Vestavia Hills elementary school honored for character education

Character.org, a national organization advocating for character education in schools, recently named Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park as one of two 2024 Schools of Character in Alabama.

The other school selected this year was Davis-Emerson Middle School in Cottondale.

Each School of Character was chosen based on demonstrated excellence in 11 nationally accepted principles of character education. The principles include key indicators on creating a caring school community where everyone feels they belong, providing students with opportunities to practice and reflect on their character strengths, and engaging families and communities as partners in the school’s character initiative. 

Character.org each year certifies schools and districts that have developed and implemented an intentional, proactive and comprehensive approach that embeds character into all aspects of the school life. The 87 state winners maintain their designation as a State School of Character for three years and now are eligible to be considered for the National School of Character designation.

Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park was noted for its “Specials Special Day,” a designated day each semester when specialty teachers (art, music, library and physical education teachers) teach classes to reinforce the school’s core values. Specials Special Day earned the school a “Promising Practices” recognition from Character.org in 2023.

“We are proud to be recognized as a State School of Character, a testament to our commitment in nurturing not just academic excellence, but the invaluable qualities that shape compassionate, resilient, good humans,” Principal Tiffany Marron said in a news release.

Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park is the fourth Vestavia Hills school to receive the State School of Character designation, joining Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights (2020), Vestavia Hills Elementary West (2021) and Vestavia Hills Elementary East (2022). All three of those schools subsequently received the National School of Character designation.

The 2024 National Schools of Character are to be announced in May.