Teachers to Receive Character Educator Awards

DURHAM, N.C. -- Three teachers from high schools in Hayesville, Monroe and Raleigh will receive North Carolina Character Educator of the Year (NCCEY) awards Wednesday, April 30, during a noon ceremony at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh.

The NCCEY awards are given each year to recognize educators across the state for their innovative curricular approaches to nurturing good character among students. Open to kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers and guidance counselors in either public or private schools, the awards program is sponsored by Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

First-place winners receive a $3,000 personal prize and an additional $1,000 award for their schools to purchase character education materials; second-place winners receive a personal prize of $2,000; third-place winners receive a personal prize of $1,000.

The 2003 N.C. Character Educators of the Year, listed with their schools and project titles, are:

-- Marianne Leek, Hayesville High School, Hayesville. "Where I am From'A Journey of Self-Discovery." First place, high school. The curriculum is designed for Communications I, a required ninth-grade class. The semester-long project focuses students' attention on examining and celebrating how their childhood experiences, family heritage and traditions have shaped their character.

--Tracy K. Price, Piedmont High School, Monroe. "Very Special Arts." Second place, high school. High school art students, in cooperation with special needs students and teachers and volunteers from the community, plan and carry out an annual "Very Special Arts Festival" to provide opportunities for participation and celebration in the arts by children with disabilities.

--Sofi Frankowski, Southeast Raleigh High School, Raleigh. "Making a Difference in Our School." Third place, high school. During the first half of the course, students learn how to interact with one another in positive ways, to disagree without being disagreeable, to reach consensus and to make decisions that are good for the entire group. In the second half of the course, students are asked to think collectively and carefully about specific ways to create positive change in their school, culminating in activities for the entire school.

The NCCEY Awards Program identifies educators who have developed exemplary ways of integrating character education into the classroom and school experience through the state's standard course of study, said Elizabeth Kiss, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics. Applicants submit an essay about the project, including anecdotal evidence of its success, lesson plans and documentation of student work.

Lesson plans and summaries of previous award-winning projects are available through the Web sites of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the Kenan Institute for Ethics. This year's award-winning projects will be available online in June.