What is character education?

Character education is an intentional effort to help students understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values. Students with good character are caring, just, and responsible. They have developed an internal motivation to do their best and to contribute to the world around them. Good character education improves social and emotional competencies as well as academic performance.

What is Project Wisdom’s approach to character education?

Project Wisdom is one of the oldest and most respected character education programs in the nation. Our program is currently licensed in over 17,000 schools nationwide. There are three key components to this nationally-recognized, proven-effective program that comprise our approach to character education. Each component supports the other.

(1) For the Campus
Project Wisdom Online Library of Broadcast Messages

The centerpiece of the program is a series of thought-provoking inspirational messages that are narrated over your PA or in-house television system. In just one minute a day, you can reach every student and every staff member with a few words of wisdom that will uplift and promote a more positive and effective school climate. Series 1 comes with one year of online access to 200+ proven-effective broadcast messages, enough for an entire school year. You and your staff will also have access to messages batched by weekly or monthly themes, weekly journal pages, quotation booklets, parent resources, white papers, and more.

(2) For the Classroom
Easy-to-implement lesson plans

You and your entire staff will have access for one year to our highly-rated and easy-to-implement online collection of lesson plans. These materials help students build character and develop social-emotional competencies while addressing important and relevant issues such as bullying, cheating and academic achievement. Each plan contains thought-provoking discussion generators and follow-up activities for each grade level (elementary) or core academic area (secondary).

(3) For Educators
Professional Support and Just For You messages

Every registered user will be sent by email during the school year the following Professional Support: 1) a weekly Just For You message. These concise, thought-provoking messages are written to foster professionalism, promote ethical and caring leadership, boost morale, and improve classroom management. 2) Easy-to-implement, high-quality character education materials. 3) Best practices and uplifting stories shared by educators just for educators (Teacher's Story).
Click here to see some Sample Materials.

Why does it work? (Program Evaluation)

Project Wisdom encourages students to reflect upon the meaning of civic and personal values and the application of those values in their daily lives. Our data indicate reductions in discipline referrals as well as strong improvements in teacher morale, school climate, and social-emotional competencies. Current evidence suggests that good character education raises student grades and test scores.

Key Findings From Our Evaluation

• Decreases incidents of student teasing and/or bullying.
• Decreases discipline referrals to the office.
• Affects the school climate in a positive way.
• Has a positive impact on teacher morale.
• Increases students' self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible-decision making.
• Stimulates student conversation about character issues.

Key Findings from Educator Resource Site Evaluation

• 99% indicate they enjoy receiving the weekly morale boosters.
• 92% indicate they enjoy reading the Teacher's Story.
• 91% indicate they enjoy the special-topic ERS broadcast messages.
• 97% indicate an overall satisfaction with this online service.
• 96% of all principals indicated they would recommend this site.
• Materials offered on the ERS are being used in advisory, homeroom, and character education classes; in the discipline process; during counseling sessions and other academic classes.

Click here for copies of our Program Evaluations.

How is it being implemented?

Each school has a unique set of needs and expectations. Here are some of the many ways schools across the country have implemented the program:

Principal narrates: On many of our campuses the principal narrates these character-building messages and clearly establishes his or her role in terms of ethical and caring leadership. We are repeatedly told that narration of these messages opens doors of communication between the principal and the student body.

Teachers or counselors narrate: Teachers and/or counselors have taken the job as narrators, communicating to students that they care about the values fostered while generating meaningful conversation between them and students.

Community members narrate: We have many schools that invite parents, grandparents, and community members to campus to narrate the messages. Some schools send students out into the community to pre-record community members. This is a great way to involve the community in your character education initiative while sending a clear signal to students that the community cares about the education of their hearts as well as their minds.

Celebrities narrate: At one of our middle schools in Virginia, a juvenile-court judge served as guest narrator for an entire week. A former student who is now a professional football player also came to campus to narrate a message. High school students in Kansas recorded the lieutenant governor of the state on video and then broadcast the message on their in-house television system.

Mystery narrator: One of our schools has a "mystery narrator" once a week. They tell us there is always a great deal of speculation about who the narrator will be.

Students narrate: On many campuses students serve as narrators. This is a great opportunity to foster leadership and public-speaking skills. Some schools allow students to narrate as a reward for honorable behavior.

Everyone gets to narrate: On some campuses the role of narrator is shared by everyone on campus, including custodians, cafeteria workers, and office workers. This is a great way to enlist the support of everyone on campus, creating a greater sense of community.

What comes with the program?

Initial one-year, schoolwide subscription

When you order Series 1, your school becomes an officially-licensed Project Wisdom school. You and your staff can then register for a year of online access to the following three components of this nationally-recognized program. Each component supports the other to help create a more safe, caring, and effective school environment.

1) For the Campus - Project Wisdom Online
Library of Daily Broadcast Messages

The centerpiece of the program is a series of thought-provoking inspirational messages that are narrated over your PA or in-house television system. In just one minute a day, you can reach every student and every staff member with a few words of wisdom that will uplift and promote a more positive and effective school climate. Series 1 comes with a year of online access to 200+ proven-effective broadcast messages. You and your staff will also have access to daily broadcast messages that have been conveniently batched by weekly or monthly themes, journal pages, quotation booklet, parent resources, white papers, and more. K12 schools have access to both elementary and secondary materials.

2) For the Classroom - Easy-to-implement lesson plans

You and your entire staff will also have access for one year to our highly-rated and easy-to-implement online collection of lesson plans. These materials help students build character and develop social-emotional competencies while addressing important and relevant issues such as bullying, cheating, and academic achievement. Each plan contains thought-provoking discussion generators and follow-up activities for each grade level (elementary) or core academic area (secondary).

3) For Educators - Professional Support and Just For You messages

During the school year, every registered user will be sent by email the following weekly Professional Support: 1) one of our highly-rated Just For You messages. These concise, thought-provoking messages are written to foster professionalism, promote ethical and caring leadership, boost morale, and improve classroom management, and 2) featured easy-to-implement lesson plans. Also throughout the school year, all registered users receive a Teacher’s Story, best practices and uplifting stories shared by educators just for educators.

At the end of your annual subscription, you may choose to print the materials for future use.

The online program also comes with:

Themes
Our weekly or monthly themes help establish a common "virtue vocabulary" on campus. Examples of themes include:

• Honesty and Integrity: Rules for Success
• Responsible Citizenship: Helping Others
• Role Models: Who's influencing Whom?
• Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones?
• Wisdom: Educating the Human Heart

Teachers can create teachable moments throughout the day by using these words and themes. Many of our schools post these themes on their marquees and main bulletin boards. Many schools communicate the upcoming themes to parents through newsletters and homework hotlines so they can be reinforced at home. Counselors and staff can use the words and themes in guidance sessions, detention, and in-house suspension.

Ten Wise Choices (FREE)
Rules for living as a positive and productive citizen of the world.
Elementary-level
Secondary-level

Wise Choices for a Comprehensive Character Education Initiative (FREE)
A mini-guide for creating a comprehensive character education initiative on your campus. Our daily messages provide an effective springboard for such an initiative. This guide provides suggestions for creating a pool of support and resources that will greatly improve results.

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