For the 11th consecutive year the Maryland Center for Character Education (MCCE) awarded exemplary Maryland public and nonpublic schools for their work in positive character development.

Thirty-eight schools from throughout the state of Maryland were recognized for their outstanding Character Education Initiatives and received Maryland Center for Character Education School of the Year Awards. Talbot County’s Easton Elementary School – Moton Building; Dorchester County’s Sandy Hill Elementary School and Caroline Career and Technology Center received the awards for the mid shore region. Public schools in this three county area are active partners with Character Counts Mid Shore which uses the framework of the Six Pillars of Character – Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

The luncheon, hosted by MCCE, featured welcoming remarks by Dara Feldman, MCCE President and Dr. Colleen Seremet, Assistant State Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. The keynote speaker, Dr. Tom Lickona, Professor at SUNY (State University of New York) Cortland and Director of the Center for 4th and 5th R’s (Respect and Responsibility), applauded the work of the Maryland schools and urged educators everywhere to remember that performance and moral character are inextricably linked. “Performance character requires the development of virtues such as a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, and perseverance while moral character consists of the virtues needed for ethical behavior, positive relationships, and responsible citizenship.” stated Dr. Lickona in his address.

Of the awards ceremony, MCCE President remarked, ”As a result of the pressures of No Child Left Behind, schools are often so focused on academic rigor that developing the “whole child’s” unique capacities for intellectual, social, emotional, physical and character development are often overlooked. The schools that we honored today truly have placed relevance and relationships right up there along with rigor and have done a wonderful job of creating cultures of caring while providing meaningful learning opportunities that support students in becoming “smart” and “good”.

MCCE is grateful to have had the generous support of the following sponsors: The Heart of Education, ConnectionsAcademy, Beck, Powell and Parsons, Inc and Saul Ewing LLP.
The Maryland Center for Character Education is dedicated to promoting and fostering a cooperative effort between individuals and institutions, to achieve positive character development for all.

Susan Luby, Regional Manager of Character Counts Mid Shore serves on the MCCE Board.