MANSFIELD, Ohio – Aiden Boyce is a 5th grade student at St. Peter’s who holds doors for others, is polite at all times and reminds his principal not to forget her reflective jacket for crossing duty.
Emma Henderson is a 3rd grader described by the school’s administration as a youngster who will do anything for anybody.
“Aiden is the most courteous young man. He speaks to everyone. He never has a bad day,” said St. Peter’s Elementary School principal Madalyn Bauer. “Emma is extremely compassionate.”
Those two, and a host of others, embody the school’s Virtues in Practice program. The values program was written in 1995 by four St. Peter’s staff members and implemented for the 1995-96 school year. Over the years it has been refined and expanded from a one- to two-year cycle.
Also, because it’s unique to the school, it’s been registered for copyright.
“Beverly Brook was a music teacher at St. Peter’s Elementary for years and assistant principal for a number of years along with that and she was instrumental in getting this program developed and in place,” said Kathy Morris, marketing director at St. Peter’s.
Brook explained the program in a letter to parents dated Sept. 12, 2002.
“A values program, entitled Virtues in Practice, is in place at St. Peter’s to promote character development in our students,” Brook noted. “The Virtues in Practice (VIP) program is comprised of 18 virtues which are presented to students in a monthly fashion during a two-year cycle.
“Each month’s virtue includes weekly tips or suggestions for students to follow at school and at home as a concrete way to ‘practice’ the virtue being emphasized.”
Students are reminded of the virtue over the PA during morning announcements. Teachers emphasize the virtues when possible during classroom discussions and activities, too.
“Students are selected for ‘Student of the Month’ based on their display of the month’s virtue,” Morris said. “That’s an integral part of the program.”
This year is Plan A of the cycle. The virtue emphasized in September was Courtesy. In October it was Responsibility. November highlighted Honesty, December is Patience, January is Respect, February is Self-Discipline, March is Compassion, April is Courage, and May is Tolerance.
Year B virtues include: Cooperation, Empathy, Citizenship, Generosity, Idealism, Charity, Mercy, Humility and Perseverance.
“If we can promote these virtues at a young age, hopefully they can learn and grow them as they develop,” Bauer said. “Anybody can get this, that’s what I like about it. Not everybody can get a 3.5, but anybody can still get this and a lot of times that will go a lot further than a grade for the student.”
