Programs/Services

The following are a few of the programs and services of CHARACTERplus:

• Services Member School Districts - through a combination of Advanced Training Series, National Presenter Speaker Series, resources, collegial monthly meetings, scholarships to conferences and workshops, and many community collaboratives.
• Free Subscription to the Monthly CHARACTERplus E-newsletter, designed to alert you to upcoming workshops and services Click here to sign up
• The CHARACTERplus® Way,a comprehensive school improvement process that enriches the school environment resulting in positive changes in students’ pro-social behavior and increases in student achievement.

• Character Education Conference
• Sharing Students’ Voices Through Laws of Life

  CHARACTERplus and STLtoday.com have joined together to publish essays that capture the ideals that area middle and high school students choose to live by. In recent years, students from several schools have participated in the "Laws of Life" writing process. They write about qualities, familiar sayings, or wise quotations that resonate with their values and guide their decisions.

  Now, teachers can submit their work for publication on STLtoday.com, a site that receives 9 million page views per week. The student’s essays, compelling and insightful in their own right, remain on the site for one year and are searchable by author, school, topic and tone. For more information, please visit www.stltoday.com/characterplus or contact, Diane Stirling at (314) 692-9722 or dstirling@csd.org

Download the Laws of Life flier for distribution

• KMOV-TV (Channel 4) Word of the Month:: This consists of Public Service Announcements highlighting students from area school as they define the word of the month in their terms. Many districts and schools use different traits and in different sequences, but remind their students that they might hear about “respect” for instance, on Channel 4 during the month of September.
• Do The Right Thing: Honors children in the community who distinguish themselves by their behavior. Nominees have been witnessed demonstrating one or more positive character traits. Each nominated child receives a t-shirt and certificate signed by area law enforcement officials. In addition, ten of the nominated children for each month will be invited to attend a ceremony at police headquarters where parents, teachers, business leaders and law enforcement officials celebrate the good things kids can do. For a nomination form or additional information visit www.kmov.com/community/dtrt.html.
• Peace Ball Activity and Celebration : This month long initiative throughout the month of November or January, involves teachers awarding individual pieces of yarn to students for their peacemaking actions. The individual pieces are then gathered into a ball, making a peaceball, symbolizing the school’s vital role in our community effort to increase the peace. For the 2008-2009 school year the celebration will be held on February 24, 25, 26, & 27, 2009 at the St. Louis Science Center and recognized the work of each school. For more information about the 2009 activity and celebration contact Diane Stirling at dstirling@csd.org

• Service Learning: Illinois "Home Run For Character"- Contact Suzy Ward

• Cardinals Care Champions of Character Service Learning Awards, Contact Tami Bopp

• Teachers and administrators, please visit the Huddle Up: Game Plans for Character microsite. Huddle Up is a collaborative program developed by the St. Louis Rams Foundation and CHARACTERplus to help educators integrate character-building into their curriculum.

  On this site, you'll have access to relevant lesson plans that integrate character education with standards-based instructional models, provide computer-based lessons for your students, and collaborate with other educators in Illinois and Missouri. You can even submit your lesson plans for a chance to win recognition and some great prizes.

  - For more information about this St. Louis Rams funded program, contact Diane Stirling