Reprinted from The Houston Chronicle
Just seeing the word "bravery" atop his regular progress reports makes 12-year-old Ismael Lopez
stand a little taller.
It surprised the quiet, deliberate sixth-grader that the character trait showed up among his
strongest in an assessment that he and his classmates at KIPP Courage in Spring Branch take as
part of the school curriculum.
"I didn't know I was brave," he said.
What he does know is that his KIPP
campus' sharpened focus on character
development makes his school a better
place. Students are kinder and display
fewer behavior problems than at his
previous elementary school.
KIPP - a network of 141 public schools
with 50,000 students nationally - partnered
with a team of psychologists and academics
to develop a list of seven character traits
that best predict success: zest, grit, selfcontrol,
optimism, gratitude, social
intelligence and curiosity.
The charter chain's work has put it on the leading edge of character
education, experts said.
In 2009, a KIPP campus in New York piloted a character development program, and the work has
since spread. Several area schools send home character growth cards along with the traditional
report card, a practice co-founder Mike Feinberg expects to expand.
While the charter chain's founding motto has always been "Work hard. Be nice," teaching and
measuring well-researched character traits is a step forward for teachers and students, Feinberg
said.
"In the past, it's always been the feeling and the culture of the room, but we had a hard time
explaining it," he said. "Now, we've been able to put words to it."
Feinberg is quick to add: "This is not to say KIPP has gone fluffy."
Preparing low-income students to succeed in college is a tricky formula that includes developing
character traits to help students overcome the adversity they will face, as well as ensuring that
they have stellar reading, math and critical-thinking skills, experts said.
"It's the perfect counter-balance to high-stakes testing," said David Meketon, school research
liaison for the department of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, which is working with
KIPP and other schools.
One of the most fully developed character programs is at Lopez's school, which opened in 2012
on the campus of Landrum Middle School.
Students are handed colorful "ganas" cards - a colloquial Spanish word for "desire" or "passion" -
when they display a positive character trait. Each ganas adds $1 to their weekly paychecks, a
common behavior tool used at KIPP schools. Infractions - such as failing to show the self control
needed to hand in homework - count against their tallies.
Top-earning students are celebrated
weekly, and children must reach certain averages to earn a spot on end-of-year trips.
Ryan Hambley, a math teacher who heads the character development program at KIPP Courage,
said the work has made him a more satisfied teacher.
He regularly hears students talk about traits
like gratitude and is better able to identify children's strengths. "It's just beautiful. It's nice," said
Hambley, who taught for four years in the Houston ISD before joining KIPP. "I became a better
person by teaching character."
Jonathan Doan, 11, said he loves getting rewarded with ganas cards. "It's a piece of gold," he said
"It's precious. It makes you feel good about yourself, like you're doing something amazing."
Spring Branch ISD's Online News Room
Friday, December 6, 2013
Character Education Paying Dividends at KIPP
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Keep it up KIPP!
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