Dear Concerned Educator/Community Leader:

At The Academy for Character Education we believe that character education provides the basis for developing a stronger, caring community. Established in 2000, our mission is to promote character education within the greater community by raising awareness, educating, motivating and facilitating the infusion of positive character traits that become lifelong habits. We are firm believers in the mandate that character education needs to be infused into the curriculum of all schools and in our communities. Our society needs to create Communities of Character. Character Education initiatives can help create a community featuring responsible, respectful behavior that welcomes the quest for justice and excellence. Comprehensive community-wide character education programs result in positive changes for our families, schools, businesses and communities.

With this in mind we invite you to participate in our 10th annual Champions of Character Leadership Awards Banquet. Each year, at our annual Awards Banquet, we honor outstanding positive leadership in our schools and communities. At our April 10, 2013 Banquet we are proud to be awarding the 6th annual New York State Schools of Character (NYSSOC) awards in partnership with the national CEP (Character Education Partnership).

As usual we will be recognizing a number of Academy Schools of Character and as well as educators, students, parents, business and community Champions of Character. This event includes the opening reception featuring a musical group and is followed by Franklin Plaza's delicious dinner and the awards presentations. Reservations ($49 per person) may be sent to The Academy at the address above. This is your invitation to step up for character. Please take the time to let us know about one or more worthy citizens/groups. We hope you will plan to attend the 2013 event. Feel free to contact The Academy if you have any questions about this initiative, any of The Academy's programs or would interested in becoming part of the Awards Banquet Honorary Committee. Thank you for your support of and commitment to affecting positive outcomes in our community.

This year's Champions of Character Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday April 10, 2013.

All of the applications for the 2013 New York State Schools of Character have been received and selected.

Check this site to find out when The Academy for Character Education at the Sage Colleges will be accepting applications from public and private schools and districts throughout the state of New York for the 2014 State Schools of Character Awards Program. State winner(s) will advance to compete at in the National Schools of Character (NSOC) Awards Program. Below is some information schools can check to become familiar with the process.

This is the CEP link to the New York State Application Guidelines and Cover Sheet:

http://www.character.org/newyork

Additional information about this process can be accessed at the following link: New York State Schools of Character Selection Process

To review a summary presentation of "The Eleven Principles Of Character" access the following link:

href="//www.character.org/elevenprinciples"

Coordinated by The Academy for Character Education at The Sage Colleges.

The NYSSOC Awards Program is supported in part by CS Arch Architecture, Albany New York.

Previous National Award Winners from New York State

Champions of Character Awards Banquet

Each year, The Academy for Character Education at The Sage Colleges hosts the "Champions of Character" Awards Banquet at the Franklin Plaza in Troy. 

The event begins with a reception, followed by dinner, awards presentations and short presentations by a selected number of award recipients (especially the NYSSOC winners).