Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy has character.
The elementary school recently won first place in Virginia for its grant application in the Character Education Partnerships (CEP) National Schools of Character contest. The school beat out other Virginia schools both public and private at the elementary and secondary level to earn top billing in the state.
With the award the school is now eligible to compete at the national level against 183 other schools. Lyles-Crouch also has the chance to become one of 10 National Schools of Character for the work it does in promoting service-learning and giving back to the community, according to a press release.
The grant attached to being part of the top 10 in the nation could turn into as much as $10,000 for the school.
The success of Lyles-Crouchs application was based on its implementation of CEPs 11 principles of character education.
Each of the 11 elements outlines vital aspects of character education initiatives that should not be overlooked in program implementation, according to the CEP website. The program involves working with curriculum, extracurricular activities and even staff development.
Prior to this honor, Lyles-Crouch had also won the Promising Practices Good Character award, another level of recognition in the competition.