At Putnam Valley Elementary School the teachers, administrators, and staff take education very seriously. After all, that is what schools do. But at PVES there’s an added component that is every bit as valuable as reading, writing, and arithmetic: Character Education. Under the leadership of Principal Jamie Edelman, PVES has developed a set of Great Expectations that are the foundation of the school’s Character Education program. They are:

· Be Kind · Be Safe
· Be Respectful · Be Responsible

The PVES Character Education Committee is the group that designs and oversees programs to help students fulfill these expectations. Current Committee members include Rosa Amendola, Sue Baumgartner, Bruce Brothers, Madeline Calhoun, Marifrances DeMaine, Kelli DiBattista Melissa Falloon, Dorothy France, Leesa Hernandez, Christine Malone, Jenette Mistretta, Lauren Nicolosi, Sue O'Connell, Kim Thyrre, and Ms. Edelman. These teachers, staff, and administrators meet bi-monthly and over the summer to plan assemblies and lesson plans, discuss books that support the Great Expectations, and devise ways to make their school community more united, safe, kind, respectful, and responsible. The group’s mission is to provide students with a more culturally diverse curriculum and goals for improving both the school environment and the community at large.

Character Education is offered in units, just as academics are taught:
· October/November - Be Safe · February/March - Be Respectful
· December/January - Be Kind · April/May - Be Responsible

For each unit, teachers focus on a children's book that illustrates the message of the unit. Working with a book guide that summarizes the story, and a list of suggested activities, teachers incorporate the Great Expectations into their daily lessons. The school shares calendars that offer daily reminders of how to be safe, kind, respectful and responsible, and bulletin boards display students’ work as they make a creative connection to the lessons learned.
In a recent Responsibility unit, students and teachers focused on the book The Garden on Green Street, by Meish Goldish. In this book a neighborhood comes together to create a community garden on an empty lot, and unites again to save their garden when a building company threatens to pave it over, illustrating how neighbors can work together to achieve a common goal. The Committee’s introduction to this unit reads, in part, “Our hope is that in reading and discussing this text in their class, students will recognize and celebrate just how responsible they are, and be inspired to take more responsibility for themselves and their community.”

In May of 2008 the Character Education Committee hosted a “Walk for Autism” to raise funds for the nonprofit organization, Autism Speaks. After a kick-off assembly in which a representative from Autism Speaks gave a presentation to the students and staff about autism, all students from grades K-4 walked on the PVES fields for 30 minutes to raise funds for autism research. The Committee underscored that this event also provided “public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society,” as well as the chance to “bring hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.”

In addition, the Committee noted, these types of events reinforce ties between the school and the surrounding community, and build school spirit as students work together toward a common goal. In early October, the Committee held an awards ceremony to recognize those students who raised $100 or more for Autism Speaks. The honorees received either a t-shirt or a lunch bag. One student, Carl Burgard, who raised over $1,000, received a tote bag and an iPod Nano. Collectively PVES raised over $8,000 for Autism Speaks and received a special plaque as the top fundraising school for 2008 at the Autism Speaks awards ceremony on October 15, 2008.

Another focus is conflict resolution. This month the entire school attended an assembly on differentiating big problems from small ones, and how to handle these challenges appropriately. Working with puppets and acting out examples of potential conflicts and challenges, teachers reinforced the message of kindness.

In November, the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive provides full meals for Putnam Valley families in need through the Putnam Valley Community Food Bank. Students bring in canned goods and other nonperishable items and help to pack them in decorated cartons. The teachers provide turkeys through a separate donation from the PVFT.

For Martin Luther King Day in 2008, students and teachers created The Peace Gallery, an art exhibit of class-centered posters exploring the theme of Peace. In the spring of 2008, after being exhibited at PVES, the Peace Gallery posters were hung in various Town venues, including Town Hall, the Putnam Valley Library, and the Putnam Valley Senior Center.

In April, the school celebrated Earth Day by reinforcing the message of sustaining and caring for our world. At the Earth Day Celebration at Putnam Valley’s Leonard Wagner Town Park students came with their parents to help plant flowers and beautify the park. Teacher and Committee member Bruce Brothers also works throughout the school year with a small group of students to encourage recycling efforts at PVES.

“In Putnam Valley we believe that character education is a key component to the process of helping our children become lifelong learners and good citizens of the world,” said Superintendent Dr. Marc Space. “As educators, we take this process very seriously.”