The Character Education Partnership is a national advocate and leader for the character education movement. Based in Washington, D.C., we are a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian, coalition of organizations and individuals committed to fostering effective character education in our nation's K-12 schools.

We are an umbrella organization for character education, serving as the leading resource for people and organizations that are integrating character education into their schools and communities. CEP focuses on defining and encouraging effective practices and approaches to quality character education and provides a forum for the exchange of ideas.

CEP's membership includes the nation's leading education organizations and its board of directors is made up of corporate leaders and leading experts in the field of character education.

What is Character Education?

Character education is a national movement encouraging schools to create environments that foster ethical, responsible, and caring young people. It is the intentional, proactive effort by schools, districts, and states to instill in their students important core, ethical values that we all share such as caring, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect for self and others.

Effective good character education is comprehensive; it is integrated into all aspect of classroom life, including academic subjects and infused throughout the school day in all areas of the school (playing field, cafeteria, hallways, school busses, etc.). It provides long-term solutions that address moral, ethical, and academic issues that are of growing concern about our society and the safety of our schools.

How Does Character Education Work?

To be effective, character education must include the entire school community and must be infused throughout the entire school curriculum and culture. Character education promotes core values in all phases of school life and includes proactive strategies and practices that help children not only understand core, ethical values, but to care about and act upon them.

Based on research by the nation's leading character education experts, CEP's Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education and Character Education Quality Standards provide guidelines for the elements needed for effective, comprehensive, and character education.