Character Counts Committee

The Character Counts Committee is dedicated to making Character Education an important part of The Norwich Free Academy experience.  Our committee consists of students, faculty, staff and administrators who are committed to character education and its place in the school curriculum.  We emphasize teaching character by example.  We welcome all parent and student involvement.  Please contact Jeff Hardell at hardellj(at)norwichfreeacademy.com with any comments or ideas for our character education program.

 Our committee has the following subcommittees and programs:

Curriculum promotes school wide discussion of a given aspect of character education.  Our last school-wide lesson was about good manners and its affect on our school environment.  Many teachers also include lessons on character education into their individual course curriculum.

Community Service documents community service projects performed by all NFA clubs and athletic teams.  More than 86 different service projects were completed in the 2006-2007 school year.

Character Corner is a way to acknowledge students for doing something good.  Last year over one hundred students were recognized and had their names, picture, and good deeds posted for all to see and be a positive example for others to follow.

Above and Beyond gives all teachers and staff the opportunity to recognize a student who has gone “above and beyond” the regular classroom expectations.  The students who are recognized are then asked to recognize a member of the faculty and staff who have made a difference to them.  108 students and teachers were recognized in the 2006-2007 school year for going above and beyond in what they do.

Media Reminders - Student produced character video spots are shown on the morning announcements as a way to emphasize positive behaviors.  We have shown different videos covering such topics as the use of good language, honesty, and cleaning up in the cafeteria.  Quotations involving good character are also displayed everyday on our morning announcement broadcast.

Outreach – The importance of good character and community service is stressed when current NFA students make presentations to incoming 8^th graders.

Awards – NFA was awarded the Promising Practice Award in 2005 for our extracurricular service requirement by the Character Education Partnership.  In December 2007 we submitted a portfolio and application to become a National School of Character.