Meadow school a National School of Character

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By Anthony O’Reilly

aoreilly@liherald.com

For the second year in a row, a Baldwin elementary school has been named a National School of Character. This time, the honor went to Meadow Elementary School.

“Congratulations to all of our Meadow administrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents who have helped Meadow Elementary School achieve the notable distinction of National School of Character,” District Superintendent Shari Camhi said in a statement. “Meadow is an outstanding K-5 school that continues to raise the bar in elementary education. This prestigious designation has been made evident by all of the hard work and dedication to ensuring there is a strong focus on character development amongst our children.”

The Character Education Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, picks close to 100 schools nationwide that go above and beyond to develop students’ character. Last year, Plaza Elementary School made the list.

This year, Meadow was one of three Long Island schools to make the list; the other were Lee Road Elementary in Wantagh and Smith Street School in Uniondale. The nonprofit makes its choices based off which schools adhere to its 11 principles of effective character, which include fostering self-motivation, engaging families and community members and creating a caring community.

“Being recognized as a National School of Character is a great accomplishment for our school and community,” said Echele May, principal of Meadow Elementary School. “I am extremely proud of our Meadow students and faculty. We have worked together to create a caring and inclusive learning environment where our students are empowered to be the stewards of our character education initiative.”

The school was named a State School of Character by the website in February, a precursor to being named a National School of Character. “Creating a caring and inclusive environment within our schools is critical to our students’ academic success and future,” Camhi said. “We are so proud of our Meadow family.”

Additionally, Meadow’s “Character C.O.U.N.T.S.” club was recognized as a 2019 Promising Practice by character.org. The list is comprised of 232 organizations and schools that encourage character development.

Meadow Elementary will be honored at character.org’s 2019 National Forum in October in Washington, D.C. Meadow administrators will discuss the school’s Character C.O.U.N.T.S. club at the forum during the Promising Practice exhibit.