HOISINGTON — Hoisington High School counselor Amanda Brack and art teacher Christine Lamoureaux recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the National Promising Practice Award in Character Education for Creating the Cardinal Core character education at Hoisington High School, which has involved nearly everyone at the school.
The Character Education Partnership  awarded 297 Promising Practices to schools, districts, and organizations from across the United States, as well as from Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, and Mexico.
HHS was chosen for implementing responsibility, honesty, positive attitudes, grit and respect as the values they wanted to emphasize, according to HHS Principal Meg Wilson. Thirteen schools in Kansas were chosen to receive the award.
“I’m very pleased with the efforts of faculty and students at HHS in promoting integrity and character,” said Bill Lowry, superintendent of schools. “We want to provide a positive atmosphere to promote  learning and growth for  each student.”
“Amanda Brack and I learned much at the CEP conference, and the experience reinforced the validity of character education as an instrumental component of how students can learn effectively with engaged learning,” said Lamoureaux. “We are at an important pivotal milestone of using this edge to reach/teach our students in a meaningful way.”
 “Sometimes we feel that our hands are tied, particularly with time restraints,” Lamoureaux said.
“One of the greatest joys is to go from a fixed mind set of ‘I can’t do this’ to ‘ah-ha’ problem solving, with the solution being of not more work but a result of using the resources within reach,” she said.