Rocky Heights shows great character
Article by Kathy Dunker
Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) is very proud to be a finalist for the National School of Character award. Three Colorado schools were submitted for national consideration, the other two being charter and private schools. RHMS was the only Colorado school chosen out of the three and was also one out of only twenty finalists selected nationwide from the 166 nominated.
Every year, the Character Education Partnership (CEP) chooses approximately 10 schools and districts nationwide as National Schools of Character to serve as models of effective character education.
The schools receive a grant to share their work at the annual National Forum on Character Education, and serve as mentors to other schools by offering professional development at their home campuses, which also become demonstration sites. CEP then publishes the National Schools of Character: Award Winning Practices publication, which highlights the winning schools’ work.
A national team of educators that will be making the final decision will pay a visit to RHMS for one and a half days to determine whether or not the school will receive the $10,000 award sometime in April.
Applicant schools were chosen based on how well the school implements the CEP’s Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education, outlined on their website, www.character.org/elevenprinciples. The principles include values such as promoting core ethical values, supporting performance values as the foundation of good character, creating a caring school community, and engaging families and community members as partners in the character building effort.
“At Rocky Heights, the school philosophy is ROK: Respect, Own it, and be Kind,” said RHMS counselor Clark Wilhelm. “We teach students to make decisions based on this motto and find that it helps us develop students who are well-rounded and who can think critically.”
This honor was received in thanks to the efforts of many people including RHMS faculty who looked into the lengthy application process and took the time to collect the data, all the way down to the school’s Nighthawk News crew who instilled the ROK slogan into the school’s culture.
As Wilhelm states, “At Rocky Heights Middle School we are committed to ROK every day!” Indeed that commitment has paid off with this impressive recognition.
