Positive character development in our schools is not a nice add-on in the curriculum – it is a crucial aspect of a quality school. We believe that a school must cultivate a culture of character in order to be a successful learning community.

“Many students are doing the right thing because it is the right thing—not for a prize or to avoid punishment,” reports an Imagine Schools teacher at Marietta Charter School in Georgia. Imagine is committed to teach right from wrong, justice, and the importance of serving others as core elements of our character development programs.

First and second year schools report that much of their character efforts focus on helping students behave appropriately in school, and developing caring, trusting relationships among students and staff. Our more mature schools continue to focus on behavior and discipline, but also emphasize citizenship, service, leadership, and correlating positive character to success in school and in life.

Positive character development does not end when a child leaves elementary school. Forming a virtuous character is a central part of the educational experience for every student who attends an Imagine school. We have developed an Imagine Schools Moral Foundations high school curriculum, and we intend for every student to pass the Moral Foundations course before graduating from an Imagine high school.

Nationally, Imagine Schools is now in its fifth year in sponsoring a National Character Essay Contest. This contest aims to recognize young writers who understand the importance of living lives of character, as well as to help integrate character into the academic curriculum. In 2010, 51 Imagine campuses conducted a character essay contest – a dramatic increase from 33 participating schools in 2009. The judges read approximately 700 student essays, submitted as school winners from among thousands of student essays written in grades 3-12 and judged at the school level.

In June 2010, the Character Education Partnership recognized 8 Imagine schools with “Promising Practices” awards for “implementing unique and specific strategies in character education.” The winners included Imagine Bella Academy of Excellence (Cleveland, OH), Imagine Charter School at Weston, FL, Imagine Groveport Community School (Groveport, OH), Imagine Indiana Life Sciences Academy East (Indianapolis, IN), Imagine MASTer Academy (Fort Wayne, IN), Imagine Rosefield (Surprise, AZ), Imagine Schools at South Lake (Clermont, FL), Imagine-Klepinger Community School (Dayton, OH).