respect opportunity achievement determination

At Muskogee High School, we place high value on the pursuit of character in both faculty and
students. The high school Touchstone embodies that pursuit by engraining four foundational
virtues into the school culture. Respect, talking advantage of Opportunity, Achievement, and
Determination are cornerstones of our environment. Because of our perception that good
character is the foundation for a successful and fulfilled life, we do all that we can to promote a
culture that emphasizes character development. Attendance at conferences such as those
conducted by CEP has helped to clarify our vision of what we want to become as a school of
character. Exemplary school districts like Fox in Arnold, MO, have also helped us to refine
actions and implement processes that have helped us gain momentum in our drive to character,
as have books such as Educating For Character by Thomas Lickona.
Just as we are unique in that the copy-righted name of the school mascot is the Muskogee High
School Roughers, we strive to be special in our diversity of methods in which we promote
character education. We have partnered with the city of Muskogee not only to create a city
character council, to strive to become a city of character, but also to develop a unique recognition
program, called Rougher 300 for students who exhibit exemplary service to others. We have
been recognized with a Promising Practice from CEP for building an alliance called R.A.I.D.
which is made up of our student clubs and organizations which work together on projects to
make our school and community stronger. Plus we have implemented an Advocacy program in
which students and faculty build strong interpersonal relationships that have dramatically
affected our school culture. These three practices, and a number of others, are defining who we
are as a character-based school not only with programs and practices but hearts to serve others
and enhance the lives of all.
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student publications, posters on the walls of classrooms and cafeteria, and student development
of the school’s core values, the expectation for good character is very evident(1,2). The premise
at MHS is based on the philosophy that character is more caught than taught and that happens
best through building strong, healthy adult-student relationships.
Principle #1 Promotes core ethical values as a basis for good character
Muskogee High School Handbook
SHOW PRIDE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR
SCHOOL!
PRIDE is a tradition at Muskogee High School. We
are proud of our students, our faculty and our
facilities. We are proud of what goes on in the
classroom and what goes on outside the classroom in
our activities. As a student at Muskogee High School,
you become a part of this tradition and are expected to
do only those things which will bring credit to you,
your school, and your community. Be proud of your
school and do your part in keeping the campus clean
and the building in excellent condition.
BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHERS!
The MHS Touchstone:
Rougher ROAD
RESPECT
OPPORTUNITY
ACHIEVEMENT
DETERMINATION
MHS Core Values:
1. Respect
3. Loyalty
5. Intelligence
7. Integrity
9. Self Discipline
11. Kindness
13. Achievement
2. Pride
4. Trust
6. Perseverance
8. Faith
10. Determination
12. Opportunity
“Process of Excellence”
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P2. All MHS students and faculty strive to demonstrate character through their actions in all
directions life takes them. All clubs, student organizations, sports teams, and families develop
foundations that character is demonstrated in thoughts, feeling, and then actions. The entire
faculty discusses and reminds students of the values and character associated with being
Roughers through teachable moments, curriculum, and performance character posters in all
classrooms as a reminder to students and staff that character isn’t something to only talk about
but it must be seen in our actions. One such curriculum is Botvin Life Skills, a standard
curriculum used to teach resiliency skills which are tied to building character in making good
decisions in all areas of life. Other classes incorporate Sean Covey’s The 6 Most Important
Decisions You’ll Ever Make, which deals with good decision-making in the areas of: succeeding
in school, making good friends, getting along with parents, dating and sex issues, avoiding or
overcoming addictions, and building self-esteem. As a part of Advocacy Families, students
develop portfolios that contain their own written goals and dreams for their futures, including
plans for college and interests in career choices much like families do through scrapbooking.
All 9th grade English teachers have incorporated the reading of Freak The Mighty into their
curriculum as a book that deals with the topic of anti-bullying. Campaign For Kindness kicked
off with a community showing of the movie, The Mighty, at MHS and was accompanied by a
Proclamation from the Mayor, declaring the first week of March as Anti-bullying Week in
Muskogee.
In over 40 student clubs and organizations opportunities abound for students to engage in
acts of service to the school and community. From FCCLA working with the Red Cross for
blood drives, to the Student Council collecting canned foods for area charities, and many groups
collecting coats, buying warm clothes for elementary children during the winter, and other clubs
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working in area soup kitchens, MHS students lead the way to District-wide initiatives such as the
school district’s Campaign For Kindness (CFK) which focuses on anti-bullying, how we treat
one another and the need to become service minded.
Principle #2 Character as thinking, feeling, and doing
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P3. Comprehensive, intentional planning and collaboration creates a culture of character at MHS
that must surpass the opposing culture of mayhem that a lot of our students experience daily. All
teachers meet weekly in PLCs and discuss aspects of student progress academically and other
areas of student life. There are also quarterly meetings with Advocate teachers. Through both of
these venues there is planning for character education. Much of the character education planning
includes sharing what students have done and are doing that promotes a positive character
culture at MHS. Teachers also have character resources including Character First materials that
give core teachers information about monthly character traits and illustrations from history,
nature, and provides activities for real-life application of the trait. There are also a number of
student organizations that promote good character in their mission statements and their actions.
The Student Council involves its members in a large number of service projects on campus and
in the community. Groups like 2much 2lose (alcohol resistance), SWAT (tobacco resistance),
JrROTC, and many clubs have individual focuses, but they all promote good character among
their members. Students in groups like 2much 2lose have developed their own Code of Ethics
which acts as the club’s guiding values. Pursuing Victory With Honor is a character program for
our high school athletes. VWH uses the six pillars of character in the Character Counts program.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is also a character-heavy club for student athletes. Rougher
Alliance for Intelligent Decisions (R.A.I.D.) was formed in the 2008-2009 school year as an
Alliance of most of the student clubs, extracurricular groups, and other student organizations.
Through RAID, student groups are more readily able to coordinate efforts in areas of school and
community service. There has been RAID training retreats for student-leaders from organizations
and clubs. The retreat teaches leadership principles and gives opportunity for leaders from
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various groups to develop relationships and plan joint projects. All teachers offer lessons on
issues that teach good ethical behavior and the consequences of good and bad choices.
Principle #3 A comprehensive, intentional, and proactive approach
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P4. Muskogee High School’s students, faculty, and parents take pride in the fact that they have
helped create a caring, small school like environment in a large school with diverse populations.
With the implementation of the Advocacy Program at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school
year staff began to be trained via staff development in how to reach out more effectively to our
student population many from low income families. Ruby Payne’s model has been an important
informational tool for staff, as have Stephen Covey’s materials. Each staff Advocate has from 10
to 18 students in her/his “family”. The Advocates meet with their students once each week and
have additional special family gatherings and outings. These outings have included weekend
trips to amusement parks, swim parties, cookouts, Xbox parties, pizza parties, Christmas and
Halloween parties, dances, and skiing and boating trips. As a result attendance has increase, test
scores have gone up, and in general students feel much more greatly connected to and wanted at
the school. In addition to activities designed to build relationships and community, the Advocate
teachers continually check on the grades of their students and help them arrange tutoring sessions
as needed and also make contact with parents. Many parents, knowing that the teacher has their
child’s best interest at heart, now call their child’s Advocate when they see various problems or
just want to check on progress. A growing number of parents also attend Advocate activities with
their children. Also during Advocacy meetings, lessons are discussed from Sean Covey’s The 6
Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make, study tools and habits learned, students are
allowed to give input on aspects of school policy and life. During Advocacy, students developed
a new Touchstone for MHS called The Rougher ROAD and in other sessions they revised the
Core Values of MHS and discussed the character-related Actions associated with the Core
Values. Advocacy Families have also taken part in service projects such as painting new lines in
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student parking lots, helping organize blood drives, helping organize the Campaign For Kindness
which is our anti-bullying initiative, working with outreach groups, and other projects.
Principle #4 School creates a caring community
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MHS students host a community C4K event
P.5.
MHS provides a vehicle for students to begin the journey to become citizens of a world
where they have a symbiotic relationship where all citizens are dependent on one another. We
give and take from this world, and when our students leave high school and enter the adult
world, they have been provided with many opportunities to serve both the school and the
community. Rougher 300 is an example of such opportunities. Students keep track of their
service in the community and at school, and students who have reached the goal of 300 hours at
the end of their senior year will be recognized at a banquet prepared by the Muskogee Chamber
of Commerce. They will also receive a special chord for graduation. Students all over this
school continually see issues and then begin the process with teachers like cleaning and painting
the parking lot to helping in the cleaning of the cafeteria. Pursuing Victory with Honor is a club
in which athletes gather to support one another in their decision to have character virtues like
trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship supersede and enhance
athleticism. Athletes also sign a code of ethics to adhere to on and off the field. MHS Student
Council has expectations for its student representatives to fulfill personal and social
responsibilities by working at food drives, fundraising, and school related improvement projects.
Students are also involved in a yearly project to identify MPS elementary students who are in
need from various elementary schools, raise money for Peer mentoring is evident through RAID
(Rougher Alliance for Intelligent Decisions) clubs delivering anti drug programs to elementary
schools across the district, and MHS students take a week from their rigorous studies to be ROC
(Rougher Outdoor Camp) bunk brothers and sisters where they mentor 7th and 8th grade students
throughout that week both academically and personally. 21 MHS students worked hand in hand
with 77belementary and middle school students in a student summit to create the MPS Bill of
Rights. Speaking at the summit was an Oklahoma State Representative, who presented the
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students with a Proclamation from the Governor of Oklahoma. MPS had requested the
Proclamation declaring the first week of October as anti-bullying week.
Principle #5 Opportunities for moral action
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P.6. Rigor, relationship, and relevance are the three R’s that drive our philosophy surrounding
curriculum. Muskogee High School diligently strives for a process of excellence through
professional learning communities, curriculum alignment, and achievement gap mapping.
Throughout all curriculum, can be found a hidden and not so hidden curriculum of character
development. For example, Freak the Mighty, Treasure Island, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The
Crucible are just a number of novels used to meet learning literary elements and lessons that
teach and model character not only in process but in content. The novels are used to discuss
such things as moral reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. The process of book
talks are opportunities for students to put into actions skills of respect, responsibility, selfcontrol, and attentiveness through listening and speaking about the material in the books that
provide students the opportunity to evaluate the character of fictional examples in literature.
This time promotes understanding differences of opinions while strengthening collaboration
through group work. Teachers also use words from Character First as words of the month to
emphasize our focus on those actions that demonstrate that virtue and the consequences of not
modeling that virtue as they might apply to those novels. History especially furnishes the perfect
opportunity for character education infusion. Character First provides stories along with what
history naturally give teachers to discuss the ways that our moral reasoning not only affects us
but those around us as well. An example is the Trunk of Hope, which is a traveling chest of
artifacts from the Oklahoma City Bombing. The Trunk of Hope is a program using the story of
the bombing to educate students about the senselessness of violence and the need to find more
peaceful means to solve our differences. Differentiated instruction is another means that MHS
teachers use to engage every learner while celebrating our differences in the diverse culture that
can be seen in every classroom.
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Principle #6 Meaningful and challenging curriculum
Projects done in Ms. Walker’s History
class about the OK City bombing.
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P7. Muskogee High School staff and parents recognize that one ingredient in the recipe of
success is self motivation. We diligently work to recognize students who go above and beyond
not because they are required, but because they desired! Students motivate one another through
morning announcements, encouragement to be involved in clubs and positive activities on and
off campus. Students also recruit one another for service projects at school and in the
community. In Advocate groups, students develop their own class contract or Code of Conduct.
The contract includes how they will treat one another and a confidentiality pledge. The city’s
newspaper does a good job in recognizing volunteerism among students as does the school’s
newspaper, newsletters, and broadcasting department. The school’s Touchstone is often used to
remind individuals of what the core values are and what it means to be a Muskogee Rougher.
Pictures of students and staff demonstrating good character can often be seen throughout the
school. For example there were no extrinsic rewards for students painting new lines on the high
school parking lots but they did an excellent job while giving up 6 hours one Saturday. Students
also volunteer many hours to work at local Angel Trees, Soup Kitchens, and clothing closets.
Students have volunteered time to work setting up tables and serving food at events like the
District’s Character Banquet where other students are recognized for exemplary character. Other
MHS students volunteer to work at the District’s Annual Character Camp and at Special
Education events.
Principle #7 The school fosters students’ self-motivation
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P8. MHS core values and mission are constantly modeled by staff. During PLC meetings
teachers review and discuss how to best promote MHS Core Values and the school Touchstone.
In monthly Advocate Leaders review meetings, character education is discussed and lessons are
agreed upon and teachers have the opportunity to network ideas and best practices. All staff are
held accountable to adhere to the same Core Values that students are expected to follow. Support
personnel are also involved in the character initiative. The transportation department
demonstrates performance character by helping needy students with school supplies and clothing
as well as not charging to take high school students to elementary schools to deliver clothing to
students at Christmas. School counselors conduct staff training to deal with issues such as
bullying and how to relate to students from under-privileged, low socio-economic backgrounds.
Staff also engages students in poster and video contests during Red Ribbon Week, producing
student PSAs to combat alcohol and tobacco use, and commercials for the Character Word of the
Month. Staff also takes part in regular staff development sessions for resiliency programs such as
Botvin Life Skills, Character First training, and how students can share leadership in Advocacy
Families by becoming Peer Advocates.
Principle #8 School staff is an ethical learning community
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P.9. Muskogee High School shares leadership among staff, parents, and students to achieve all
initiatives that drive decisions, actions, and programs in the character education initiative. It
begins with the enthusiasm and support of the principal, Dewayne Pemberton, then filters
throughout the family that Muskogee High School has become. There are many examples of this
in action. Convocation, the event that begins the school year for all staff members, launched the
year with shared leadership with the keynote speakers being high school students who delivered
the message, Teach them Up, with hands-on teambuilding activities and personal stories about
Muskogee educators who have impacted their lives. Also, during a District-wide administrative
meeting, MHS students were invited to facilitate the meeting and engage discussion about the
power of example. Shared leadership is also evident in Professional Learning Communities that
meet weekly to set goals and then celebrate them. Those minutes are shared and celebrated as a
district. As a result of the formation of RAID (Rougher Alliance for Intelligent Decisions), we
had a retreat where leadership development, and strategic planning began to unite all student
organizations throughout the school to continue to improve the culture and climate of Muskogee
High School. The kick-off to the District’s Campaign for Kindness is another example of shared
leadership in our district. Representatives from all schools including principals, parents, staff,
and district administration formed a committee that drives the decisions to forward the character
initiative. The committee has been involved in such activities, as the community viewing of a
major motion picture about bullying, Freak the Mighty, and MPS’s first annual student summit
where MHS students facilitated and drove discussion among parents, staff, and students to
develop the MPS Bill of Rights concerning safety and anti-bullying. MHS’s touchstone was
developed as a result of the generated ideas of advocacy groups and then during lunches, all
students used polling technology to choose the eleven character values that accelerate the process
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of excellence. It was through the same process of Café Conversations that our touchstone was
adopted, the Rougher R.O.A.D. (RESPECT, OPPORTUNITY, ACHIEVEMENT,
DETERMINATION).
Principle #9 School fosters shared leadership and long-range support
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P10. As much as our students are involved in serving in the community, our community is
always investing in our students. For instance, during the high school’s annual after prom party,
dozens of businesses rally to provide door prizes to give to students who stay the entire night in
safety on campus during the lock-in. Community organizations take part in judging and
recognizing character-related events and contests. The Muskogee City Character Council
annually judges character and drug-free posters that are part of Red Ribbon Week and they
display the posters on their web-site. The Community Anti-drug Network (CAN) judges
character and drug-free videos that students enter in another Red Ribbon Week Contest. First
National Bank, Wal-Mart, and Charlie’s Chicken fund the annual District Character Banquet that
since 2002 has annually recognized students of exemplary character and their families. The
Muskogee Mayor and City Council annually recognize those same character students during a
Council meeting that is televised and is always the best attended of the year. Marquis around the
community monthly display the school’s character word of the month. MHS and the other
schools in our district provide character-building material to parents to help them with ideas for
use with their children. MHS also invites those selected as Character Students of the Month
from all of our 13 buildings to come to selected athletic events as guests who are recognized at
halftime or during the “7th inning stretch” at baseball games. One parent/guardian is also invited
to attend free of charge with the student.
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Principle #10 School engages families and community as partners
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P11. MHS is constantly assessing both formally and informally the culture and climate of our
home away from home. In 2005 MHS staff was given a ten question survey based on the first
principle of the 7 Correlates of School Effectiveness which is, A Safe and Positive School
Environment. The possible responses were: Excellent; Above average; Average; Somewhat;
Very mediocre. The 2005 percentages for question one, “MHS has a positive environment for
students”, showed 0% Excellent and only 19% Above average. When the survey was repeated in
the spring, 2010, 12% believed the student environment is Excellent and 44% of staff feels it is
Above average. Each of the other nine questions revealed the same dramatic increases as did
question one. Over the past five years student attendance has steadily increased: 2006 - 89.83%,
2007 - 89.95%, 2008 - 90%, 2009 - 90.8%, 2010 - 91.8%, and currently in the 2010-2011 school
year the attendance is 94%. In the 2008-2009 school year increased test scores resulted in the
Oklahoma State Department of Education designating MHS as a Best Practices School in
Oklahoma. Student participation in MHS clubs and organizations increased from 56% in 2008,
to 64% in 2009, with a new involvement survey to be done this spring. The number of staff
acting as Advocates increased from 15 in 2008-2009 with 150 students, to 80 staff and 783
students in 2009-2010. During the current school year over 100 staff are Advocates and many
students are being trained as Peer Advocates. Final student numbers involved in Advocacy will
be tallied in spring 2011. MHS has also received recognition from CEP as a Promising Practice
school for the implementation of Roughers Alliance for Intelligent Decisions (RAID), which is a
cooperative among the over 60 clubs and organizations on campus. RAID allows leaders from
the varied groups to organize joint ventures and projects both on campus and in the community.
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Principle #11 Culture and climate assessment
MHS Student Advocacy
Survey
I appreciate my
Advocate
I look forward to
weekly meetings
My grades have
improved with
Advocates help
My attendance has
improved since joining
an Advocate family
My behavior has
improved
I feel more connected
to school
2008-09
99%
2009-10
99.4%
90%
97.7%
80%
85.7%
66%
71.5%
MHS Student Safety
Survey
Feel safe all of the time
Feel safe most of the
time
Feel safe some of the
time
Never feel safe
2008-09
2009-10
24%
43%
37%
42%
25%
14%
8%
7%
79% of students feel safe all or most of the
time, an increase from 67% the previous year.
MHS EOI Test Results 2008 & 2010
Test
2008
2010
83%
87%
77%
89%
Algebra I
Algebra II
Geometry
English II
English III
Biology I
U.S. History
67%
41%
62%
65%
63%
41%
54%
56%
48%
78%
83%
71%
63%
52%
Scores increased in 5 of 7 subjects tested.
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Eleven Principles Scoring Guide
To complete a self-assessment, assemble a representative group of stakeholders (teachers and
other staff, administrators, parents, students, community members). Group members can collaborate
to create one group score or complete the assessment independently before coming to consensus
on the group score.
Score each item according to the following scale using whole numbers. Calculate the average of the
items in each row to get a score for each principle. Find the average of all 11 scores in the final column
to obtain an overall score. Note that the key indicators listed under each item represent the expected
observable outcomes of exemplary implementation. For a score of "4" on any item, the school or district
should be able to demonstrate evidence of the full list of practices. Sometimes it may be necessary
to determine whether the school or district is closer to one score than another on an individual item.
Always considering quality, quantity, and frequency, the reviewer should look at the item holistically
and choose the number closest to the level of implementation.
School/District Name: Muskogee High School
Evaluator: Madison Tomlinson - Character Ed Director
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3
Principle #1
4
3.33
3.33
Principle #2
3.66
3.66
3.33
Principle #3
3.5
3
4
Principle #4
4
4
3.66
Principle #5
4
4
3
Principle #6
4
3.83
3.75
Principle #7
3.5
3.25
Principle #8
3.66
3.33
3.33
Principle #9
4
3.5
3.33
Principle #10
2.8
3
3
Principle #11
4
3.25
3.25
Total (average of each line divided by 11)
Item 4
3
3.5
Average
3.55
3.55
3.38
3.79
3.67
3.86
3.38
3.44
3.61
2.93
3.50
3.5
Scoring: Sheril Morgan -Prevention Specialist; Dewayne Pemberton - MHS Principal; Debi Gould - MHS
Teacher; Janet Bowen - Parent; JaCori Maxwell - MHS Student
Application and Narrative written by Madison Tomlinson with input from Sheril Morgan and
Dewayne Pemberton (titles listed above).
AYP - MHS did not make AYP in the 2009-10 school year as a result of a change in State cut
scores. The lone deficiency was in Algebra I scores on End Of Instruction tests. In every other
area MHS scored above necessary criteria.