LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IN CHARACTER EDUCATION®

The current leadership academy began in June 2022 and continues through May 2023.

what is THE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IN CHARACTER EDUCATION?

The Leadership Academy in Character Education® program is an award winning, complex and comprehensive year-long professional development experience for school leaders.

Since 1998, the academy has helped over 900 school leaders develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to create, implement and evaluate programs and processes that make their schools true learning communities in which character education is a vital part of the curriculum and culture. Since 2019 the Leadership Academy in Character Education® program has also incorporated support for the development of the virtues of Servant Leadership, based on our CViL framework. Read “Leading in the Middle” to learn more about the LACE history and success stories.

The Leadership Academy in Character Education® program has a demonstrable record of success. This can be seen, for example, in the number of leaders whose schools have won independent recognition for excellence in character education. Each year, Character.org (formerly CEP), based on a rigorous set of criteria, recognizes public and private schools and school districts in the United States as models of effective character education. As part of their Schools of Character program, the first LACE was established in St. Louis in 1998 as a partnership of the Center for Character and Citizenship at UMSL and CharacterPlus. From 2008 to 2021, 104 out of 720 National Schools of Character are in the greater St. Louis region and are led by LACE graduates.  That is 14% of all National Schools of Character.

WHAT ARE THE CORE ELEMENTS OF the course?

• A LACE Starter Library in character education

• Peer networking

• A series of monthly full day workshops led by nationally and internationally-recognized experts

• A curriculum of monthly written collaborative reflections with expert constructive feedback

• Development of a site-specific character education plan

• Collaborative site-based planning

• Site visits to national award winning schools and presentations by award winning principals

• 2019 brought an added emphasis on the virtues of servant leadership which are integrated throughout the professional development and mentoring each LACE participant will receive

• An option for up to 6 graduate credits for LACE participation

• LACE runs from June through May

how can school leaders enroll?

Click here to apply. The Link will take you to an online application.

• Applications will not be complete until we receive the letter of support requested in the application

• There is a fee for each participant to cover part of the estimated $4,000 cost of the year-long program.  

  We are pleased to be able to cover the remaining costs of the program through grants and donations.

• The fee is:

  • $1,000 for participants whose schools are supported by our partner organization, CharacterPlus.

  • $1,200 for participants whose schools are NOT supported by CharacterPlus.

workshop leaders - EXPERTS in the field

Many national and international experts have served as LACE workshop leaders over the years.  The following is a list of the current presenters:

• Marvin W. Berkowitz, Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education and Co-Director Center for Character and Citizenship (CCC)

• Melinda C. Bier, Co-Director Center for Character and Citizenship

• Patricia A. Ciccone, School Climate Consultants, LLC

• Maurice Elias, Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University

• Jo Ann Freiberg, School Climate Consultants, LLC

• Julie Frugo, Head of School, Premier Charter School St. Louis, MO; CCC Program Coordinator

• Amy Johnston, Former National School of Character Principal, Speaker/Consultant., CCC Program Coordinator

• Thomas Lickona, Professor Emeritus of Education, SUNY Cortland

• Clifton Taulbert, President of The Building Community Institute

• Hal Urban, Author

• Philip Fitch Vincent, President of the Character Development Group

WHAT IS vLACE?

In response to a request to export LACE to Taiwan, and funded by the HTC Foundation, a blended-learning video-based program, vLACE℠, was created to capture the LACE experience without sending CCC staff to Taiwan each month. The set of video-based vLACE workshops provide a professional development course of nine full day workshops when implemented with the supporting activities and assignments. These workshops, along with the LACE curriculum of reflection and mentorship, represent a year-long course of study with the goal of school transformation.

The vLACE program includes videos as well as documents such as a facilitator manual, participant worksheets, and assignments. These materials, created at the University Missouri - St. Louis, are currently translated into Spanish for use in Spanish speaking countries. The full set of vLACE materials will also be available in Mandarin Chinese. These materials are available for translation into other languages or use in English.

Click here to learn more about vLACE and sample the videos.

WHAT IS aLACE?

After graduation from LACE, many participants bemoan the fact that the year-long journey has come to an end. Over the years, LACE graduates have asked for ways to continue the LACE experience that would keep them connected to the character education field and the Center for Character and Citizenship. Through a generous grant from the HTC Foundation, aLACE℠ (advanced LACE) was created to provide LACE alumni with professional development events and networking opportunities.

LACE® is a registered trademark of The Curators of the University of Missouri.

Leadership Academy in Character Education® is a registered trademark of The Curators of the University of Missouri.