As a character development expert and educator for more than 25 years, I can attest to the profound positive changes I see in students every day when they are supported with the right character development frameworks. A robust body of research indicates that character education is an effective tool for reducing the incidence of misbehavior by students, with meta-analyses showing that it promotes better education outcomes and higher levels of integrity, compassion, self-discipline and other positive, pro-social traits.

Over the years, through collaborations with other leaders in the field of character development in school and sports, such as Dr. Marvin Berkowitz, Dr. Mindy Bier and Dr. David Shields, my approach to character education has solidified around two essential pieces: the “being” of character (i.e., modeling good behavior for students) and the “doing” of character (i.e., explicit intentional work with students to cultivate their own character).

The “being” of character

Middle and high school are some of the most formative years in the lives of young people. And aside from parents, school educators—including teachers and coaches—have the most lasting impact on the holistic development of our youth. Being the best versions of themselves as role models gives students indisputable evidence of the value of high character in the real world.

Centering through PRIMED

One way educators might apply the “being” of character is with the PRIMED for Character Development model. This framework was intended as a daily self-assessment tool for educators who want to show up as their best self for their students, requiring only a few minutes of preparation and reflection each day. PRIMED emphasizes six key principles:

1. Purpose and Prioritization: Why are you working to be your best for students? What will the outcome be years from now?
2.  Relationships: “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” How are you cultivating relationships with students?
3. Intrinsic Motivation: Educators need reasons to commit to high-character behavior beyond external rewards or punishments—these won’t be enough to carry them through all the tough moments in school. What are your motivators?
4. Modeling: Are you able to demonstrate the behaviors you want to see in students?
5. Empowerment: Are you giving students opportunities to lead, so they can apply what they’ve learned on their own initiative?
6. Development (Long-Term): Are we, as educators, just hoping to get through the day, or are we committed to long-term development of our students?

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Again and again, I’ve heard from teachers and athletic directors how powerful PRIMED has been and how it has helped them center what is most important for long-term character development.

The “doing” of character

Modeling goodness for students is essential for them to find relevance in the real-world value of character development programs, but it’s not sufficient. They also need to practice positive character themselves. At IMG Academy, we rely on research-backed programs to shape this component of character education for students, programs that educators could adapt to their own needs and schools.

Growing through the 12 CViL Virtues

The Cultivating Virtues in Leaders (CViL) framework emphasizes 12 interconnected values contributing to the positive character changes we seek to see in students. There is ample research that increasing students’ understanding, sophistication and growth in these virtues also leads to greater success and fulfillment in youth into adulthood. In practice, educators can promote these virtues through intentional programming designed to help students embrace a growth mindset toward each of these virtues.

1. Purpose
2. Integrity
3. Gratitude
4. Courage and Communication
5. Joy and Balance
6. Compassion
7. Humility
8. Forgiveness
9. Empowerment
10. Embracing Diversity
11. Foresight
12. Service and Legacy

By scheduling around the estimated 24 bi-weekly “advisory” sessions each school year, educators committed to building stronger character in their students can focus on each of the 12 CViL virtues for two weeks. I recommend an array of delivery mechanisms for the 12 virtues to introduce, deepen understanding of, and bring relevance to each.

In practice, this could mean incorporating video clips, student partner sharing, ethical scenarios, cross-aged group mentoring and community service projects in advisory lesson planning. Remember, make the framework your own based on your school’s values and the needs of your students and lean on the six key principles in PRIMED to support student growth.

The years ahead

By reframing character education through the lenses of ‘being’ and ‘doing’, school administrators can partner with educators to curb the rising rates of misbehavior in classrooms and, at the same time, cultivate virtues and character strengths in their students, as well as a thriving school culture. This supports a wider endeavor to promote goodness in society and secure the well-being of the next generation of innovators, leaders, and citizens.

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The devices cherished by students and adults alike now face bans in entire states and some of the nation’s largest districts. On Tuesday, Los Angeles USD approved the nation’s largest districtwide cellphone ban, which will take effect in January and also targets social media.

“It is time to formulate a legal strategy that contemplates, but is not restricted to, litigation against social media entities that use algorithms designed to directly appeal and eventually develop, an unhealthy addiction with mental and physical deleterious consequences for our youth,” Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said in a statement. “When coupled with social media, phones are a harmful vehicle that negatively impacts young people.”

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“Kids no longer have the opportunity to just be kids,” added LAUSD school board member Nick Melvoin, the sponsor of the ban. “I’m hoping this resolution will help students not only focus in class but also give them a chance to interact and engage more with each other—and just be kids.”

The entire state of California may soon vanquish cellphones from its K12 system. Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed to Politico this week that he intends to work with state lawmakers in the coming months to “severely restrict” the presence of phones in public schools.

Newsom spoke to the news outlet the day after U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for placing warning labels on social media to alert children and parents to potential health risks that include depression and anxiety. “When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies—not their screens,” Newsom told Politico.

Florida, Indiana and Ohio have enacted statewide restrictions on cellphones in schools. Lawmakers in South Carolina are—with full support from education officials and teachers—embedding cellphone restrictions in the state budget. To continue to receive state funding, districts must adopt a ban that will soon be created by the state’s department of education, The74 reported.

LAUSD was not the only district that took action on Tuesday. Marietta City Schools in Georgia also banned cellphones for middle school students in a unanimous school board vote.

“We really want kids to be focused on learning,” said Superintendent Grant Rivera in a statement reported by FOX 5. “Cellphones, smartwatches, and social media have significant impacts on our students’ learning and mental health. School should be a place to learn and grow; that can’t happen if students are distracted by their phones.”

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Adolescence, Shlain explains, is a brave and exciting period and “society needs it.”

“Sometimes teens are the ones who will say the things no one else will say, do things no one will do—they’ll take those risks and that’s exciting,” she says. “If you look at it as an intense and scary time, it probably will be. But if you look at it as a period of great growth and of understanding who they are, then it will probably be a more positive experience.”

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Shlain packs a lot into her 10-minute film, which features insights about the teen brain from leading neuroscientists and interviews with teens. The film is executive produced by actress Goldie Hawn and her nonprofit, MindUP, which provides social-emotional learning resources to families and educators.

“The goals of the film are to tell teens the things they’re feeling are normal, other teens are feeling the same things,” Shlain concludes, “and to give them tools they can use to calm their amygdala and bring back on their best thinking.”

Listen to the podcast below, or on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

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“It’s really about how do you help someone months, weeks or even years before they ever reach the point of thinking about hurting themselves or hurting someone else,” Hockley says on the latest episode of District Administration‘s “Talking Out of School” podcast (listen below).

“We teach students across the country to recognize the signs of someone who needs help … who is potentially on this long spectrum of violence that we know escalates over time,” she explains.

Sandy Hook Promise provides all of its “Know The Signs” training programs to schools at no cost and also sponsors student-led SAVE Promise clubs, which stands for “Students Against Violence Everywhere.” The nonprofit wants to make it as easy as possible for K12 leaders to adopt its violence-prevention initiatives.

“Once kids learn about the tools, they want to share that more widely, and continue that message throughout the school year,” she adds. “It becomes more of a communal effort rather than a heavy lift for any educator or administrator.”

In the podcast, Hockley also covers Sandy Hook Promise’s efforts to pass state and federal school safety legislation, how officials should rethink active shooter drills to prevent traumatizing students and staff and why she doesn’t like the term “gun control.”

You can listen to the full podcast below, on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

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In a poll conducted by McGraw-Hill in the U.S. and 18 other countries, more than half of educators (57% ) said that issues at home, insufficient family support and other external influences are the “largest obstacles to student success.”

Consequently, misbehavior, mental health struggles and students not being prepared for grade-level work also interfere with learning in the regions covered by the survey: North America, Northern Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

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When asked how to improve student success, the top three answers were: increasing funding for education, raising teacher pay and better training and support for educators.

Teachers are testing AI

Teachers are also looking for ways that AI can enhance their craft though some worry the rapidly advancing technology may harm students. AI’s two biggest benefits, each cited by about two-thirds of the respondents, are saving time on administrative tasks and personalizing learning more precisely for each student. But even more teachers, over 70%, want more guidance on AI and say its impacts are “unknown.”

Overall, about 40% of educators say AI has been beneficial while just 19% believe it has had a negative impact. Teachers’ biggest concerns are cheating and that AI could hinder students’ critical thinking, memory and social skills, the survey found.

The three biggest barriers to edtech implementation cited by teachers are: High costs of purchasing the technology (47%); lack of time to implement and train educators on how to use the technology effectively (38%); and “Data privacy concerns” (34%).

Here’s what else global educators said in the poll:

• 32% use generative AI, such as ChatGPT; 80% have already used it or expect to.
• 48% would trust the accuracy of information students get from generative AI.
• 48% don’t trust the accuracy of generative AI information or trust it only slightly.
• 72% believe their school needs to provide more guidance on the use of emerging technology.

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At one of the largest school districts in the state, Superintendent Mark Toback oversees some 7,700 students across his 15 schools. Like many education leaders, he explains this anti-bullying prevention and education initiative is a direct response to the behavioral changes students experienced post-COVID.

“We have a number of things we’re seeing that were outside what we normally see in terms of statistics about the district’s disciplinary actions, extreme behaviors, counseling needs, referrals, all of those things, which I think is part of a national trend,” he says.

As a result, the district had been tasked with addressing an increased number of HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) cases. However, it wasn’t until they began educating their students, staff and community-at-large about what’s considered HIB rather than a conflict that can be resolved through mutual conversation and resolution that they started to see a significant dip in reported cases. In fact, the district’s witnessed a 41% shrink in HIB investigations so far this year, says Scot Burkholder, director of student support services, federal, state and special programs.

He attributes a large number of their past-reported conflicts to disputes that originate via social media.

“There were a lot of cyber-driven conflicts, a lot of anxiety, self-esteem issues and emotional regulation issues,” he explains. “All of these issues interact with one another and are COVID holdovers.”

Getting to the root of the issue

Social media regulation can be a difficult task for school administrators. Even if you were to ban cell phone use at school—which many schools have done this year—a lot of these issues are likely to surface after school hours. Burkholder says creating awareness was their first step toward bullying prevention.

“We basically said, ‘We’re going to ensure our staff, our teachers, our support staff, our principals and our parents as partners in our district understand how to help students navigate conflict, engage properly with their peers and work out issues without making claims against one another,'” he says.

For instance, Jennifer Montana, supervisor of health and wellness, recently helped bring together school counselors from various schools in the district to present three presentations on bullying prevention, social media awareness and self-regulation ahead of one of their board meetings.

“We really do want to work with parents and our school community to be able to support students in learning these valuable skills,” she says.

Burkholder also says their success wouldn’t be possible without the work of their building administrators.

“Our exceptional principals and assistant principals, along with our professional school counselors, deserve the accolades for our anti-bullying efforts,” he says. “This highly skilled group of leaders spend countless hours each week meeting with students, parents and teachers to ensure all reports of possible billing and conflict become teachable moments for our students.”

Working with students to navigate their emotions

Burkholder explains that their counselors work closely with students on how to talk through their problems with their peers. It starts with teaching students how to talk through their emotions using “I” statements. For instance, “I feel this way because,” rather than, “You did this to me.”

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Toback says much of their federal COVID funding has been spent on hiring more counselors and mental health clinicians as well.

“It was interesting that the 120 or so spots that we had available with this contract were filled up almost immediately,” he says. It’s allowed students whose families lack the insurance to be able to receive the care they need during school hours, which he says has been instrumental.

“We feel like those were situations where students would definitely not have received those mental health services except for the fact that there was a significant investment and contract that allowed for those services,” says Toback.

Future planning

This summer, administrators and counselors will gather to review trends in parent and student reporting to set proactive goals for the next school year based on specific student concerns, notes Burkholder. This includes identifying targeted student populations, cyber conflicts, observing referral sources and looking at what resources or programs were provided to students after HIB reports and their effectiveness.

The information also allows them to customize their annual training on bullying prevention and de-escalation.

“We train not only teachers and administrators but also paraprofessionals, bus drivers, substitutes and other support staff every year to ensure students are safe and protected in spaces where teachers and certified staff are not always present,” he says.

“It takes a village. We have an exceptional staff who care deeply about student wellness.”

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Indiana joins Florida as the only two states to enact such laws but similar proposals are making their way through legislatures across the country even as many districts have implemented their own restrictions. Ohio Republicans this week introduced a measure that would bar student access to cell phones and social media.

In sixth through 12th grade, Ohio schools would also have to teach students about the negative “social, emotional, and physical effects of social media.” Such instruction would cover misinformation, manipulation, privacy and links between addiction and social media, the bill says.

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“If an individual has a mobile phone in their hand, or a computer in their hand, they can find a way around anything,” the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Tom Young, told the Ohio Capital Journal. “If the device isn’t in their hand, then there’s no access, right?”

Vermont lawmakers want to ban cell phones in the name of student mental health and safety. “Phone and social media use both inside and outside of school, required exposure to online and digital products in school, and the collection and misuse of student data, which perpetuates bias and discrimination, violates student civil rights by creating an unsafe, disruptive, and distracted learning environment for students,” the state’s proposed ban says.

“Electronic devices and the access such devices provide to social media and other applications contribute significantly to the youth mental health, and therefore public health, crisis,” the bill reads.

Schools in Oklahoma may soon be in line for additional funding and state grants if they are willing to ban cellphones from classrooms. Senate Bill 1321 would provide grants to an initial group of middle and high schools to cover the costs of going cellphone-free. Restricting cellphones would also limit “the damaging effects of cellphone use on students’ mental health and wellbeing,” said the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Ally Seifried said of her proposal.

“This bill is the result of many conversations with teachers, administrators and parents who want their kids and students to be more engaged in the classroom,” Seifried said. “By limiting the distraction of cellphones at school, it will allow students to truly focus on their learning.”

Earlier this month, the Louisiana Senate approved a cell phone ban and passed it on to the state’s House of Representatives. If a student brings an “electronic telecommunication device” to school, it would have to be “stowed away for the duration of the instructional day.” The state is stepping in with a ban to provide cover for school administrators who may be reluctant to implement their own policies, the bill’s sponsor told fox8live.

Ban have been introduced in Kansas and Pennsylvania. Conversely, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a cell phone ban earlier this month, saying the legislation “establishes an unnecessary mandate for an issue schools are already addressing.”

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The resulting lockdowns and school closures are also traumatizing students and staff, the RAND Corporation contends in a new report on how school leaders can better handle social media threats.

The most recent data available shows threats rose by 60% from 2021 to 2022, and they remain a too-common part of K12 life. “When responding to a threat, schools must balance the risk that a threat might be credible with the trauma and disruption that repeated responses to hoax threats induce,” the report’s authors write.

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A survey conducted for the report found that students and others in the community are not fully aware of the consequences of posting threats and hoaxes. Educators should therefore build a “reporting culture” so students, parents and others feel comfortable reporting threats they find on social media.

School leaders should work with law enforcement to develop a response plan that starts discreetly, at a lower intensity, and scales up rapidly if a threat is credible. “Habituating students and school staff to certain response measures can potentially alleviate the fear and trauma that they might otherwise cause during threats and other emergencies,” the authors advise.

The report recommends:

1. Responses to social media–based threats have to balance risks of under- and over-reactions and include options for intensification as a threat evolves.
2. Clear command and control protocols are essential as the investigations of threats—particularly anonymous ones—must be multi-pronged efforts involving school personnel, law enforcement and other specialists, such as psychologists.
3. Schools need national guidelines for assessing the credibility of threats, balancing and escalating responses, using common vocabulary with law enforcement, and communicating with families and the broader community during a threat situation.
4. Schools should accustom students and staff to emergency measures to make responses less traumatizing.
5. Educators should use surveillance tools with caution and inform students about the consequences of making threats.

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“Whether that’s instruction, enrichment activities, socialization opportunities, whether they’re getting access to free food or reduced-price lunches and good nutrition, all of the things we want kids to benefit from require showing up most of the time,” says Hedy Chang, executive director and president of Attendance Works, on this week’s episode of District Administration’s Talking Out of School podcast.

Chronic absenteeism is “significantly elevated” from before the pandemic, doubling from about 16% of students, or about eight million kids, to 30%, or 14.7 million, during the 2021-22 school year. There is not yet a national absentee rate for the 2022-23 school year but state figures show a slight improvement from the heights of COVID, Chang warns.

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“The challenge isn’t just the nearly one out of three kids who are chronically absent it’s the fact that now two out of three kids are in school where 20% or more are chronically absent,” she explains. “The churn that’s happening in classrooms is now affecting everyone. It’s affecting the ability of teachers to teach, teachers to set classroom norms, and kids to learn.”

The persistent causes of absenteeism are “barriers, aversion, disengagement and misconceptions.” One of the most impactful solutions is for administrations to rally all educators—not just those focused on attendance—around creating a more welcoming and healthy school climate. For example, high school career and technical education programs have higher attendance than other courses, Chang explains.

“The places that are successfully bringing kids back to school, you walk onto the campus and you feel different,” she contends. “They are a place you want to be, a place where you feel welcome, they are a place where you have a belief you’re going to learn something that will get you to a better place in life,”

On the podcast, Chang further explains why students continue to miss school and details how some districts are tackling the problem. She also outlines the resources and guidance available from her organization.

You can listen to the episode anytime on Apple, Spotify, Podbean or by clicking below.

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Lawmakers who have proposed the bills are not completely playing down the religious aspects of putting chaplains in schools and are also pointing to counselor shortages and the surging student need for a “safe place to talk,” according to one proponent in Utah.

Opponents across the country have raised concerns about chaplains offering religious guidance and that most of the bills don’t require the chaplains to have any training in school social work or earn any K12 credentials.

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In recent weeks, proposals have surfaced in Kansas and Utah. “In this era of conflict, discord and loneliness, the role of chaplain has never been more critical,” State Rep. Bill Rhiley, a Republican, told the Kansas Reflector. “Chaplains will be in schools as a moral compass and a moral spiritual guide.”

Utah’s bill would let chaplains provide counseling as long as students or employees are not required or “coerced” into participating.  Still, the state ACLU is warning the proposal violates the state’s Constitution and the separation of church and state.

“Chaplains have no place in public schools and their presence will inevitably lead to unconstitutional religious coercion and promotion of religion in school settings.  We recognize that student participation in chaplain services must be voluntary under this bill, but allowing chaplains to serve in official positions in schools creates an inherently coercive context for students regardless of the intent,” Ellie Menlove, the Utah ACLU’s legislative and policy counsel, testified at a hearing on the bill.

There is about one counselor for every 385 students in U.S. schools, figures that are significantly above the American School Counselor Association’s recommendation. The organization suggests a ratio of 1-to-250.

Why chaplains?

The push started last spring in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing chaplains to serve as school counselors. The new law, however, may not be having the impact its sponsors intended. The state’s largest districts, including Houston ISD, Dallas ISD and San Antonio ISD, have officially rejected the idea, according to Texas AFT.

The dissenting districts’ school boards have voted to maintain existing volunteer policies, which allow chaplains to participate in school activities but not take the place of licensed counselors.

Earlier this month, Florida’s legislature passed a bill that would allow chaplains to volunteer in public and charter schools as early as this summer. Schools would have to get written consent from parents before a student can interact with a chaplain and districts would be required to post information about the chaplains’ duties on their websites.

Nebraska’s bill would allow schools to hire chaplains “to perform the duties of a school counselor” without earning any certification from the state. Doug Houseman, a school counselor and executive director for the Nebraska School Counseling Association, pointed out to KMTV 3 News Now that the position requires a Master’s degree and state certification.

Similar measure are being debated in Georgia and Iowa but a chaplain bill failed in Oklahoma earlier this month. One opponent, according to AOL News and The Oklahoman, was the Oklahoma Faith Network, which had expressed concerns about blurring the lines between church and state, not requiring chaplains to earn certifications and not expressly prohibiting religious proselytizing, the outlets reported.

An unexpected proponent, perhaps, was the Satanic Temple, which declared itself ready to send its chaplains into schools should Oklahoma ever permit chaplains, AOL added.

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