Sonya Roberts Woods
Contributing writer
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series detailing a new Jefferson ISD student-centered partnership receiving positive feedback for its immediate impact in and outside the classroom.
With a community-wide event already in the works, the newly-created Character Counts class is bringing outside-the-box innovation and changing the narrative on what is possible for students to achieve at home, at school and in the community.
A partnership between Jefferson ISD and the HOPE (Helping Others Prioritize Education) Initiative, this collaboration launched just in time for the start of the new school year.
“Coach (Larry) Allen really brought us together and I am so thankful he saw fit to help create this partnership,” JJHS Assistant Principal Lauren Anderson said. “I researched the HOPE Initiative and spoke extensively with Dr. Harper. I realized that his and my vision for helping underserved students in low-income, rural areas aligned, and that the HOPE Initiative could be the key to addressing the specific needs of kids in our community. After seeing the results just in the last few weeks, I wish we could put this in place throughout all grades.”
For now, sixth grade students are the exclusive benefactors of the collaboration between the district and the non-profit organization created by Dr. Robert Harper. Teaching everything from different learning styles to the importance of empathy to the effects of bullying, the Character Counts curriculum is unique.
“This class is all about helping students see their future and begin to create a clear plan to achieve their goals,” Anderson said. “It integrates their personal interests and strengths with strategies they can use to put into practice in their everyday lives now and develop skills they will use in the future to help them achieve their goals. We have Coach Mathis, Coach Schubert and Coach Allen, teaching the classes – awesome educators who are invested in seeing the students succeed. I am especially excited we have coaches on board in particular because of their style of reaching students – coaching them in the class to truly cultivate and practice social and character development skills much the way they coach athletic skills on the field. Their students won’t be just sitting at a desk; they will be up, moving around and having fun.”
And that’s exactly what sixth grader Jonathan P. has been doing.
“Character class has been really fun so far,” he said. “We have learned a lot of new things like our top 3 strengths.”
The students have also learned that they will have the opportunity to have impact in the community. The first such project will involve getting their hands dirty—literally.
“During the time we were doing the assessments, many of the students said they wanted to clean up their community,” Dr. Harper said. “They were really adamant about that. We heard them and so we are now allowing them to help plan what that first project will look like.”
Anderson also has targeted outcomes in mind for the students enrolled in the Character Counts classes.
“I would like the students to see that, although they are very different individually, they have common strengths, skills and goals that they can celebrate,” she said. “I would also like them to develop skills such as communicating their strengths and needs to be able to seek out people who can help them achieve their goals long-term. In the short term, I would like the students to put the strategies they learn in the character class into practice to become better communicators, so they can excel in academics, get along with students and teachers and grow positively as learners. When we have students who are focused on their strengths and who have the tools to overcome challenges, we will have happier, better-behaved learners. Our students will be working on a community project in their classes which will allow them to show our community and surrounding communities that Jefferson really has the best kids and that these kids have the skills and wherewithal to make a positive difference in their community and in the world. Some of our students have been dealt a difficult hand, but I want our kids to see that if they use their strengths for good and take the opportunities that public education gives them, they can change their story and create for themselves any life they want.”
Character Counts teacher Casey Schubert agrees that the program benefits have great potential far beyond the classroom.
“I am excited about seeing the students learn how to put their strengths into action not only in their school work, but with their friends or in extracurricular activities,” Schubert said.
“I love finding out things about myself that I didn’t know,” sixth grader Rylie N. said. “This class is very fun. I have loved all of the activities and meeting new people.”
“My experience so far in character class has been great,” sixth grader Cooper C. said. “We’ve talked about what is good character and what is bad character. We have also talked about how to prevent bad character and how to embrace good character. What I’ve enjoyed most about this experience is that I have learned more about myself than I ever knew before.”
Coach Allen has also learned something about himself as a teacher. Responsible for two sections of the Character Counts class, the rest of his day is spent coaching at both the junior high and high school level.
“Coaching team sports, for me, is the greatest thing in the world,” Allen said. “I love coaching. You have to love it to spend the kind of time we do every day especially out in the hot sun. However, I feel like I am now more excited about teaching the character classes this year than I am coaching.”
“I have enjoyed this class because I am learning more about myself,” student Emma A. said.
“My experience in the Character Counts class is amazing so far and I hope it spreads
around the globe of the world and the state of Texas and other countries,” Noah W. said.
Until then, Jefferson Junior High provides the perfect launching pad for potential program success.
For more information about the Character Counts class or the HOPE Initiative, call (214) 259-6060 or send an email to: drharper@the-hope-initiative.org.