Schools Aim to Make Birmingham a 'Community of Character'

wants to give back and improve the lives of its students and residents by making Birmingham a "Community of Character."

During its meeting Monday night, City Commissioners heard a presentation from Tamra Nast, a BPS counselor, on the district's Character Education program and how the city can help extend the program into the greater Birmingham community.

"If we can train our community to think the same way, our students can carry (their Character Education experience) over when they're not in school," Nast said.

This isn't the first time the Community of Character program has come before the commission. In a memo dated Nov. 7, assistant city manager Joe Valentine introduced the program to commissioners.

"Essentially, a Community of Character program involves a community working together to build and promote positive attitudes based on positive character traits," Valentine said in the memo.

In addition, Valentine noted that many of these "character traits" could be customized for various organizations around town, from businesses, neighborhood associations to religious organizations.

Birmingham Public Schools has based its Character Education program, first introduced in the early 2000's, on four key traits:

• Postive attitudes
• Honesty and integrity
• Respect and kindness
• Responsibility and accountability

The district's program is rooted in the Character Education Partnership, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC.

"When schools embrace the critical role they have in shaping the character of young people, achievement and morale go up, and bullying and discipline problems go down," said Joe Mazzola, president and CEO of the Character Education Partnership.

The district has won several awards for its Character Education program in recent years; most recently, , and elementaries were . In addition, won a statewide School of Character Award in 2010 and 2011.

Character Education has even become a part of the district's mission and the everyday life of the schools. The four character traits are now included in the district's logo, and reflected in everything from the Pembroke Pledge at Pembroke Elementary or the Groves House Rules at .

As of Nov. 7, the district had organized two meetings with various community groups in an attempt to garner support for the citywide effort. Ideas from the meetings include partnering with faith-based organizations, branding the movement in Birmingham shops and restaurants and recruiting parents' help from other cities through the PTSA.

Efforts to connect cities and schools through Communities of Character can be found nationwide, from Pleasanton, CA to Orangeburg County in South Carolina.