Building character

Deirdre Newman

Walk around the hallways of Estancia High School in Costa Mesa and you

will be bombarded with aphorisms, banners and other reminders of the

school’s character education efforts.

The comprehensive program that began in the fall evolved from the

school’s need to produce schoolwide learning results in preparation for

an accreditation visit.

The goal is to inculcate students with positive character traits, such

as respect, fairness and self-discipline, throughout the year.

The effort is crucial to prepare students for situations they will

face in the real world, Principal Tom Antal said.

“We want students to learn subjects, but these are students that will

function everywhere, and there’s no more important thing that can help

them than to be responsible and caring,” Antal said.

The program focuses on one character trait each month. It was

developed by Dave Brees, a retired social studies teacher with 33 years

under his belt, and Bob Hassay, who has taught English at the school for

the past 37 years.

“All the teachers are concerned with character education and trying to

develop character traits, but we haven’t had a concentrated program to

get everyone on the same page at the same time,” Antal said.

The two provide teachers with a set of lesson plans each month and

encourage them to capitalize on teachable moments, when something happens

spontaneously in the classroom that can be applied to character traits.

English teacher Marc Rodiz, who integrates character education in his

discussions about literature, said the effort takes on added significance

as teachers assume more of a parenting role than they have in the past.

“Unfortunately, as a teacher for several years, I’ve seen a decline in

parenting, and this picks up where they left off,” Rodiz said.

Every month, students and teachers nominate students who have done an

outstanding job of displaying that month’s trait. They are designated as

“Eagles With Character” and honored with a picture on the wall and a

number of donated prizes.

Sophomore Lihini Keenawinna, honored during the month when caring was

stressed, said she is impressed the school is going to such great lengths

to develop character.

“It shows how the school isn’t just focused on sports or studies,”

Keenawinna said. “They want to make students better people.”

And the school’s efforts dazzled the accreditation committee as well,

Antal said.

“They talked in glowing terms about student behavior and attitude, and

said the relationship between students and staff is something they hadn’t

seen anywhere else -- in a positive manner,” Antal said

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .