The Calais School decided to institute the Six Pillars of Character as the overarching theme for our Extended School Year Program (ESY). These pillars include:

  • Trustworthiness
  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Fairness
  • Caring
  • Citizenship

During the 2018 ESY session students worked together learning about the meaning of each pillar and how to apply what they learned in making ethical decision when confronted with everyday situations. Students worked in digital arts, making posters that depict these themes and in language arts, writing about them. They discussed various situations in their Social Skills Group and worked on impromptu skits to demonstrate what they learned.

As students navigate the ethical decision making process they have learned that sometimes making these decisions can be difficult, as there may be grey areas that require judgement. Special needs or not, sometimes children and young adults have difficulty grappling with situations that require a judgement call. At Calais learning to make these decisions in a thoughtful manner is an important skill we help our students hone not just during ESY but all school year.