The following is an introduction to how R’Club has integrated Character Education practices into our after school extended learning and preschool programs as a partner of Pinellas County Schools.
Character Education is a national movement creating schools that foster ethical, responsible, and caring young people by modeling and teaching good character through an emphasis on universal values that we all share. It is the intentional, proactive effort by schools and their partners, districts, and states to instill in their students important core, ethical, and civic values such as respect, responsibility, integrity, perseverance, courage, compassion, kindness, and self-discipline. Character education’s long-term solutions address moral, ethical, and academic issues that are of growing concern throughout our society and about the safety of our schools.
The journey for R’Club began in 2002 with the R’Club training department’s participation in the Pinellas County Schools annual Character Camp training conference hosted by the Safe and Drug Free Schools Office of Prevention. R’Club Training Department staff brought back the principles of character education, training materials and resources and developed a committee whose task was to create a Character Education model for R’Club.
R’Club has effectively integrated character education practices and minimum standards based on the core values of C2C which include Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Self-Motivation. R’Club follows basic components for teaching Commitment to Character which include using teachable moments, existing curriculum, access to literature, role modeling and the use of common supportive language.
Stay tuned to future newsletters for more information and character education updates at R’Club. For more information on the Commitment to Character program at R’Club, please contact Elaine Bowers at our Administrative Offices, 727-578-5437 .