How do schools foster Standards of the Heart?

Characteristic 1: Core Values

Rationale and Principles for Implementing Characteristics of Successful chools

Rationale:

Positive values can inspire students to do what is right, serve their community, work hard, and learn as much as they can. A core set of values modeled by staff, students, and community helps to create a disciplined and safe environment for learning.

Principles:

Include community members from all ethnic, cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and other groups in the process of defining core values.
Develop a variety of opportunities for students to learn and model the core values in and outside the school setting.
Recognize and expect that students, staff, and community model core values.
All adults in the school environment and community share responsibility for teaching about and modeling core values.
Core values are best promoted by family, school, and community.
Emphasize the positive behaviors modeled in the community, recognizing that actions by all community members don’t always fit the ideal.

Expected Results of a Citizenship Initiative

Students Will	Staff Will	Families and Community Will
Feel ownership for core values Have clear expectations for behavior and attitudes Recognize and practice core values in everyday life See the values modeled within and outside the school Have a greater variety of ways to demonstrate success	Share the responsibility for promoting and modeling good citizenship Develop citizenship themes to help integrate classroom learning and positive student behavior Identify ways to describe student success Feel supported by the community in teaching core values	Feel ownership for core values Understand the school and community’s role in promoting good citizens Support teachers in their efforts to teach core values Become partners with the school in developing good citizens Identify what they want students to be now and as future citizens See the positive values established in the home supported in the school

For questions about this information, contact dpisspw@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-9117

Last updated on 2/22/2008 8:00:28 AM