On May 18, 2018, the New Jersey Alliance for Social, Emotional, and Character Development presented its Eleventh Annual Conference at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. The theme of the conference was Building Community Through Character! This theme underscored the importance of using character to develop a sense of community as well as a positive culture and climate in classrooms, schools, districts, and municipalities.
The conference began with a ceremony honoring the 19 schools and 3 districts named 2018 New Jersey Schools/Districts of Character. These schools earned this designation based on their implementation of the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education of Character.org in Washington, D.C. These schools demonstrated that they have successfully met the criteria set down by Character.org to earn this recognition. The schools are…
Mantua Township School • Mantua, NJ
Montville Township Public • Montville, NJ
Vineland Public Schools • Vineland, NJ
Apshawa Elementary School • West Milford, NJ
Bell Oaks Upper Elementary School • Bellmawr, NJ
Fort Dix Elementary • Ft. Dix, NJ
Green- Fields Elementary • West Deptford, NJ
Harker-Wylie Elementary School • Browns Mills, NJ
Hilltop School • Mendham, NJ
Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School • Cherry Hill, NJ
Joseph S. Stackhouse Elementary School • Browns Mills, NJ
Mary E. Volz Elementary & Middle School • Runnemede, NJ
Moss School • Metuchen, NJ
Pemberton Early Childhood Education Center • Pemberton, NJ
Riverview Elementary School • Denville, NJ
Robert R. Lazar Middle School • Montville, NJ
Samuel T. Busansky Upper Elementary School • Pemberton, NJ
Terence C. Reilly, School No. 7 • Elizabeth, NJ
Unity Charter School • Morristown, NJ
West End Elementary School • North Plainfield, NJ
West Milford Township High School • West Milford, NJ
Westbrook Elementary School • West Milford, NJ
Isaiah Haines Elementary School • Browns Mills, NJ
James F. Cooper Elementary School • Cherry Hill, NJ
James H. Johnson Elementary School • Cherry Hill, NJ
Jefferson Elementary School • Vauxhall, NJ
Jerome Dunn Academy of Mathematics, Technology and the Arts, School No. 9 • Elizabeth, NJ
John F. Kennedy Elementary School • Berlin, NJ
Kingston Elementary School • Cherry Hill, NJ
Marshall Hill School • West Milford, NJ
Piscataway High School • Piscataway, NJ
Signal Hill School • Voorhees, NJ
Swimming River School • Tinton Falls. NJ
William Mason Elementary School • Montville, NJ
Greenwood Elementary School • Hamilton, NJ
Saint Leo the Great School • Lincroft, NJ
NJEA Secretary Steve Beatty and Character.org President and CEO, Doug Karr participated in the Recognition Ceremony praising the schools for their success and speaking about the importance of good character as part of the educational program.
Ted Frynkewicz was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his dedicated work as Treasurer of NJASECD. His diligence and attention to detail has helped NJASECD establish a strong financial footing as an independent not-for-profit organization. Maurice Elias was also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his work both locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally as a thought leader for Character Education, Social-Emotional Learning, and School Culture and Climate. These individuals continue to play a significant role in the success of NJASECD!
Nina Kemps has served as the NJ State Coordinator for the Schools of Character Program for the past eight years. Through her leadership, New Jersey has become the national leader for state and national schools of character. Nina has deceided to step down from this position after this year. Her leadership has been a significant force in our organization and fortunately, she will continue to serve as a Trustee of our organization. Thanks Nina for all you have done for NJASECD!
It was an honor to have Character.org use our NJASECD Conference as a venue to announce all of the National Districts of Character as well as all of the National Schools of Character. Doug Karr and Sora Wondra of Character.org attended our conference and made the national announcement from the stage at Rider University. This announcement was live-streamed over the Character.org website.
he following districts and schools from New Jersey were named as National Districts/Schools of Character for 2018. Those schools are…
NEW JERSEY’S 2018 NATIONAL DISTRICTS OF CHARACTER
Cherry Hill Public Schools • Cherry Hill, NJ
Hanover Park Regional High School District • East Hanover, NJ
Mantua Public Schools • Mantua. NJ
Montville Public Schools • Montville, NJ
NEW JERSEY’S 2018 NATIONAL SCHOOLS OF CHARACTER
Apshawa Elementary School • West Milford, NJ
Alexander Denbo Elementary School • Brown Mills, NJ
Bell Oaks Upper Elementary School • Bellmawr, NJ
Bret Harte Elementary • Cherry Hill, NJ
Fort Dix Elementary • Fort Dix, NJ
Frank J. Smith • East Hanover, NJ
Hilltop School • Mendham, NJ
Howard L. Emmons Elementary • Pemberton, NJ
Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School • Cherry Hill, NJ
Joseph S. Stackhouse Elementary School • Browns Mills, NJ
*Madison Park Elementary • Parlin, NJ
Moss School • Metuchen, NJ
Pemberton Early Childhood Education Center • Pemberton, NJ
Robert R. Lazar Middle School • Montville, NJ
Samuel T. Busansky Upper Elementary School • Pemberton, NJ
Terence C. Reilly • Elizabeth, NJ
Unity Charter School • Morristown, NJ
West End Elementary School • North Plainfield, NJ
Westbrook Elementary School • West Milford, NJ
Moderated by Eileen Dachnowicz, consisting of Laurie Coletti, Dr. Joseph Meloche, and Jean Drexinger who spoke about the importance building community in their schools, districts, and municipalities. Each of the panelists shared a unique story about their schools and their character journeys. The keynote panelists followed up with breakout sessions to further explore their thoughts on the conference theme.
Following the keynote and were given by experts and practitioners in the fields of Character Education, Social-Emotional Learning, and School Culture and Climate. Thanks go to all of our presenters for a very stimulating series of presentations as part of our conference.