Grades PreK-8  •  Jersey City, New Jersey

Ollie E. Culbreth Jr. School wants its student body to aspire to achieve greatness, as leaders within their community have done and continue to do. On Character Education Celebration Day, graduates of Culbreth are invited to share their unique stories with the students. Those selected are active members of the community who can serve as strong role models for the students and encourage them to also grow into community leaders. The honorees are mentors, reading partners, volunteers- people who are known to the students from their involvement at the school. Each of them gets a chance to tell their story of how they became a political leader, teacher, judge, lawyer, entrepreneur, etc. Students are moved by the personal narratives, and they discover that their own struggles are not all that different. The speakers' pictures, along with their year of graduation, are displayed in the auditorium. In class, students participate in discussions about the honorees and reflect on the impact that character has on an individual's choices in life. The Hall of Fame-Achievers program brings a face and a name to what it truly means to be a citizen.