The LVAIC Character and Sportsmanship Council
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference (LVAIC) is made up of twelve high schools, which compete at the 3A and 4A level, the highest level of interscholastic competition in the state. Nazareth Area High School has taken the initiative to reach out to their competitors and form the first Student Athlete Character & Sportsmanship Council. The Council is composed of athletic directors and four student athletes from each of the twelve schools who meet monthly during the school year. The purpose of the council is to foster the understanding and development of leadership, character strength and virtue, in young student athletes. A basic curriculum is built around the character strengths and virtues from the field of positive psychology. Monthly meetings are a half-day in length and are hosted by member schools on a rotating basis. There are eight full council meetings per year, in addition to committee meetings. Each council meeting features an outstanding guest speaker, committee work, case studies and curricular discussion, followed by lunch. Students also develop and participate in an annual service project. An outstanding female and male character athlete are chosen each year based on their character strengths as defined by the curriculum and a selection rubric developed by the council.