Nebraska Department of Education Abstract

Contact: Carla Osberg
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
PO Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471–4812
cosberg@edneb.org

Nebraska Character Education Partnership Project

Application Number: R215V000003
Project Period: 0/1/00–9/30/05
FY 2000 Award: $183,183
FY 2001 Award: $228,861
FY 2002 Award: $232,896
FY 2003 Award: $178,812
FY 2004 Award: $125,686

This statewide project will address the need for character education in Nebraska schools to enable students to reach the goals of character education; to achieve state standards and Links to Leading Educational Achievement Through Rigorous Nebraska Standards (LEARNS) in Social Studies/History, Family and Consumer Sciences and Guidance; and to display positive character behaviors. Character education has been mandated by the Nebraska Legislature and is a strong priority of the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). The goals of the proposed project are: design and implement a statewide network to support the implementation of K–12 Character Education programs across Nebraska; develop the capacity of Nebraska educators and community members to effectively implement character education programs in their communities; and enable Nebraska school students to meet state standards in Social Studies/History and Links to LEARNS in Family and Consumer Sciences and Guidance related to Character Education, and to display positive character behaviors.

Project activities will include creation of a statewide Character Education Guide to outline character education goals and strategies for ensuring that character education programs reflect state standards and Links to LEARNS in content areas. A clearinghouse and Web site will provide access to resources. Teams in four diverse school districts will receive training, resources and support to enable them to implement school-wide character education programs.

These programs will be delivered in conjunction with community programs managed by a diverse community coalition. Coalitions will be established with support from University of Nebraska 4–H Cooperative Extension and will involve parents, students, community members, businesses and civic organizations.

By the end of the project, educators statewide will be aware of Nebraska’s character education mandate and have access to a new cadre of character education trainers across the state. The Character Education Strategies Guide will be widely disseminated. A statewide plan will be in place to expand Character Education to the secondary schools. The Character Education Clearinghouse and Web site will continue to be maintained by the NDE.

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