Healthy DuPage - Character Development Coalition

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GETTING CHARACTER EDUCATION OUT GETTING CHARACTER EDUCATION OUT OF THE SCHOOLS…AND INTO THE COMMUNITYOF THE SCHOOLS…AND INTO THE COMMUNITY

By Building Community-wide Character Coalitions.

Healthy DuPage - Character Development Coalition

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BUILDING COMMUNITY-WIDE BUILDING COMMUNITY-WIDE CHARACTER COALITIONSCHARACTER COALITIONS

Background Information Character Development Coalition Community Activity Examples Measurement & Evaluation Coalition Building Principles Community Organizing Questions & Answers

PRESENTATION OUTLINE:PRESENTATION OUTLINE:

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BUILDING COMMUNITY-WIDE CHARACTER COALITIONSBUILDING COMMUNITY-WIDE CHARACTER COALITIONS

Background InformationBackground Information

Suburban “collar” county - 20 miles west of Chicago and Cook County, IL

Population: 904,161 (2000) - 80% white with 125% increase in Hispanic population since ‘90

332 square miles 39 municipalities (20 wholly

within the county) 35,000 acres of parks & forest

preserves Argonne & Fermi Nat’l Labs =

8,500 acres & 7,000 employeesDuPage CountyDuPage County

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46 golf courses 1 polo facility 7 hospitals (systems) 43 public schools districts

155,296 students 11,261 teachers 241 school buildings

14 colleges including a community college (COD) with enrollment of 36,073

32 public libraries Median income: $62,825

DuPage CountyDuPage County

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Established in 1999 as part of the international Healthier Communities movement

Grassroots, regional planning and implementation organization to address broad health issues (socioeconomic, mental, environmental, etc.)

Board of Directors and 500+ Stakeholders from health, government, social service, businesses, spiritual, etc.

MISSION:MISSION: To measurably improve the health and well-being of DuPage County residents.

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Formed on April 23, 1999 as one of seven focus areas

Voluntary effort - met regularly to identify and coordinate what was happening in the County in the area of character development

Discovered that CHARACTER COUNTS! was already being used in several communities in the County

Recommended the formation of a countywide Character Development Coalition to coordinate and expand efforts.

CHARACTER COUNTS! is a service mark of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

CHARACTER AND VALUES CHARACTER AND VALUES ACTION TEAMACTION TEAM

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Character Development CoalitionCharacter Development Coalition

Formed in November 29, 2000 Meets monthly over lunch Representatives from involved

and interested communities Average = 34 people from 16 communities National memberships in CEP and CHARACTER COUNTS!

(14 communities have adopted CC! with over 500 trained)

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VISION:VISION: To be a county where core ethical values are consistently taught, promoted, supported,

and modeled by individuals and community organizations.

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To establish and maintain an alliance of representatives from each community

To foster a common language so that shared values may be recognized, discussed, and supported across community boundaries

To provide a forum for the sharing of ideas To serve as a resource for program development,

measurement and evaluation.

MISSION:MISSION:

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To coordinate community-based character development initiatives in all of DuPage County

To foster the establishment of character development coalitions in every community

To establish a resource center of sample materials To coordinate the character development efforts throughout

the County by working with countywide organizations To develop a process and tools that can be used for

measurement and evaluation of impact in individual communities and on a countywide basis.

GOALS:GOALS:

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1.1. Networking and idea sharing

Planning & coordination

FOCUS AREAS:FOCUS AREAS:

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2.2. Awareness and communications


Character Development Week

Brochure and website

Countywide organizations

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3.3. Resource Center (at the College of DuPage)


4.4. Measurement and evaluation

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Executive Committee “Attendance Model”

Coalition of Coalitions Meetings (lunch-time):

General sharing Special presentation Small group action teams:

Awareness Programming Continuity Evaluation

Coordinator (research) Director

ServiceMASTER

ORGANIZATION:ORGANIZATION:

‘‘Part-time’ Leadership:Part-time’ Leadership:

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Community CoalitionsCommunity Coalitions

Regular meetings Training sessions Community festivals Character Education

Week Proclamations Awards Publicity and visible visible

remindersreminders MeasurementMeasurement

ACTIVITIES:ACTIVITIES: Schools City Government Police & Fire departments Library Parks & recreation

department Faith organizations Youth organizations Businesses Media

PARTICIPATION:PARTICIPATION:

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Community Visible RemindersCommunity Visible Reminders

Character building activities in the schools are unseen...Character building activities in the schools are unseen...

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Entrance wall of a Middle School in WheatonEntrance wall of a Middle School in Wheaton

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““Pillars” of the Bloomingdale gazeboPillars” of the Bloomingdale gazebo



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Banners on lampposts in Wood DaleBanners on lampposts in Wood Dale



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Student mural on civic Sports Hub wall - Glendale Hts.Student mural on civic Sports Hub wall - Glendale Hts.



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Annual vehicle stickers in Glendale HeightsAnnual vehicle stickers in Glendale Heights



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““Pillars” on Police cars . . .Pillars” on Police cars . . .



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and “Pillars” on all village vehicles in Lombardand “Pillars” on all village vehicles in Lombard



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““Pillars” on walls of Village Council ChambersPillars” on walls of Village Council Chambers



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Winning float in West Chicago Railroad Days ParadeWinning float in West Chicago Railroad Days Parade



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West Chicago Youth Commission booth at festivalWest Chicago Youth Commission booth at festival



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On-going Press Coverage (“good news”)On-going Press Coverage (“good news”)



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Aurora City limits signAurora City limits sign



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Measurement and EvaluationMeasurement and Evaluation

Process:Process: Determine scope of project and needed resources Identify funding sources, request and receive funding Identify and engage measurement expert Establish measurement and evaluation process, tools and

activities Conduct study, analyze and communicate results.

Goal: Goal: To identify key indicators in each community and across the county that show that Character Development efforts are having an impact in the community.

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Measurement and EvaluationMeasurement and Evaluation

Reviewed other studies and developed a strategy Received $152,000 for 3-year study Engaged Dr. Matt Davidson to consult (CEP, ND, 4th&5th R’s) Identified 4 ‘pilot’ communities Conducted ‘focus groups’ to determine constructs

Current Plans in Progress:Current Plans in Progress: Develop school/community survey for Spring ‘02 Collect archival data Conduct survey, analyze data and communicate results Action research: adjustable, long-term impact

Progress to date:Progress to date:

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A Coalition is a diverse group of organizations and individuals who agree to work together to achieve a common goal.

Principles:Principles: Shared Vision Shared Mission Shared Responsibility Multi-sector buy-in

Definition:Definition:


Coalition BuildingCoalition Building

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Efficient and effective meetings

Each member important Opportunity to participate Communication Leadership Quick wins

Elements of Success:Elements of Success:


Coalition BuildingCoalition Building

Define issue Enroll ‘champions’ who

are ambassadors Map assets Large enrollment Create shared vision

Process Steps:Process Steps:

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Determine the extent of current character education programs (schools? - anywhere else?) in your community (and neighboring communities). State mandate? School Improvement Plan?

Identify key organizations and individuals who might/should be interested - are there existing coalitions?

Identify a leadership group and obtain commitments Discuss individually and then call a meeting to present

importance, concepts, and possible organizational steps Adopt a framework/core set of values Conduct informational or training sessions.

Initial Process Steps:Initial Process Steps:


Community OrganizingCommunity Organizing

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EExplore EEngage EExcite EExpand EEvaluate

Year 2:Year 2:

EEducationducation

CCommitment CConsensus CCollaboration CCollect Data CCommunication

Year 1:Year 1:

CCharacterharacter

From CHARACTER COUNTS! and Dr. Gary M. Smit, Superintendent of District 44, Lombard, IL

TTeach EEnforce AAdvocate MModel

T. E. A. M.T. E. A. M.

ApproachApproach



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Convince key “thought leaders” on the need first Develop database of people and organizations to reach Form a diverse working Leadership Committee Identify financial sources Get a few people trained immediately Anticipate and prepare to address any and all objections -

including personal assessment and ‘whose values?’ Include parents and media in all community meetings

Some Lessons Learned:Some Lessons Learned:



Community = Common, Communications, ConnectionsCommunity = Common, Communications, Connections

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Questions and AnswersQuestions and Answers

What questions do you have? (Remembering that we don’t have all the answers.)

Call us at (630) 690-2998Ken Fisher, Character Development Coalition Director

[email protected]

Healthy DuPage - Character Development Coalition

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