By Stacey Bomser
Character education is an important part of the curriculum at Imagine Charter School of Weston. Two of its teachers are being recognized by Character.org for programs they created to promote character education.
Jennifer Bucker, the Middle School English Language Arts teacher, and Gina Asada, a fourth-grade teacher, will travel with Principal Nadine Laham to Arlington, Virginia, this month to attend the National Forum on Character Education. During this program, Mrs. Bucker and Mrs. Asada will be presented with 2017 National Promising Practice awards. They are among this year’s 300 distinguished recipients.
Mrs. Bucker is being recognized for her Presidential Letters program. She had students write a personal letter to the President addressing issues they felt were important to themselves, their generation or the community. “The letters helped build character in that the students increased awareness and voice in regards to global citizenship,” she states.
Mrs. Asada sponsors the ACE (Attitude, Character and Education) Club. She explains, “It is a student-led organization in which older students prepare and teach lessons based on the six pillars of character education (trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring and citizenship) to our primary students.”
Both teachers consider it a huge honor to receive a Promising Practices award. Mrs. Bucker shares, “It’s amazing because not only do these projects effect the character of our students at Imagine Weston, but it also has the potential to affect students in other schools who adopt these lessons as best practice.”
They will both present their lessons to the administrators and teachers attending the conference. “We look forward to collaborating with educators from all over the United States and sharing best practices in character education,” notes Mrs. Asada.
Character.org sponsors the annual Promising Practices in Character Education program to showcase innovative best practices that are having an impact across the nation and abroad. The organization encourages educators with similar needs to learn from and replicate these successful initiatives. This year’s recipients include educators from 22 states and two international countries, Mexico and China.
Mrs. Bucker says as a National School of Character, Imagine Weston has a long history of being awarded Promising Practices awards. “This is why we love working at Imagine Weston. Not only do we have a high standard for academic excellence, but we also highly value character. We focus on the whole child, because a child’s character often effects their academic success.”
The Promising Practices program highlights what is going well in classrooms across the United States and around the world. It is simple in scope and recognizes innovative ideas by passionate teachers who are making a difference in the lives of their students.