DOCUMENT RESUME ED 463 224 SO 033 686 AUTHOR Johns, Jennifer S. TITLE Utah Community Partnership for Character Education. Final Evaluation Report, 1995-1999. INSTITUTION Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake City. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 74p.; Funded by Fund for the Improvement of Education, Partnerships in Character Education Pilot Projects. Project partners include: the U.S. Department of Education; the Utah State Office of Education; and the Utah School Districts of Alpine, Granite, North Summit, Salt Lake City, Wasatch, and Washington. AVAILABLE FROM Office of Education, 250 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. Tel: 801-538-7500; Fax: 801-538-7521. For full text: http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/char_ed/CEUCPReport.pdf. Reports PUB TYPE Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Action Research; Elementary Secondary Education; *Partnerships in Education; *Program Evaluation; *Public Schools; *School Community Programs; *State Programs; Values IDENTIFIERS *Character Development; Character Education; *Utah ABSTRACT This report describes the implementation and results of the Utah Community Partnership for Character Development,.a 4-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was initiated in January 1996, in 50 schools from 4 school districts in Salt Lake City (Utah) and neighboring communities. The grant included more than 65 schools in 6 school districts, while some grant-sponsored activities included educators from across the state. The evaluation design was a collaborative model where grant participants planned and conducted the evaluations. Each evaluation activity had three primary objectives: (1) to provide valid information to document the implementation of the project; (2) to evaluate the accomplishment of project goals; and (3) to provide comprehensive staff development plans for educators in evaluation and action research. Numerous instruments were developed to collect formative and summative information. The grant provided a framework for implementing character education, but the specifics were left to the discretion of the participating schools. Many Utah schools had already- implemented character education activities. Schools were asked how the grant had contributed to their efforts. Their responses indicate that two elements, adequate funding and the teacher involvement framework, were vital to the success of the initiatives. The Utah Community Partnership legitimized the teaching of values and contributed to a community-wide awareness of character education. (Contains 6 tables, 13 references, and a statistical appendix.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Utah Community Partnership for Character Education. Final Evaluation Report. Jennifer S. Johns Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake City 00 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement Cr) EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND CENTER (ERIC) Cr) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS lElefhis document has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it. RRapAael 0 0 Minor changes have been made to ; improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent ci) TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BEST COPY AVAILABLE official OERI position or policy. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 Utah Community Partnership for Character Development Final Evaluation Report 1995-1999 Project Partners: U.S. Department of Education Utah State Office of Education Alpine School District Granite School District North Summit School District Salt Lake City School District Wasatch School District Washington School District Dr. Steven 0. Laing State Superintendent for Public Instruction Kristin D. Fink State Character Education Specialist and Project Director Jennifer S. Johns Project Evaluator Funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Education: Partnerships in Character Education Pilot Projects, U.S. Department of Education. 4 TI-VANK. yotA. t would Wee to extend mu thanles to all of the wovLderful Rtah educators, parents, awd cohithituwit members who partizipated tn this project. A spectal thatiLles to the Rtah state "&oard of educatton, the state Legislature, RIA491 overnor, mi,chael 0. Leavitt for advocati,vtg that character educatton be tnciu.ded tn the bastc school program. I also apprectate the efforts of the character educattot& Partnership awd everucne who has worieed so hard to place character ovIze agaLw ow the vottonal, agewda. It took the enttre communitu to retntegrate character eolvcattoo, to,to the schools. stncerelu, KrLctI F1.14k Character Ed ucattem, specta List A NOTE OF APPRECIATION t want to express mu apprecLati,o0, UNA thavdes to the manu ftint educators tn Rtah with whom I have had the pleasure of worleiwg the last ftve uears. 12now it wasn't easu ftiAzitng the time to accomplish the fruawu evaluati,ow acti.vittes that were part of this grant. H-owever, without uour energu, perseveravLce, awd commitment this report would not have been posstble. I OM honored to have been assoctated wtth such an exemplciru projectoot that was admivIlstered with vistonaru Leadership awd Vlotetizviouslu 1,mplemeKted bu some of the most cartng teachers otinzt acintinistrators I have ever met. otc for uour frtendship awd u our loviAng dedizattow to childrew. ThatAk stncereiu, jenntfer sjohws Project evaluator 5 seLecteol GovvuAketAts frovvt covtt Pa rtizi,patAts "I try to stress to every class and every kid I associate with that all humans deserve kindness and respect. It is an underlying rule in my room." "I try to remember a saying I heard long agoThildren don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.' That means 'caring' precedes 'learning.' I am absolutely sold on character education in the classroom." "With the implementation of the federal grant, the once hesitant, but supportive staff, has now taken a huge leap in the ownership of their significant role in helping shape a child's life and character. The character education movement has built strong, active links in the triangle of influence in a child's lifefamily, school, and community." "The effect of the character education strategies that our school has incorporated is evidenced in the way that students attempt to solve interpersonal problems with peers. They are learning to define problems, get the facts, and treat one another with tolerance and respect as they work through the steps of problem solving. Teachers are taking the time to use conflicts as teaching moments, not just as a reason to impose punishment. I hear teachers and students referring to skills taught in assemblies and classroom presentations by the counselor as they work on their own problems. The school climate is less combative and more open to individual perspectives." "It is the belief of our school that finding acceptance, building self-esteem and teaching strong character values as well as providing mentors for all children is possibly even more important than installing metal detectors, locking the doors to keep people out, and having armed police patrolling the halls. We will continue to believe that character development is as important as increasing test scores in language arts, math, and science. We will continue to combine academic instruction with character values. Our efforts will continue to make every child special, wanted, and accepted. We appreciate the concept of "character education" and the leadership provided by our district, state, and federal government and believe it is our place to implement programs making them interact with each and every child, each and every day. Thank you for your support." "Without the Utah Community Partnership for Character Development, our school would be a very different place. I feel that this grant has provided our school with a means to reach a common positive goal that has touched the lives of our children, our faculty and staff, and our parents. Thank you for the means for us to make a most dramatic change in our environment." II 6 CONTENTS A Note of Than les selected Comments front cr&t Pa rtizipa nts ii eXecuti.ve Suvu.vvor 1 A esorLpti.on of Project 5 Utah's Historical Commitment to Character Education 5 Grant Participants 6 Table 1. Utah Schools Participating in Grant, 1995-99 8 Grant Activities evci Luati.on Desi,g n 10 Collaborative Development and Implementation 10 Focus of the Evaluation Limitations of the Design 11 11 Procedures 12 Instruments and Sampling 14 Table 2. Data Collected to Evaluate Grant, 1995-99 implementi.ne Character educattovt, i,n the schools 15 Studying the Implementation Process Overview of the Implementation Process 15 15 Planning 17 Professional Development 18 Community Involvement 19 Parental Involvement I oztructLowa t. Acti.vitits a na Approaches Materials and Resources 21 21 Teaching About Values 22 Integrating Values Throughout the School Culture 23 Table 3. Service Projects 25 Fostering a Positive School Climate f-tow the 4ra nt Facilitated Character Development LK. the schools Adequate Time to Plan and Implement Initiatives 28 28 Sufficient Resources to Support Initiatives 29 Organization and Focus I'm:pact ov edu.cators 30 Legitimized the Teaching of Values 30 Created Awareness of Importance of Character Education Ill 7 Increased Involvement in Character Development Efforts 31 Contributed to Professional Development of Educators 31 Table 4. Teacher Participation in Professional Development Activities 32 Promoted Use of Effective Teaching Strategies 32 Table 5. Teacher Implementation of Character Education Strategies 33 Summary of Impact on Educators 36 StlA.delAks 11,1ttpaGt OK. Contributed to Cognitive Understanding of Values 37 Created Awareness of Appropriate Behavior 38 Improved Student Attitudes and Behavior 38 Statistical Evidence of Changes in Student Behavior 40 Summary of Impact on Students 40 Table 6. Student Discipline Statistics 41 vvtp ot SalOOL cAlmate 01A. Improved Staff Relationships 42 Improved Relationships with Parents 43 Improved Relationships Between Staff and Students 43 Statistical Evidence of Changes in School Climate 44 Summary of Impact on School Climate 45 epilogue 46 Rtfe re Kzes 48 Stctstc4L Appel/01A Character Development Survey (CDS) Description of Instrument 49 Sampling 49 Response Rate 49 Reliability of Instrument 49 Statistical Analysis of Subscales 50 Kindness and Caring 51 Respect and Responsibility 52 Fairness and Honesty 53 School Expectations 54 Parent-Staff Relationships 55 Parent Involvement 56 School Rating 57 Staff Relationships 58 Overall 59 Staff Involvement 60 Implementation Survey Description of the Instrument 61 Sampling 61 Response Rate 61 Professional Development Results 62 iv Use of Teaching Strategies 63 64 Level of Involvement Importance of Character Development 64 v 9 Utah Community Partnership for Character Development Final Evaluation Report 1995-99 SIAMMARy eXEGRTIVE Project DesoriTti,ovt, This report includes a description of the implementation and results of the Utah Community Partnership for Character Development, a four-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was initiated in January of 1996, in 50 schools from four school districts in Salt Lake City and neighboring communities. Eventually the grant included more than 65 schools in six school districts, while some grant-sponsored activities such as conferences included educators from across the state. Educators from the six school districts participated in a similar process each year. After the initial philosophy workshop, which was a one-time event, schools participated in a community workshop, a two-day school/community planning session, curriculum development activities, an annual conference, and evaluation sessions. Eva Lt,tattoi& Des1,014, The evaluation design was a collaborative model that involved grant participants in planning and conducting the evaluation. Each evaluation activity was designed with three primary objectives-1) to provide valid information to document the implementation of the project, 2) to evaluate the successful accomplishment of project goals, and 3) to provide comprehensive staff development for educators in evaluation and action research. The evaluator developed numerous instruments to collect both formative and summative information. the School, I vu:pLevvteiAti,tAg Character Eolt,tcati,ovt. I The grant provided a framework for implementing character education, but the specifics (such as the values to be emphasized, the approaches to be taken, and the materials to be used) were left to the discretion of individual schools. This resulted in highly individualized approaches that were more likely to be enduring for several reasons than a "cookbook" approach to character education. First, teachers and administrators were invested in the success of the initiatives because they were intimately involved in their development and implementation. Second, the initiatives reflected the needs and goals of individual communities and, therefore, were more likely to be sustained than "add- on" programs that might disappear as interest waned and new topics competed for attention. Third, the grant encouraged the incorporation of values across the curriculum and throughout the entire school, resulting in permanent changes in curriculum, policies, and procedures. In spite of the individual nature of initiatives, most schools went through a similar process in implementing character education. The elements common to all of the initiatives included planning, professional development, parent and community involvement, purchase or development of 1 1 0