School of Character

Character Education began as a teacher initiative at Lake Bluff. Maureen Creed, Brenda Dell and Amy Miller provided strong leadership and the whole staff at Lake Bluff worked hard to implement a strong program. Our work in character education is directed at making our school mission come to life: Each Child Respected, Each Child Included, Each Child Nurtured, Each Child Challenged, Each Child Successful. Lake Bluff believes as Dr. Martin Luther King did, “Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of education” Learn more about the origins of our program on our Character Education website.

Lake Bluff Elementary School was selected by a blue-ribbon panel as a “State School of Character.” Lake Bluff was one of two schools selected for this honor. The award, sponsored by the Wisconsin Character Education Partnership in partnership with the Character Education Partnership (CEP), honors schools for having reached a standard of excellence within their state in the area of character development. The evaluation examines their work in encouraging the ethical, social and academic growth of their students through effective character education. 

The blue-ribbon panel noted many strong aspects of Lake Bluff’s character education program, including: well-planned use of literature in their instruction, good implementation of restorative justice concepts, an Artist in Residence Program that incorporated character development, class meetings, art buddy program and the noon hour club structure that gives students an opportunity to voice their opinions with the principal (Captain’s Crew). Lake Bluff was recognized for developing a program that has strong staff buy-in and teaches all aspects of character education (thinking/feeling/doing).

Character education programs exist across the district.