Conference Connections

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Conference Connections

By Ellen Almeida

Informative! Inspirational! Spiritually Moving! All that from a conference? Yes! That is how one participant described Connecticut's Second Annual Assets-Based Character Education Conference. The conference attracted over 340 educators, parents, and students from all across Connecticut. The mission of this event was to provide an opportunity for participants to connect and explore a variety of character-education strategies.

An evening leadership reception on April 12th opened the conference. The audience was delightfully entertained by a choral music presentation of The Elm City Girls' Choir. This was followed by Connecticut's Commissioner of Education Theodore S. Sergi who presented a dynamic speech to encourage the integration of character education into the everyday life of school. In addition, a service award was presented to Mr. and Mrs. John Winthrop Wright to acknowledge their contribution to character education in Connecticut through the founding of SEE. Mrs. Wright accepted the award and spoke eloquently about her late-husband's dedication to helping children develop good character.

The conference on the following day offered something for everyone involved in character education. The event served as a forum for both students and educators to present successful assets-based character education strategies. Students made some outstanding presentations about their experiences related to topics such as service-learning, peer mediation, and school meetings.

Other workshop topics included- teachers from Lebanon demonstrated strategies for seamless integration of character education throughout the school day; the award winning program from Greenville School's Peer Mediation Program explored healthy ways to encourage student-led conflict resolution strategies; West Hartford students gave a powerful demonstration of their Community Fishbowl Forum which helps foster meaningful dialogue between adults and teens; and finally, those interested in assessment learned strategies for evaluation from a Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) class team led by Dr. Marc Goldstein.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Kevin Ryan, delivered a thought-provoking historical presentation on character education which provided a useful framework for reflection. Conferees were also fortunate to have the talented Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary present a mini concert which introduced his new character education program, "Don't Laugh at Me."

The conference was a huge success! Participants left inspired by the many success stories and variety of program ideas. With continued sponsorship from the Connecticut Department of Education, Webster Bank, CCSU Continuing Education, and the Connecticut Assets Network, we look forward to planning Connecticut's Third Annual Assets-Based Character Education Conference.