Youth and Adults Working Together for a
Safe and Healthy Community

The Saratoga Springs City School District, the Saratoga Partnership for Prevention, and The Saratogian are continuing to work together to bring the school district’s Character Education initiative into the community with the “Profiles in Character” column again this year.

This communication is intended to address concerns expressed last year about the column and to help facilitate the nomination process.

The columns will run from October 2007 through June 2008 and will continue to reflect the themes of the month, as outlined by the school district. They are:


October: Respect                      February: Hard Work

November: Responsibility          March: Trustworthiness

December: Caring                     April: Fairness

January: Tolerance                   May: Citizenship

               June: A Time for Reflection
 

September is not included in the column because of time limitations and the  newspaper deadline.

This year nominations will be confirmed by e-mail, as long as an e-mail address has been provided. The column will be featured in the newspaper on the last Tuesday of the month, so that the article reflects that month’s theme. Therefore, the deadline for submissions is the third Tuesday of the month. Nominations received after the deadline may not be included in the column, due to deadline considerations. You can submit a nomination any time for any future theme and it will be filed and published according to the schedule above.

Two websites that can provide more information on character education are www.goodcharacter.com and http://www.bu.edu/sed/caec/.

In order to nominate someone you know, use the nomination form on the school district’s website or at www.saratogapartnership.org. The reason for the nomination can be something big, like organizing a fundraiser, running a school recycling program, participating in an organization that exemplifies good character, tutoring, or volunteering in the community. But nominations might also be made for random acts of kindness that you witness or for a student who works especially hard to prepare for the school play or the “big game” or concert. In either case, please include a detailed description of the featured character trait and avoid broad, general statements like the student “is very respectful” or “is always kind and caring.” The goal is to be as specific as possible about the character-filled achievements of the students of our community.

Once again, all nominations will be included in the column and one will be featured with a photo. If possible, include a digital photo with your nomination form.

If the student you nominated is featured for that month, you will be contacted by Saratoga Partnership staff in order to gain permission from parents/guardians and possibly to arrange for a photo of the nominee.

Schools may choose to include nominees in end-of-year celebrations. In that event, please contact Partnership staff for a complete list of all students nominated.   

Please feel free to contact Partnership Coordinator Maureen Cary at 581-1230 or Maple Avenue Middle School Assistant Principal Rosanne Jackling at 587-4551 with any questions or concerns about the column.

Thank you for participating!