CHARACTER COUNTS! has awarded 20 mini-grants totaling $10,000, to faculty and staff in the Martin County School District to enhance and enrich their schools’ character education programs.

The grants were awarded during National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, Oct. 19-25.

Following are other recipients of the mini-grants (school and educator): 

• Dr. David L. Anderson Middle School, Vonetta Allen and Penelope Taylor – Funds will be used to implement and provide student recognition for the school’s Positive Behavior Support System.

• Citrus Grove Elementary School, Lana Barros – “Read Character”. Quality children’s literature exemplifying the Six Pillars of Character will be used to integrate CHARACTER COUNTS! into the school’s Pre-K through fifth grade reading curriculum.

• Citrus Grove Elementary School, Danny Rendell – “Catch a New Attitude at P.E.” will provide children with a quality instructional physical education program, which focuses on building good character.

• Citrus Grove Elementary School, Julie Omer – Weekly puppet shows will portray real students demonstrating the ability to apply the CHARACTER COUNTS! lessons they have been taught to address real life issues.

• Crystal Lake Elementary School, Mark Scholl – Building on last year’s successful ‘bracelet-exchange’ project, students receiving or giving a bracelet this year will have the opportunity to plant sunflower seeds in pots painted and decorated with the CHARACTER COUNTS! theme that will be placed throughout the campus.

• District ESE Department, Joanne Sweeney – Funds will be used to expand the Peer PALS program to the district’s twelve elementary schools.

• Felix A. Williams Elementary, Kathleen Buckley – This project will further integrate CHARACTER COUNTS! and character education into the fourth grade reading and writing curriculum.

• Hobe Sound Elementary School, Christina Rynasko – “There’s Only One You, Show How Your Character Counts!” Students will be asked to identify one character trait they need to improve upon and then create a ‘rock-fish,’ which illustrates that particular trait.  The ‘rock-fish’ will be displayed in the school’s butterfly garden.

• Indiantown Middle School, Mollie McGeehon – Six Pillars of Character banners will be created using photos of students ‘doing the right thing’. Banners will be displayed throughout the school and community.

• Jensen Beach High School, Connie Dahn and Tracy Canada – “Living a Fairy Tale.” Thirteen students with significant cognitive disabilities will be paired with thirteen non-disabled art students to make a character-based fairy tale come alive with puppets for a class of autistic students at Jensen Beach Elementary.

• Murray Middle School, Maura Mason and Annie Galland - Students will recognize and honor veterans on Veterans Day and senior citizens during the holidays with community service projects.

• J.D. Parker School of Science, Math & Technology, Tammy Nolan – Funds will be used to implement the anti-bullying program, “Steps to Respect.”

• Pinewood Elementary School, Kara Rudolph – “Monday Movie Madness.” Short movie clips that will teach invaluable life lessons will be shown to all students the first Monday of each month.

• Port Salerno Elementary School, Teresa Staton-Soliman – “Having Good Character in the Cafeteria.” Funds will be used to purchase and show interactive character-focused videos to students during their lunch period. These videos will allow students to see how easily they can change their current negative behavior into a socially accepted positive behavior.

• Sandy Pines, Holly Vincent – Funds will be used to implement an anti-bullying program.

• Stuart Community High School, Stacey Ayers-Roderiques – Funds will be used towards implementation of a character-based staff development program, “Engaging the Disengaged: Adolescent Learners.”

• Stuart Middle School, Dyron Curry – Funds will be used to implement and provide student recognition for the school’s Positive Behavior Support System.

• Warfield Elementary School, Lynda Swift – Integrating the history of Indiantown into their art class, second, third and fourth grade students will create works of arts illustrating local people of character, which will be incorporated into six collages, one for each of the Six Pillars of Character.

• Warfield Elementary School, Rhonda Cooper – Funds will be used to recognize students who demonstrate good character and to reinforce recognition of the Six Pillars of Character through the exchange of CHARACTER COUNTS! bracelets among students and staff.

• Warfield Elementary, Susan Barbieri – “Creating Character at Warfield.” CHARACTER COUNTS! books will be used to provide a catalyst for teachers and students to explore character concepts through group discussions, role-playing and written responses.

For more information regarding CHARACTER COUNTS!, please visit www.charactercounts.net or call (772) 283-4800, ext. 234.

CHARACTER COUNTS! is a program of the United Way of Martin County.