Character Development
Create character connections between education and business leaders to encourage good character at home and at work. Continue to promote character education in schools and throughout the community while connecting character education lessons to life through activities and practice.
Shared Values
In order to perpetuate a sense of ownership in shaping the character of our youth, the Heartland Character Education Committee worked in conjunction with the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE), a Heartland Consortium member. With assistance from IGE, the Committee conducted a series of ethics seminars that lead to the development of “shared values.”
There were three parts to the seminars: moral awareness, development of shared values, and tools to analyze and resolve ethical dilemmas. Attendees explored the concept of ethical fitness and the importance of creating a positive atmosphere for family and educational life. More than 25 seminars were held with more than 300 community members attending. In each seminar, the question was asked: If you could post ethical character traits over the door of our school, which traits would you select for the children and educators to model?
The nine traits mentioned most often during the seminars ultimately became featured as the “Words of the Month” for our community. As the “Word of the Month” program gained momentum, three more words were added.
The Character Education Committee of the Heartland Steering Committee determines a theme each year to inspire creativity and new ideas to integrate the words into the curriculum.
Heartland Character Words
of the Month
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January - Self-Control
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February - Commitment
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March - Fairness
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April - Moral Courage
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May - Cooperation
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June - Sportsmanship*
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July - Patriotism*
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August - Integrity*
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September - Honesty
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October - Respect
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November - Responsibility
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December - Compassion
*Denotes words added to the program
Character Education Employee of the Month Program
The Character Education Committee of the Heartland Steering Committee set a goal during the 2018 strategy session to highlight good character in local businesses. This goal initiated the Character Education Employee of the Month program. Below is a PDF of a flyer to raise awareness about the program, as well as, a nomination form. Local businesses are encouraged to nominate their employees and co-workers that demonstrate good character in the workplace for a chance to be recognized by HEC. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Recipients will be recognized in OrrViews, on Heartland Point's social media, and in the Orrville school calendar. Nomination forms can be emailed to orrcharacter@gmail.com.