff
believes the best way to develop moral action is by learning through
experience. They believe good character is developed by practicing
behaviors which help support clearly established character goals. At
Mountain View, everyone is working to develop good character as they
enthusiastically march into the millennium hand in hand. SEE
celebrates the vision and accomplishments of staff, students, and
parents of Mt. View Elementary!
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