What is Character Education?

Character Education is an integral part of our Carden culture and curriculum. Our goal in this area is to build and strengthen each student’s self-esteem, sense of honor and integrity, and positive social interactions with others.  Teaching the students about virtuous personal qualities is one way we accomplish this mission. A new virtue is introduced each week and reinforced throughout the day. This builds and reinforces individual confidence, self-awareness, personal accountability, and positive social values. These virtues are modeled by the entire Carden staff and kept alive throughout the school year, which culminates with our remarkable Virtues Assembly.  During this annual event, each student is publicly honored by their teacher for a distinct virtue they consistently demonstrated throughout the year.  In addition, we currently use the acclaimed Second Step curriculum for social-emotional learning in Grades PK-5.  Our Middle School is piloting a new program this year, as well as incorporating group meetings, mediation strategies, and leadership skills training.