Feeling Motivated and Getting Ready

Guidepost #1 deals with mindset. Your school or district recognizes some problems and is ready to take steps to bring about change in school culture.You may be responding to an identified problem or to a general sense that major changes are needed in the climate of the school.

Most likely, you have identified a core group of leaders, although it may not be officially called a Character Education Leadership Team. You may have data or some form of assessment (teacher, parent, student strategic surveys; focus group input; Intervention and Referral Services team or disciplinary statistics; academic performance, etc.) telling you what works in your school and suggesting social, character or academic changes. A superintendent, principal or a few respected teachers may be the initial source of interest, passion and motivation. The core group may decide to become a formal school committee when the members realize it will take time and buy-in from many sources to reach a somewhat generalized goal of improvement in these spheres.