“The Character Education Partnership (CEP) has named Imagine Schools at South Lake in Clermont, Florida a National School of Character for the second consecutive year.
‘We know that amazing things happen at schools of character–students treat one another and their teachers with more respect, violence and bullying decrease, teacher morale and retention improve, school pride and parental involvement increase and overall academic achievement goes up,’ stated CEP President and CEO Joe Mazzola, ‘We simply need more of them.’
Those designated National Schools of Character will serve as models and mentors to schools in their regions as they work to improve. Imagine South Lake qualified again for the important distinction because of its robust Character Education program which has school, community and even international components – the school has adopted a sister school in Haiti. ‘We do not treat this as lip-service,’ said Character Education Co-Chair Sherry Anderson, ‘We teach Character the same way we teach Reading and Math, it is a vital component of an Imagine Schools education.”
CEP selected the National Finalists from a pool of 140 applicants based the quality of their in-depth written applications. Imagine South Lake is among the 40 public schools, five charter schools, three private schools, and two school districts selected as National Finalists in the 2011 program.
In March and April, these schools will undergo a rigorous national evaluation process that will include detailed analysis of the impact of character education on academics, student behavior, and school culture. All NSOC Finalists will receive professional feedback from this evaluation to help them as they continue their improvement process.
CEP expects to select a record number of National Schools of Character from among the 50 Finalists in May, 2011 and will honor these schools and districts at the 18th National Forum on Character Education, to be held October 19-21, 2011 in San Francisco, California at the Hyatt Regency.”
Article published on March 17, 2011 by the Clermont News Leader
Correction Note: Imagine South Lake was named a State School of Character two years in a row. This year, the school also advanced to the Nationals competition.