Character Education and Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS): Friends, Foes, or Other?
Dr. Phil Vincent and Dr. Merle Schwartz
Discussions of the integration and/or substitution of PBIS and character education occur at all levels. Many schools and districts are already confusing the two. This session will examine the roots, methods, assumptions, compatibility  and potential incompatibility of the two approaches.

Why are Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Character Inseparable?
Kathy Beland , Dr. Jonathan Cohen, and  Dr. Ed Dunkelblau
Children cannot enact good character without SEL skills. And children with well-developed Social Emotional skills who lack sound character can be difficult or even dangerous. Join the discussion on how to bring the SEL skills and attitudes that promote respect, responsibility, caring, and integrity in students into your classroom/school.

How Can Effective Leadership Address the Most Challenging Issues for School Transformation?
Dr. Avis Glaze and Dr. Marvin Berkowitz
Having the courage and vision to make deep changes in your school. This question brings up several issues of leadership: How do you get all stakeholders on board and promote buy-in, especially from resistors and naysayers? Also, how can teachers get their school’s leadership interested and invested in these ideas? How do you get student leaders engaged?

How Can Character Education Help Meet Individual Student Needs?
Dr. Michele Borba, Barbara Luther and Lara Maupin
Teachers are increasingly expected to meet an ever more diverse array of student needs in the classroom and to differentiate instruction accordingly. What do character education and differentiated instruction have in common? This discussion explores how these two approaches can complement one another and how caring, persistent educators can use both to build collaborative relationships with their students and improve student achievement. 

How Can We Reduce Academic Cheating?
Dr. Don McCabe, Dr. Larry Nucci, and Dr. David Wangaard
Academic cheating has become so common in today’s technological world that some commentators have referred to it as an aspect of “social intelligence.” This discussion will explore the conditions under which students are most likely to cheat and to view their cheating as morally justified. It will also explore approaches to reduce cheating along with efforts to build a moral academic community.

How Should Character Education Play a Role in Emerging Education Policy?
Dr. Charlotte Frank, Kevin Jennings, and Peter Yarrow
Can character education be a means of rebuilding public confidence in the public education system? This discussion will examine character education as a means of school reform and increasing community stakeholder support. The discussion will focus on national education policy as well as local and state support. How can we mobilize constituents to support CEP policy?

How Do We Create Citizens of Character as the Foundation of Democracy?
Kristin Fink and Cathryn Berger Kaye
What role do civic learning, character education and service learning play in developing citizens of character? How can we leverage these experiences for students to develop the intrinsic desire to be contributing members of society whether in schools, neighborhoods, and eventually within the workplace? Is social responsibility an essential aspect of character development and for maintaining a thriving democracy? As educators, is it our role to ensure that ethics, character, and service intersect?

Character Education and Academic Achievement—How Do You Facilitate Character Education within a High Stakes Testing Environment?
Dr. Linda Morris, Dr. Hal Urban, and Linda McKay
Can you “afford” to focus on character education when you’re focusing on the requirements of NCLB? Character education can actually create the foundation on which improved academic performance can be built.