The school must be a caring community. To develop character, students need opportunities for moral action. Effective character education includes a meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that respects all learners and helps them succeed. Character education should strive to develop students' intrinsic motivation. The school staff must become a learning and moral community in which all share responsibility for character education and attempt to adhere to the same core values that guide the education of students.
Character education requires moral leadership from both staff and students.
The school must recruit parents and community members as full partners in the character-building effort. Evaluation of character education should assess the character of the school, the school staff's functioning as character educators, and the extent to which students manifest good character. The McRel Standards Database is a coherent compendium of academic standards for primary, intermediate, middle school and high school grades. McRel's vision is that clear consistent standards provide clearer expectations for students and the possibility of better communication among teachers, administrators, parents and the larger community. The McRel Standards Database is based on work sponsored wholly, or in part, by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education.