Hilton district hosts national speaker
Parent/Community Forum March 7

A year in development, Hilton Central School will launch its integrated character education with the visit from a national speaker in the field of character education, Dr. Hal Urban, former teacher, now author, in March. "We decided to invite Dr. Urban to Hilton because, of all those in the field, he is the most connected to public school education," Karen Bolinger, assistant principal at Hilton's Northwood Elementary School and co-chair of the Character Education initiative, said. "He knows how important it is to implement character education in the classroom and to model it."

Parents and community members are especially encouraged to hear Dr. Urban's inspiring talk at the Parent/Community Forum on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the West Avenue/Quest Auditorium, 225 West Avenue, Hilton. The evening will also give parents and community members a chance to address aspects of character education through a small-group discussion format according to Mrs. Bolinger. "We will ask people to talk about what traits are important when we think about what it means to be a person of character."

Data obtained from parents and the community, as well as teachers and students, will be compiled by the Character Education Committee to help design an appropriate and community-involved curriculum, Bolinger said. "For instance, we envision students perhaps becoming more involved in service opportunities in the community."

The featured speaker, Dr. Hal Urban of the University of San Francisco, is the author of "Life's Greatest Challenges and Life's Greatest Lessons: 20 Things I Want My Kids to Know," the Writer's Digest 2000 National Inspirational Book of the Year. Dr. Urban's books will be available for purchase at the Forum.

Organized by the district's Character Education Committee composed of 27 teachers, administrators, parents, students, members of the faith-based community, board of education and community members, the Forum will kick off many activities within the school community including a presentation the next day, March 8, for the entire Hilton faculty.

Part of Hilton Superintendent John Cooper's Excellence in Student Learning Strategic Plan, the character education umbrella is expected to "embrace all aspects of the Hilton educational family and weave through our programs promoting quality character development." The development of the initiative is partially based on the pioneering work done on character education by Dr. Thomas Lickona of SUNY Cortland's Eleven Principles of Character Education.