The 19th National Forum on Character Education will be held November 1-4, 2012 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown Hotel. Please plan to attend. You can register online. Note that the early bird registration deadline is Oct 1 and that your staff members can enter the discount code “CEPmember12″ to receive the member discount.
Pathable Discussion Groups (before, during, and after the Forum)
CEP is excited to introduce a new online community as part of this year’s Forum. Unlike Facebook, our Pathable community is a private, online community hosted on CEP’s website, made up exclusively of Forum attendees. The community will last for one year, allowing you to network with and elarn from other attendees before, during, and after ther Forum. See the Pathable Discussion Page to get a better idea of what our community will look like.
You will receive an invitation to join the Pathable community once you register for the Forum. Please accept! This will be an important way you can communicate with each other and with us!
Through Pathable, attendees will be able to participate in discussions on character education-related topics (e.g. “How can I prevent bullying at my school?”). NSOC leaders are encouraged to facilitate one of these dicsussions. This is a great chance for you to share your knowledge on an area of excellence at your school, as well as learn from other NSOC and attendees. Possible discussion topics include the following:
- Creating strong, supportive school communities
- Engaging parents as partners
- Character and academics
- Bullying prevention
- Building positive school climate
- Getting staff buy-in
- Or another area of excellence at your school
Responsibilities of facilitating a discussion include starting the discussion, keeping dialogue going by replying to questions or comments within the discussion, and adding new ideas, links, or points of interest (with CEP’s support). Please contact shaldar@character.org if you are interested in facilitating a discussion within our online Forum community.
NSOC Presentations (Friday, Nov. 2, 12:20-2 p.m.)
All 2012 NSOC will have the opportunity to present at the Forum at the NSOC Marketplace of Ideas. For the first time ever, this session will be a general session held in the Grand Ballroom that will enable conference participants to move from table to table every 30 minutes to hear from NSOC about their best practices in round-table discussions. You will be asked to present twice, for 25 minutes each time. Plan to share the highlights of your program and allow time for questions. You are invited to provide handouts and set up other display items (such as battery-powered laptop) at your table, as desired.
The schedule for the event will be as follows:
- 12:30-1 p.m.: time to grab lunch and chat; informal sharing and networking
- 1-1:30 p.m.: first round of each school’s 25 minute presentation
- 1:30-2 p.m.: second round of each school’s 25 minute presentation
Remember: The materials you gather and prepare for this presentation can be great contributions to your NSOC page on the CEP website. You can also load them into Pathable!
NSOC Orientation (Saturday, Nov. 3, 8-11 a.m.)
We will hold an important orientation meeting for all NSOC teams just prior to the NSOC Awards Luncheon. This session will be an opportunity for you to meet the other NSOC, hear from former NSOC (including the inspiring Barbara Gruener!), and learn about leadership and outreach opportunities. Information and training will be provided on topics such as:
- Using social media to spread the word
- Sustaining your effort and avoiding burn-out
- Writing for publication
- Leadership opportunities in character education
Awards Luncheon (Saturday, Nov. 3, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.)
CEP will recognize your school at a special NSOC Awards Luncheon. 2011 NSOC Principal Scott Taylor will recognize the 2012 NSOC in an inspiring keynote and the American Patriot of Character Award winner Norm Augustine will also address the audience of 700-1000 educators. At this ceremony, CEP will share highlights of your school’s program and you will be specially honored. You will receive an NSOC award, an NSOC banner, and a check for $1,000.
Ways to save
- Bring a team – when five people register at the same time, the fifth person is free.
- Register early – early bird deadline is Oct. 1. Use the member rate available to all NSOC by entring the discount code “CEPmember12″ on the payment page during registration.
- Become a volunteer – see details.
- Save on travel with the United Airlines and Hertz discounts for CEP’s conference.
- Seek support from a local community agency, business, or your PTA. See sample letter.
Benefits of attending
Learn more about the benefits of attending the Forum, including inspirational keynotes, all-inclusive opportunities to network with accomplished guest speakers, authors, and other character educators, special events, school site visits and sightseeing tours, entertainment that will inspire you (including a performance by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary), and a full exhibit hall filled with valuable resources.
Questions? Contact Sweta Haldar at shaldar@character.org.
