NSOC Announcement
Good afternoon, LMS Parents and Families.
I am VERY PLEASED to be able to share the
official notification that Ladue Middle School has been named a 2014 National
School of Character!
This recognition is given by the
Character Education Partnership (CEP), a national advocate and leader for the
Character Education movement. The National
School of Character (NSOC) program recognizes schools that have demonstrated
the use of character education and development to make a positive impact on
academics, student behavior, and school climate.
This is an incredible honor and well
earned by our staff and our students. This
year, along with Ladue Middle School, only 41 other schools and 3 districts
were named across the United States for such a recognition. Since its inception, CEP has
awarded over 250 schools with the distinction of a National School of Character
The National Schools of Character program
is not a competition—but rather an opportunity to go through a rigorous process
of feedback and coaching, as well as recognition for growth and excellence in
the area of character development through CEP’s 11 Principles of Effective
Character Education framework. Ladue Middle School will hold its designation as
a National School of Character for five years and be showcased in an annual
publication, as well as on CEP’s website.
Character education is the proactive
effort by schools, districts, communities and states to help students develop
important core ethical (recognizing what’s right) and performance (doing what’s
right) values such as caring, honesty, diligence, fairness, fortitude,
responsibility, grit, creativity, critical thinking, and respect for self and
others. Through character education, students learn how to be their best selves
and how to do their best work while making school a place where students and
educators feel comfortable and able to work.
While
I am incredibly grateful for the contributions of the LMS staff and our
students, I also recognize we could not have achieved this recognition without
your support at home. You send great,
caring kids to us every day and it is our privilege to help them to learn and
to grow as individuals and as a school community. Thank you, for all you do, to support our
efforts here at LMS.
Ladue Middle School will be honored by
CEP at the 21st National Forum on Character Education, to be held the weekend
of October 30, 2014 in Washington, DC. Visit
http://www.character.org to learn more
about the National Forum, the NSOC program and the other 2014 national
finalists. To find out more about this
program in general, visit http://character.org/2014NSOC
We plan to do some celebrating here at
LMS this week and it begins with me being able to share this news with you
today.
Sincerely,
Greg