Character education is a daily part of life for students and staff in Tracy Unified School District. Our district believes that character education is, first and foremost, the obligation of families, but that conscientious efforts by others in schools and the community can, and should, play a crucial role.

Character education program result of community planning process

The character education initiative in Tracy Unified emerged through the development of our district’s strategic plan, Gateway to Tomorrow. More than 300 people from all segments of our community participated in the strategic planning process. Participants believed that character education was an important step in achieving our strategic goal for “developing the whole student.”

Our character education program was designed to introduce a common language of character values to strengthen the traits of good character through character education projects. Our district utilizes Character Counts! as its primary program.

The “six pillars” serve as foundation for program

Character Counts! is the nation’s most widely used character development framework for schools, communities, youth sports and civic organizations. It is based on shared beliefs and consensus values called the “Six Pillars of Character:”

• Trustworthiness

• Respect

• Responsibility

• Fairness

• Caring

• Citizenship

In every classroom and every school throughout Tracy Unified, you’ll see and hear about the six pillars and character education. Through classroom assignments, school assemblies, and community service projects, students are learning and modeling the six pillars of character.

Character education involves the whole community

Each May, Tracy Unified hosts the Community Celebration of Character where students and community members are honored for exemplifying the six pillars in their daily lives. The Community Celebration of Character is a family event that features a well-known motivational speaker. Speakers in recent years have included Angela Perez Baraquio, Miss America 2001; author Darrell Scott, father of Columbine victim Rachel Scott, and Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a double-amputee and Paralympion, named by Teen People Magazine as one of 20 teens who will change the world.

Program aims to achieve goals that foster student success

Through a variety of activities in every school, Tracy Unified continues to work to help students achieve the character education program’s important goals of:

• Contributing responsibly and ethically to one’s peer group, family, school and community

• Believing in one’s self-worth

• Demonstrating honesty

• Demonstrating trustworthiness

• Demonstrating fairness

• Demonstrating respectful social skills

• Developing meaningful, positive relationships

• Peacefully resolving conflicts

• Showing concern for all living things

• Demonstrating generosity

• Demonstrating good citizenship

• Demonstrating kindness

• Making positive, safe, and healthy choices

For more information about our character education program, talk with a teacher or school principal, or call the Student Services Department at (209) 830-3280.

For more information about Character Education visit the following links:

 
Character Counts

Josephson Institute of Ethics