Teaching values is tricky today in a win-at-any-cost world. Social forces promoting dishonesty and cynicism are affecting everyone, including Catholic school students.

Acknowledging this moral morass, archdiocesan religious educators announced last month they are ratcheting up their character development and values education efforts by joining forces with a secular, nonpartisan coalition of more than 6,300 schools and organizations across the U.S. using the nation's leading character development program: Character Counts!

Character Counts!, administered by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics, teaches values education through its "Six Pillars of Character": trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Currently in place at 30 local Catholic elementary and high schools, the character-building program has proven to be a positive enhancement to traditional religious virtues training.

"We are proud of the great job our Catholic schools have been doing and we have always focused on values, but we've come to realize that we need a more systematic and comprehensive approach to character building if we are to reach today's youth," said Sister of Charity Mary Elizabeth Galt, archdiocesan chancellor.

Making her comments during national Character Counts! Week Oct. 15-21, Sister Galt said archdiocesan educators will continue to train their teachers to adapt the "highly effective methods of Character Counts! We call it Catholic Character Counts!," explained Sister Galt.

Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson, newly elected Josephson Institute of Ethics board member and pastor of St. Monica Church in Santa Monica, praised the program's effectiveness. Noting that nearly 100,000 students attend local Catholic schools, Msgr. Torgerson declared: "The decision to partner with Character Counts! represents a momentous effort to raise the profile of the values of integrity, responsibility and respect, and the building of character."

Pilot school
Nativity School in El Monte was one of 11 pilot elementary and secondary schools that began using the Catholic Character Counts! program two years ago.

"It's been exciting from day one. We just took off like lightning doing many activities throughout the school," said fourth grade teacher Mrs. Jenny Reyes garbed in a bright red "Character Counts!" polo shirt.

On official Character Counts! school days, staff and designated student council members wear the brightly colored shirts, each color representing a certain pillar of character. In the K-8 school's "Character Counts!" hallway, doors have been painted in pillar colors and student-decorated bulletin boards portray artistic interpretations of the six pillars.

"What Character Counts! provides is a common language of six words that kindergartners all the way up to eighth graders use," said Sister of St. Louis Stacy Reineman, Nativity principal. She recounted a recent incident in the kindergarten classroom where one kindergartner told another that their misbehavior "wasn't responsible" according to Character Counts! standards.

"They use the language and that's what's just so neat to me. They refer to it," said Sister Reineman. And, she noted, it's not just the students talking the talk and walking the walk, it's everybody.

Nativity janitor Dave Earl, who took the Character Counts! training along with Reyes and P.E. coach Sara Sanchez, said he's had an attitude change. "I'm more cheerful to other people," said Earl. "I try to treat them the way I would want to be treated, so I think it's been a big asset in my life."

Sister Reineman described it as being more aware of little, courteous things, like picking up a piece of paper or putting a grocery cart back after unloading groceries. "That's my experience of it myself, but I could say that's what I'm seeing from everybody. I'm seeing kids do things for the right reason, not just doing things for a reward," she explained.

Computer teacher and basketball coach Richard Reyes said he has "definitely" seen an increase in manners and good sportsmanship since Character Counts! was implemented. Teachers say students are generally calmer, missing fewer homework assignments and present fewer disciplinary problems.

"Exactly what the workshop trainers said would happen is happening," said Reyes. "Even the parents express how their children are taking it home and using it there."

Pillars 'in action'
Nativity faculty members are convinced that their Character Counts! program played a part in inspiring one of the students to come up with a fundraising idea after visiting St. Odilia School in South Los Angeles last year.

"When we were leaving St. Odilia's," described sixth grader Dominic Hernandez, "I looked and saw they really had no playground. And I thought that was pretty sad because all they had really was a basketball court and no equipment to play with. So I decided that I'd do some fundraisers for them to see if I could get them a playground."

"Character Counts! enhanced his vision of what others need," explained Reyes. As a result of Dominic's spearheading efforts, the school collected $22,306.75 in donations from school families, local businesses and members of the Catholic Education Foundation's board of trustees. On All Saints Day, Nov. 1, Dominic and Nativity faculty members and students traveled back to St. Odilia's to present a check for the construction of a new playground.

"It was an example of pillars in action," said Sister Reineman. In this case, it was the pillar of caring, which, as Dominic put it, led to some "very happy" St. Odilia students.