The Principles of a Smart & Good High School are intended to provide a blueprint for building a school committed to excellence and ethics. We expect these Principles to evolve as we work with schools seeking to put them into practice.

Make the development of performance character and moral character – the integration of excellence and ethics – the cornerstone of the school’s mission and identity. Define performance character and moral character in terms of 8 strengths of character needed for human flourishing over a lifetime.

Place the development of performance character and moral character at the center of your school’s mission and identity. View this integration of excellence and ethics as essential for realizing success in school, work, and beyond. Commit to promoting excellence and ethics by developing the eight strengths of character and moral character:

(1) lifelong learner and critical thinker, (2) diligent and capable performer, (3) socially and emotionally skilled person, (4) ethical thinker, (5) respectful and responsible moral agent, (6) self-disciplined person, (7) contributing community member and democratic citizen, and (8) spiritual person engaged in crafting a life of noble purpose.

Work to establish the conditions that support the implementation of the Smart & Good High Schools vision..

Take steps to create the conditions that support the development of Smart & Good High School. These conditions include strong leadership, optimal school size, time for planning and reflection, supportive scheduling, manageable teaching loads, a safe and orderly environment, trusting and respectful relationships, and adequate budgetary resources. Continually address these factors in order to create the optimal conditions for successful implementation.

As individual practitioners, capitalize on the Power of One – your personal contribution to the performance character and moral character of every student

While striving for a whole-school environment that supports excellence and ethics, work as individual practitioners in your own sphere of influence to maximize your personal contribution to the character development of every student. Educational research and students’ own voices point to the Power of One – an adult who has made an enduring difference in the life of a young person. Whether as a school leader, classroom instructor, coach, advisor, parent, or member of the support staff, examine your practices – including your modeling of performance character and moral character – with the goal of optimizing your impact on students’ growth in character. To amplify the Power of One, seek out other, like-minded individuals – another teacher, another coach, another parent – and work together.

Develop an Ethical Learning Community (ELC) – a partnership of staff, students, parents, and the wider community.

Work to develop an Ethical Learning Community (ELC) – an active partnership of staff, students, parents, and the wider community – that shares responsibility for modeling and fostering performance character and moral character. View the ELC as the school culture that provides support and challenge for all its members in developing excellence and ethics. Build this culture of character around six ELC operating principles:

Develop shared purpose and identityDevelop shared purpose and identity. Cultivate a school wide sense of purpose, identity, and community based on a shared commitment to promoting performance character and moral character.

Align practices with desired outcomes Align practices with desired outcomes and relevant researchand relevant research. View everything in the life of the school – curriculum, co-curricular activities, discipline, routines, and traditions – as opportunities to develop performance character and moral character. Ask, How does a given practice contribute to the integration of excellence and ethics – performance character and moral character? What is the evidence of its effectiveness?

Have a voice; tae a standHave a voice; tae a stand. Create a democratic community that maximizes participation in the quest for excellence and ethics; challenge all members of the Ethical Learning Community to use their voices with courage and integrity.

Take personal responsibility for Take personal responsibility for continuous self-developmentcontinuous self-development. See yourself as a work in progress; pursue your personal best.

Practice collective responsibilityPractice collective responsibility. Care enough to expect the best from others; commit to the norm of care-frontation in relationships..

Grapple with the tough issues – the Grapple with the tough issues – the elephants in the living roomelephants in the living room. Address the critical issues – in school and outside school – that affect excellence and ethics.

Develop a Professional Ethical Learning Community among faculty, staff, and administration.

Build a Professional Ethical Learning Community (PELC) that provides the essential leadership for developing the ELC and that acts upon Gandhi’s exhortation to be the change you wish to see in the be the change you wish to see in the worldworld. Define the PELC to include all staff – administrators, teachers, counselors, coaches, custodians, secretaries, and all other adults whose example and work affect the character of the school and the character development of students. Develop the PELC around the same operating principles that guide the ethical learning community. Promote collegiality, collaboration, and a culture of critique in order to help all staff continually reflect on their own development of performance character, moral character, and the eight strengths of characters.