Nearly a century ago President Theodore Roosevelt stated, "Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."

Now, after more than 30 years of American education stagnating in the pool of values-free education, Roosevelt's vital thinking on character development is being revisited throughout America as the Character Education Partnership emerges as the national ombudsman for character education throughout the United States.

Passkeys Jefferson Center is a member of the CEP.

A national organization developed in the early 1990s, the CEP is a major player in the pursuit of developing the character agenda in schools and districts throughout the United States.

One of the exciting annual projects of the CEP is its National Schools of Character-AE Awards. Annually, the awards program recognizes 10 schools and school districts in the United States as models of effective character education.

As stated in CEP literature, "The National Schools of Character awards provide an avenue for schools and districts to showcase their work and to provide leadership for other schools interested in implementing character education initiatives.

"Award winners receive national recognition through press coverage and at the CEP National Forum. Winners are featured in a National Schools of Character: Practices to Adopt and Adapt book and on the CEP Web site.

Additionally, winners receive a $2,000 award to enhance their program and to assist other schools and districts in implementing character education."

In addition to recognizing best practices, the CEP has now expanded its national recognition to include recognition of Promising Practices citations to schools and districts for implementing a "unique and specific character education program. From service learning to sportsmanship to academic achievement and more, Promising Practices represents a wide variety of innovative and effective strategies in character-based education."

You can learn more about the growing national character education focus and the national recognition program of CEP by e-mailing CEP at geninfo@character.org.

Building today's kids of character is on the rise because of the focused efforts of many people and groups associated with the Character Education Partnership.

Williams is President of Passkeys Foundation~Jefferson Center for Character Education. For information contact (949) 770.7602 or www.jeffersoncenter.org.