What began as an interest in school safety after Columbine has developed into a passionate commitment to ongoing excellence in our schools.

 

As a founding member of Mothers Against School Violence (MASV),

I worked with other parents, community groups and the school district in initiating a district-wide Campaign for Safe Homes.

 

Our mission was to raise awareness and encourage changes in our homes that would create a safer environment for our children. The spirit of the campaign was to promote open communication between families and to support parents who were willing to communicate a clear position about alcohol and drugs with their children and who accepted responsibility for ensuring that all firearms in their home were properly secured.

 

In a letter sent to all BPS families in July 1999, former Director of Community Relations, Shirley Bryant said, “It is critical that parents discuss these issues with their children and it is our hope that the Safe Homes project will provide an opportunity for these conversations to take place in each home in our district.”

 

In May 2000, the founding members of MASV received PTSA recognition as district honorees of the year.

 

In December 2002, Craig Yaldoo, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy of the Michigan Department of Community Health, on behalf of the Michigan Safe Schools Initiative, the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice recognized the Birmingham Public Schools with a Best Practices Award for being a school community which exemplified best practices in peer mediation, bully-proofing programs, diversity training, development of a district-wide crisis plan, development of a district-wide safety committee and for working with the parent group MASV to develop a Safe Homes Program.

 

What began as a district-wide safety committee evolved into a district-wide character education initiative. I have been an active participant on the Character Education Steering Committee since the Board of Education adopted Character Education as part of the district’s Strategic Plan in 2001.

 

The Character Education Steering Committee works to support all of our schools in embedding respect, kindness, honesty, integrity, responsibility, accountability and positive attitude into each school’s culture and curriculum. I am privileged to work with the assistant superintendent for instruction, principals, counselors and parents who serve on the steering committee and the teachers, counselors, social workers, community service organizers and principals who serve as building liaisons, as we work to integrate character education into every aspect of our schools.

While our Character Education initiative is about much more than awards, I am very proud that two of our schools are National Schools of Character, three are State Schools of Character and all of our schools have received promising practice awards from the National Character Education Partnership.