"Everything we do now, we think about it differently," said Eric Freidman, principal of the Babylon Memorial Grade School, which was named a 2008 National School of Character by the Washington DC-based Character Education Partnership (CEP) this past spring. Freidman is referring to the school's integrated approach to character education that each day permeates every facet of learning in the school and involves every student and staff member. Students might be found discussing literature in a way that looks at the plot through a "character lens." A social studies lesson might focus on the redeeming qualities of an historical figure. The Math-a-Thon project to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, in which the school has participated for the past 13 years, reinforces basic math skills, while instilling students with compassion and empathy. The school and community have raised more than $250,000.

Photo taken at the June 2 School board meeting after the Babylon School board recognized the committee and the school on their achievements. Shown, left to right, are: Top row, Alena Berenblatt, Grace Kiernan, Kim Mielenhausen, Cheryl Murphy. Bottom row: Superintendent Ellen Best-Laimit, Eric Friedman, Debbie Shea, Tammy Tillinghast, Marianne Connolly, Shannon Romanchuk, Carole Polney-Marinello and Darrell Conway. Missing are committee members Rita Bertenback and sue Scalfani. Freidman says he has been working on character education concepts in an instructional way, both as a principal and a teacher, throughout his career. It was six years ago, however, when he decided to organize a formal school-wide character education program. It began with a parent survey that revealed four pillars of character upon which the school built its program - respect, responsibility, honesty, and empathy.

The bulk of the program's success is due to the enthusiasm and commitment of faculty and staff, says Freidman. The response to join that initial Character Education Committee was overwhelming, recalls Freidman. There is a committee of teachers representing every grade level - third through sixth. "If you get a school to commit to this collaboratively, then it will work," said Freidman. That certainly has been the case for the Grade School which boasts improved academic scores and decreased absenteeism and discipline problems, since the program's inception. Before the program, sixth grade students receiving the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence averaged 27 percent. That statistic has steadily increased each year to a current 42 percent of sixth graders receiving this national recognition for academic excellence. Criteria for the award call for a grade of A- or better in every major subject for each of the previous three years, as well as a score within the 85th percentile on the last administered achievement test in language arts and math. There are other non-academic signs that the lessons learned in this school's character education program truly work. Students have internalized the meaning of responsibility and voluntarily return lost money they find to the main office. "This occurs at an incredible rate," said Freidman, "at least once a week." There are many other examples of kindness and compassion that surface unsolicited. One was an idea from a classroom morning meeting that suggested students could wear red, white, and blue on the 11th day of every month to honor the lives lost to the 9/11 tragedy. Another is that five percent of the girls during the past two years have donated their hair to the Locks of Love program. "What's very important about Babylon's program is that every faculty member is involved from the get go," said Allie Weldon, who just graduated from Babylon High School. "Each teacher has their own way of teaching character education. When you are taught about character as a little kid, it sticks with you." Weldon, who will attend Elon University in North Carolina this fall to study Communications, remembers the warm welcome she felt when she entered the district as a fifth grader. "It was so easy to blend in. Everyone was so caring," she said. As she heads off to college, she'll take Principal Freidman's wise words with her - "be kind to every person you meet." This fall, Freidman and a group of Grade School teachers will travel to Arlington, VA to receive the CEP's National School of Character Award from chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell. While there, Freidman and the teachers will present the principles of Babylon Grade School's character education program to other educators in attendance.

The CEP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing compassionate students. Babylon Grade School receives a $20,000 grant for winning, half of which must be used to train other schools seeking to improve their character education efforts. The Grade School faced stiff competition for the national award and competed against 150 other schools from 20 states. After first submitting a detailed and lengthy application to the state level judging body, the Academy for Character Education at Sage College in Troy, NY, Babylon was identified as one of three schools in the state whose program was worthy of a site visit. That group judged Babylon as the top elementary school in New York State and forwarded the application to the CEP. The National CEP published 25 finalists, visited those schools, and then selected the top 10 schools from throughout the nation. Babylon became one of only five elementary schools chosen. "This has been the most powerful, satisfying educational effort of my lifetime," said Freidman, who is always quick to point out that the program's success is due to the collaborative efforts of teachers, students, other staff, and parents. "The most important lesson that I learned is to care about people's feelings," said Babylon Grade School fourth grader Sarah McLean. "You also need to be honest with people - your friends and family." McLean says she'll carry these lessons with her as she enters fifth grade. "I believe you can grow character in a school setting," said Freidman. "You need good support at home, a good school environment, and kids who want to try."