Character, Leadership & SEL Solutions for Secondary Schools

We are presently finishing the 2nd quarter here at Gansett.  Based on our success, we have decided to offer the class to every 8th grade student. I just finished, literally, grading the final exam for this particular class. All of the responses to the third essay question are very positive in nature. Some were life changing experiences! Truly an appropriate testimonial to the curriculum you developed for this course.

A training & development resource that fully engages high school students because it is fun, interesting and applicable to their lives. The curriculum, which focuses on leadership and character development, is directly related to the areas of qualitative development that are essential for the young adult growth process. I would highly recommend this resource to anyone working with young adults (teachers, coaches, counselors, etc.).

We are thrilled with the curriculum because we are able to showcase the role models, watch clips of the videos, and do follow-up activities. We are using the curriculum in our Advisory Time. We have just used four units this year as our pilot year and then will be incorporating it into the freshmen and sophomore advisories next year. We have completed follow-up surveys after the activities and the students loved it – especially when working with the videos. Thank you for providing this valuable curriculum.

Dr. Hoedel’s character education curriculum is one of the few age appropriate high school curriculums available and our students buy in because he speaks their language. Students are excited about the movies and the role models that we discuss. Staff are impressed that we can address literacy concerns through the reading and writing projects. Dr. Hoedel has gone above and beyond to assist us as we adapted his program to fit our advisee program, and his curriculum provides everything our teachers need to do this with minimal time spent preparing.

I had to write to tell you how wonderful and beneficial I feel your program is for students but also for me to teach. I am the choral music teacher at Starmount and teach 78 students everyday in 3 different classes. When I first looked at your material and read the content I was overwhelmed with how important it is for students to hear this subject matter. I love teaching music and teaching teenagers but I have loved teaching your Character & Leadership class. This is the best of both worlds I could give them. Thank you for your hard work and providing an excellent avenue for young people to learn life lessons.

When I began reading the new textbook to my students, I did not know what to expect. I looked around my class and noticed all eyes on me, with several of those eyes welling up with tears. In these chaotic times, students need to connect with someone positive. This new book allows students to connect with role models from the past and present, helping them to understand the difference between right and wrong.

I was excited to teach this course because I knew that it had the potential to have a long-term effect on our students. What I found out at the end of the first group I had was that I did more learning than teaching. I saw improvement in the lives of the students in the course. I even had parents telling me that they began to see a difference in their child?s life. At the end of most of the papers, the students would say how much they appreciate the class and to know that there is someone out there who cares and loves them. I believe the students are now better equipped to handle some of their personal issues and are better people for taking this class.

I have used this curriculum for the past 2 years and it has been very rewarding to watch my students grow in their decision-making skills and leadership roles. They hold each other accountable and have learned to care about the little things that make leaders effective: firm hand shakes, looking others in the eyes, being attentive listeners, and accepting responsibility for their actions. This curriculum not only teaches leadership and character traits, but life skills that will benefit them long after high school.

We are very pleased with our first year and we are currently looking for other ways to integrate your curriculum. I will continue to pass on good recommendations about your program to any counselors I come in contact with.

We run a block schedule of classes. Some weeks students have class twice and other weeks they have class three times. The class periods are eighty minutes long, so I’ve had to modify the Monday-Friday outline, but so far it is going well. The students have been very receptive and have enjoyed the activities and guest speakers. I feel the program, even in a modified form, will greatly benefit my students. Thanks for your help and for your great program.

What a great experience! This class was the most fun I have had in teaching since I started this profession. The curriculum and content is full of useful and applicable information that I felt kept the kids engrossed throughout the year. Thanks for all your help thus far.

My staff had only POSITIVE statements about it:  ‘The students like the workbook activities.’  ‘They get motivated by the movie clips.’  ‘The class discussions we have are meaningful and engaging.’

The curriculum is great! We are in our 4th week of class, and it is by far the most enjoyable class I’ve taught in my 6 years of teaching. The kids are loving it too!

I have been using the Character Development & Leadership curriculum for 6 years now and it is an excellent supplement to my daily teaching. Students relate to the videos as they relate to real life. The curriculum is not like a text book that can get outdated. Character and all the words that are presented in the curriculum such as loyalty, respect, trust, empathy, perseverance, courage, and compassion will always be skills students need to be successful in life. It also teaches important skills students will always need such as a proper handshake, study skills, anger management, and resume writing just to name a few. I see tremendous personal growth in my students. Thank you Dr. Hoedel for creating a curriculum that will build character to any student.