Schools

Gotsch 'Family Flags' Earn Promising Practices Award

The program helps parents and families better get to know Gotsch staff.

has received a Promising Practices award from the Character Education Partnership (CEP). The Promising Practices program recognizes schools and districts that have developed specific, unique and effective educational practices that promote character development.

Gotsch won the award for its practice of creating “family flags” at the beginning of last school year. Staff members made a picture collages of themselves, which included pictures of their family and activities they enjoy. The staff then hung these collages up in the main hallway for the first two weeks of school.

These collages help students and parents feel more familiar with the Gotsch staff and were quite popular at the school’s open house. Gotsch will continue the same concept this year, only calling it "family circles."

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“Teaching and learning is more likely to occur in a caring environment,” Gotsch Principal Brian Smith said in a press release.

CEP sponsors the annual program to showcase innovative best practices that are having an impact across the nation and abroad. CEP encourages other educators to learn from and even replicate these successful initiatives.

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CEP will honor the 2011 recipients at the 18th National Forum on Character Education, to be held Oct. 19-22 in San Francisco. In addition, winning practices will be featured in CEP’s annual National Schools of Character publication and on the CEP website.

“These practices show what positive impact educators can have when they use high-quality character education strategies to bring out the best in their students,” said CEP President and CEO Joe Mazzola. “CEP congratulates these educators for helping today’s students become tomorrow’s citizen leaders.”

This year’s Promising Practices represent 31 different states and three foreign countries. CEP received a record 499 applications overall from public schools, private schools, school districts, and other organizations. Schools in Missouri submitted the most applications, followed by New Jersey, Florida, and Michigan. Awards were given to 235 schools and districts.

The Promising Practices awards program is administered by CEP as part of its National Schools of Character program. Based in Washington, D.C., CEP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian coalition dedicated to helping schools develop people of good character for a just and compassionate society. To learn more about CEP and its national programs, visit www.character.org.


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