Three Kansas schools have been honored for the character education programs this year, and one is being honored this month as one of just 38 national schools and districts of character.

Earlier this year, Beloit Junior/Senior High School in Beloit USD 273 was chosen as one 73 state Schools of Character, by Character.org, a national advocate and leader for character development in schools and communities. Beloit High was then further honored among the 38 for national recognition for the second time in five years.

Also in Kansas, Remington Elementary School, Remington USD 206, was recognized as an Honorable Mention School of Character and Bickerdyke Elementary School, Russell USD 407, was designated as an Emerging School of Character through the Kansas State Schools of Character Recognition Program.  The program is sponsored by Character.org, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Smoky Hill Education Service Center.

Character education is generally viewed as part of social-emotional learning, which is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. In fact, a 2023 report from Yale School of Medicine demonstrates that effective character education and social-emotional learning programs result in higher student attendance rates, improved academic success and fewer behavior/discipline incidents. These districts also told of the many ways their programs help nurture a wide range of employability skills with their students, such as teamwork, personal responsibility, communication and respect — making the programs popular with parents and community members.

An emphasis on character education in Kansas goes back at least as far as 2007, when the Kansas Legislature passed a bill directing the State Board of Education to support school districts in providing character development programs. The bill defined these programs as “secular in nature” and supporting "positive character qualities which include, but are not limited to, honesty, responsibility, attentiveness, patience, kindness, respect, self-control, tolerance, cooperation, initiative, patriotism and citizenship.” Five years later, the state board approved the first set of state Social-Emotional Character Development Standards. Kansas was the second state to adopt social-emotional competencies and the first state to integrate social and emotional learning and character development.

Now, perhaps more than ever, some of Kansas’ top-performing schools report that academic outcomes are threatened by a wave of student behavior issues, anxiety, depression and other social and emotional needs. The state-recognized character education programs provide examples of how students can overcome challenges in learning and life when districts partner with parents and the community.

Read more about the award-winning schools’ programs:

• Beloit Junior/Senior High School – Beloit USD 273
• Bickerdyke Elementary School – Russell USD 407
• Remington Elementary School ­– Remington USD 206