Three Jefferson City public schools have received national recognition for their work in character education.
Jefferson City Academic Center, Lewis and Clark Middle School, and Southwest Early Childhood Center were recognized for specific programs.
The Character.org association in Washington, D.C., announced the recipients at its annual Promising Practice awards. The 300 recipients from the United States, China and Mexico are "recognized for establishing innovative best practices in the area of character education. School districts and educators are encouraged to learn from and even replicate these successful initiatives," according to a news release.
JCAC was recognized for its "JCAC Serves Hope" program, in which students volunteer at a local food bank throughout the school year.
Lewis and Clark has students participate in a daily warm-up, answering a prompt on the whiteboard to focus on character development, creativity and community building in "Whiteboard Graffiti."
The middle school also has the recognized program "Kindness is Simple," in which students are encouraged to show kindness to other students and adults on a daily basis through "simple, thoughtful and caring actions."
Southwest Early Childhood Center's "The Amazing Race" program fosters connections among staff as they "race to answer questions correctly, complete team building activities and be active participants in their learning."
The school also has the recognized program "You Were Gone and You Were Missed." Once a staff member returns from being absent, the principal writes a handwritten note saying this phrase, along with a personal note a "welcome back" message.
Schools who received the award will showcase their programs and receive further recognition at the annual Character.org National Forum on Character Education in Arlington, Virginia, in October.