Japhet School

School Leadership

What it means to be a National School of Character

Japhet School was the first school in Michigan — and the very first independent school in the country — to be given the distinction of a National School of Character. This means that we abide by the 11 Principles of Effective Character Education as defined by the Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C. The award signifies that we are an exemplar in teaching children how to be good people, as well as good students.

Teaching others

Part of the duties of being a National School of Character (NSOC) is to teach others. We take on this responsibility with joy. We often host character education conferences for teachers and parents, and we are workshop presenters at others’ conferences. Our focus is often centered on the benefits of integrating character education into an existing curriculum, and how to go about doing that. We have helped train teachers in our community, and many of these educators have gone on to implement award-winning programs in their own schools.

Leading the Michigan initiative of State Schools of Character

Members of Japhet School staff chair the SSOC initiative, which means we advise schools that are seeking to implement character education programs, and we read applications for Michigan schools seeking the SSOC and NSOC award.

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