St. Andrew’s School, Austin, TX

I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Heart of Character team for several years and find the name of their organization to be a perfect fit; they have a heart for this work. I believe their passion to encourage and train all educators to focus on building students into ethical leaders and people of character is unmatched. The information presented at a Heart of Character conference is something every parent, administrator, teacher, coach or mentor needs to hear. Don’t just bring a friend, bring your whole staff to learn from some of the best in this blossoming field of education.

Scott Zimmerman
Director of Social and Emotional Learning

Independent Schools Association of the Central States

Tim Leet and Lee Dieck presented a fantastic one-day workshop for ISACS members. It was an engaging workshop with actual applications that attendees could use in the classroom with useful resources to use when attendees return to their schools. They were warm, clear and had incredible knowledge and depth on the topic.  The workshop was well-paced and well-organized using great modeling techniques.

Karen Zeitlin,Director of Programs at ISACS

Carolina Friends School

Your presentation spurred me to bring a challenge back to my school to re-examine how we think about service, and to begin to shift our language toward engagement instead.  I am delighted to report that we are engaged in some reflection this year about the way we approach community service, service learning, and civic engagement in the Middle School.  I am very hopeful that we will arrive at a place that feels more aligned with our mission, more age appropriate, and more connected to community partners and the real needs of our surrounding area (and the world).

Ida Trisolini
Middle School Teacher

The Learning Project, Boston, MA

David Streight’s book Breaking into the Heart of Character has provided the major lens through which we are examining all of our teaching—and program. A critical question teachers are now routinely asking themselves as they plan their work with children is: “How can I shape this experience (this lesson, activity, field trip, etc.) to foster autonomy, relatedness, and competence?”

Michael McCord
Head of School

The Bishop Strachan School, Toronto, Canada
 In the Junior School, we have begun an advisory program for our Grades 4 to 6 students…The attributes of voice, ethical citizenship and leadership have been coupled with the ideas of autonomy, belonging, and competency from the Heart of Character to develop a social emotional learning program that strives build relationship. We believe that advisory should be a place where students are able to build a relationship with the adults facilitating the program, as well as with their peers. We believe these relationships transcend the classroom and enrich, support and enhance the academic experience. We want our students to build and develop their ABC’s (autonomy, belonging, competency) with supportive, caring adults and empathetic, understanding peers.
Jill Fisher
Judy Garay