Mountain Brook Junior High Gets National Recognition

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — Mountain Brook Junior High School has been recognized by national education research organization Character.org. The organization has added MBJH to its 2020 Promising Practices list for a program the school implemented last year.

The recognition comes for MBJH's Connect program that involved all students engaging in a weekly character education lesson taught by their homeroom teacher.

“To be the most welcoming school in America, which is our goal, we’ve all got to care about one another and be connected,” MBJH Principal Donald Clayton said. “This is the feet-on-the-ground way to do that.”

MBJH teachers developed the character education curriculum with input from students. In designing lessons, they drew from two of the school’s belief statements that center on promoting a climate of acceptance and taking pride in the school and community.

“One of our keys is including our students as much as possible,” Clayton said. “Adults can push this all day long, but if the kids aren’t included in what we need to talk about in these Connect groups, then it’s not going to work.”

The junior high created time to implement its character education program by designating the first day of the school week as No Movement Monday.

MBJH was one of only six schools in Alabama and one of 264 nationally to garner recognition and earn certification from Character.org. Founded in 1993, the organization provides the voice, visibility, and resources for educators to build nurturing and supportive school cultures that focus on core values and character strengths vital to student and school success.

MBJH and other 2020 Promising Practice recipients will be honored at the Character.org National Forum in Washington, D.C., next March. By then, the Connect program will be well into its second year.