EDUCATION
CREATING THE CURRICULUM Cy-Fair ISD’s character education
Cy-Fair ISD adopts new character education curriculum
committee developed the Bringing Out the Best program.
BY MIKAH BOYD
The committee concluded the values should be integrated into the aca- demic curriculum and other district initiatives; monthly lessons should complement campus programs; and teacher training should be embed- ded in back-to-school professional development. The program rollout will span over three years, allowing the district to cover all 25 character traits in the program. A different trait will be emphasized each month with the subsequent months building on previous knowledge and qualities while teaching something new. According to district officials, the program will kick off in 2022-23 with a focus on school pride in September. “We started with school pride specifically because we want all 93 of our campuses to have the pride from those students that attend to have that sense of belonging and continue to take those relationships to the next level,” Chief Officer for School Leadership Roy Garcia said.
be woven into the curriculum, such as integrity, punctuality, kindness, patience, accountability, diligence, respect, freedom from prejudice, patriotism, school pride, respect for authority and gratitude. The Texas Education Code outlines parameters for establishing a character education program, which is under the direction of the State Board of Education. According to board policy, these plans must be developed through a committee selected by the school district featur- ing parents, educators and other community members. “[Knowing] the definition, statute policy and requirements for the district, as educators we realized the importance of considering why char- acter education matters to us,” CFISD Director of Professional Learning Glenda Horner said. The district created a committee that researched how these traits were already being taught in CFISD and how to improve on current practices.
SOURCE: CY-FAIR ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
The Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a locally devel- oped character education plan called Bringing Out the Best on Aug. 8 to replace the No Place for Hate program, which was suspended in 2021. “I’m glad that we did not choose to just take a program off the shelf that was created by someone else,” Trustee Julie Hinaman said at the Aug. 4 board work session. “This was created by our stakeholders, by our teachers, by our counselors, by parents with student input.” Character education is required by the state to be integrated into each district’s curriculum. Districts can choose an existing program or create their own, CFISD officials said. State law mandates the values of trustworthiness, responsibility, caring and citizenship be taught to grades K-12 as appropriate, according to the Texas Education Code. Under the banner of these four values lies specific character traits that must
The committee studies how campuses were addressing character traits in pre-existing programs and curriculum. The committee determines how to address character traits and finds there is no district standard. The district conducts a stakeholder survey, develops a district program and writes curriculum. communication plan and trains staff in the new curriculum. CFISD launches age-appropriate character education lessons districtwide. The committee establishes a
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Cy-Fair Educational Foundation
Hyatt Regency HoustonWest • October 22, 2022
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Guest Speaker U.S. Army (Ret) SPC JP Lane Deployed with the 428th Engineer Company October 2010. JP will tell you he joined the Army to serve and protect the American people, and by the grace of God he still does.
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CY-FAIR EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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