History

Brief History of the Character Education Partnership: A Decade of Leadership

In March 1992, Diane Berreth and Steve Boyd convened a conference in Racine, Wisconsin, to discuss the question, “How to Provide Effective K-12 Character Education?” The goal was to encourage leaders of national education associations to give greater attention and priority to character education. The conference called for a new national coalition to:

  • Publicize the need for and benefits of K-12 character education.
  • Disseminate information about the most effective programs.
  • Assist schools and communities in their efforts to initiate new character education initiatives. 

In response to this call, the Character Education Partnership (CEP) was incorporated on February 5, 1993, in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nonsectarian organization.

The Founding Strategic Plan

In July of 1994, the CEP Board of Directors adopted a strategic plan to achieve seven goals by the year 2000:

  1. Advance comprehensive character education that enhances schools’ capacity to meet children’s needs and to foster their motivation and learning in the moral domain.
  2. Establish character education as a national priority essential to the learning process and academic achievement.
  3. Involve leading educational associations, businesses, and other organizations in promoting character education.
  4. Collaborate with other organizations to educate communities about conditions necessary for the healthy development of children.
  5. Communicate effectively to CEP constituencies and to the public.
  6. Establish effective organizational operations delivering high quality services to CEP members and educational personnel and supporting CEP’s strategic goals.
  7. Achieve financial security. 

 Steady Growth for CEP and the Character Movement

Since the founding of CEP there has been a period of steady growth, both for the organization and for the character education movement as a whole. During this time, the CEP Board and staff have worked to provide leadership, raise public awareness, and develop the quality standards needed to strategically advance the field of character education.