St. James’ Episcopal School strives to instill in its students a dedication to the moral values that underlie the school’s mission statement and core beliefs.

According to St. James officials, that effort led the school at 625 St. Andrews Place last year to assemble a Character Education Committee, a council of faculty members tasked with the design of a character development program tailored to fit the needs of the school’s community.

The committee undertook two tasks. The first was to understand, through interviews, surveys and informal focus groups, the values that are most important to the St. James’ community. The second task was to gather data on how peer schools integrate character development into curricula.

The committee researched what qualities are intrinsic to the notion of “good character” and examined the most effective means by which they can be promoted. The committee’s work took them to dozens of schools in Los Angeles to study the possibilities.

After analyzing local and national character development programs, the committee constructed the program, which the school introduced during the 2015–2016 opening ceremony.

The committee selected 10 character traits – each one will be the focus of the month throughout the school year. Respect is the first character trait that the school will focus on this month. In October the  focus will be on honesty.

The rest of the school year will include a month’s focus each on stewardship and service, empathy, responsibility, compassion and kindness, inclusion, courage, cooperation and diligence.

A report from the school said considerable effort was made to link each value to noteworthy events occurring during the corresponding month.

The faculty will integrate each topic into  the curriculum and the life of the school. The classroom, the playground, community gatherings and chapel services will all serve as platforms for character learning across grade levels. The school will use books, projects, music, skits, videos and banners to instill the characteristics.