ABCs of Character a Vital Lesson at Conejo Valley High

NEWBURY PARK — Be a moral person. Show consideration for others. Demonstrate accountability. Be kind. Persist.

Though students in the Conejo Valley Unified School District are taught these basic, age-old themes year-round, the message is especially crucial for the 150 pupils at the district’s high school for troubled youth.

Students come to Conejo Valley High School because they lack the credits to graduate, said Principal Jim Martin. Their reasons for falling behind range from truancy to failing classes, from being bored in school to getting arrested for fighting, drugs or burglary.

“A lot of our kids go back and forth between school and jail,” said Martin, a former Westlake High School assistant principal. “Some of the kids even wear those [electronic monitoring] anklets.”

He pointed to a sheriff’s poster of Thousand Oaks gang leaders and half-joked that nine out of the 14 mug shots were students who attended Conejo Valley High.

Saturday marks the end of the Character Counts! Week, when students throughout California are reminded about the moral traits that make them better pupils and better citizens.

“There’s a concern that not all students are getting what they need at home,” said Peggy Walker, who helps promote the 2-year-old program by sharing student successes around the district. “Whether it’s disruptive behavior or ethical principles, there was a national feeling to revive some of the more positive” lessons about character building.

Each of the district’s 19,350 students needs to learn about integrity, respect, responsibility, kindness and perseverance. But at Conejo Valley High, those lessons may have even greater significance.

“All kids need to learn [these traits],” said Supt. Jerry Gross. “But some of the youngsters over there have lost their way a little bit. They need a little extra push now and again.”

When Martin became principal of the school last year, he took to heart the character traits district trustees approved and got to work implementing them.

Aside from creating new classes such as drama and computer graphics, and bringing back the school yearbook, Martin started an awards program to honor three students each month for their exemplary behavior in the five character traits. They receive certificates, and laudatory notes are sent home to their parents.

“It’s pretty cool,” said one of the winners, 17-year-old Chris Wilbur, a physics and computer whiz who said he wasn’t motivated to get good grades while attending Thousand Oaks High School. “When I was told [about winning the award] and had to go to Mr. Martin’s office, I thought I was in trouble. I didn’t know I was going to win anything.”

Chris said he has pushed himself harder at Conejo Valley High because he likes the school’s flexible schedule that allows him to work at his own pace.

To demonstrate what he is most proud of since coming to the school, he showed off a computer project that he created to show how El Nino’s warm weather will affect the world’s climate this winter.

Sariah Chun, a 15-year-old sophomore who came from an unaccredited private school in Oregon, is another student who won a prize last month.

“My parents don’t talk about it much,” she said. “But I can tell they’re happy. The [five character traits] are something you see and you know, but they’re not always conscious.”

English and drama teacher Mary Ann Steele agreed that although the five qualities are nothing new, it’s important to reinforce them regularly.

“It’s good just to bring the words and definitions to a formal discussion level,” Steele said, pointing to a poster featuring the character traits on the bulletin board.

Along with acting as a role model, Steele reminds her students about the themes by asking them to write in their journals about being responsible or being kind.

Conejo Valley schools--which settled on a list of five character traits to emphasize in 1995--are the latest in the county to join the statewide program.

Each district school teaches the traits in different ways--some with poster contests, others with lessons. But there is no formal districtwide recognition ceremony, so schools learn about one another’s successes through newsletters and word of mouth.

The Ventura Unified School District was the first in the county to start such a program four years ago. The Pleasant Valley and Briggs elementary school districts, which subsequently began programs, also encourage similar traits, such as trust and honesty.

County Supt. Chuck Weis said he has received good feedback about this area’s Character Counts! programs, mostly from districts that have pushed the character codes for a few years.

“I hear that the kids are actually behaving differently toward each other in the classrooms,” he said. “And I hear that parents are recognizing a difference in their kids, too.”

Although the outward signs of progress are small so far, teachers at Conejo Valley High say they have noticed positive changes in their students as a result of stressing character themes.

“Because it’s in its infancy, a lot of kids weren’t aware of the program until the winners were announced last month,” said Rod Fujita, who teaches math and world history. “But afterward, some thought it was nice. A few asked how they could get [the award]. We’re hoping they will increase motivation.”

Although the response to the character building lessons has been overwhelmingly positive, some opposition always surfaces during the planning stages, Weis said.

Each school district establishes its own themes based on recommendations from community committees.

“When it comes to discussing the actual traits, you hear a lot of, ‘This should be there and that should not,’ ” Weis said. “Some people say that they’re trying to teach the Ten Commandments. No, what we’re trying to do is encourage how to behave in society. It’s nothing religious. I tell the teachers not to add it to their curriculum, but weave it in.”