2019 Conference Highlights

2019 National Districts & Schools of Character

Recognition Ceremony

NJEA President Marie Blistan, NJEA Secretary Steve Beatty, Dr Kelly Williams, Luiz Pereira, and Kelly Allen of the State Department of Education and Arthur Schwartz, Chairman of the Board of Character.org participated in the Recognition Ceremony praising the schools for their success and speaking about the importance of good character as part of the educational program.

2019 National Schools of Character Announced

Eileen Dachnowicz, State Schools of Character Coordinator and Arthur Schwartz, Chairman of the Board of Character.org announced the 2019 National Schools of Character from New Jersey and presented them with certificates of accomplishment. These schools will be honored by Character.org at the National Forum in Washington, DC in October. Our twenty-seven schools is a record number of schools to be honored as national schools.

The following schools from New Jersey were named as National Districts/Schools of Character for 2019.  Those schools are…

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NJASECD Bestows Special Honors on Two Very Special People!

The 2019 Conference provided an opportunity for us to recognize the special contributions of two of our members – Eileen Dachnowicz and Phil Brown.

Eileen Dachnowicz, State School of Character Coordinator, has played a key role in the growth of the Schools of Character Program in New Jersey and has also made contributions nationally through her work with Character.org. We recognized these contributions as Eileen steps away from the coordinator’s position at the end of this year.

Dr. Phil Brown, Founder and Immediate Past President has played an influential role in the growth of Character Education in New Jersey. In his role in the State Department of Education, he was instrumental in gaining funding for Character Education for all school districts in New Jersey.  He moved to Rutgers where he created the Rutgers Center for Character Education which first sponsored the Schools of Character Program. When the center closed due to lack of funding, Phil created NJASECD, to carry on the work done by the center. Since that time, Phil has played a significant role in the growth of NJASECD and the Schools of Character Program. Phil will be moving out of state and the board of NJASECD saw fit to recognize his work with a plaque honoring his accomplishments.

With his departure, Phil felt it was time to “pass the torch” and presented Bill Trusheim with a ship model originally given to Phil by Linda Breune and Maurice Elias. Bill is now entrusted with steering the ship of state in Character Education in New Jersey.

Keynote Panel

Moderated by Eileen Dachnowicz, consisting of Dr. Kelly Williams, Dr. Phil Brown, and Tony Trongone who spoke about the importance of understanding how character, culture, and SEL work together to prepare students for success in school and beyond.  Each of the panelists shared their thoughts about how these approaches support each other and benefit both students and adults in our schools.

The 2019 Annual Conference was a success on all counts. Congratulations again to all of our honored schools and districts and a sincere thank you to all those who contributed to the success of the conference. We are already looking forward to our 2020 Conference!