Huntington Place School of Character

Congratulations to Huntington Place Elementary!

Huntington Place Elementary was designated a 2020 State School of Character by Character.org. Only 81 schools across the nation earned this designation, and Huntington Place is one of four recognized this year in Alabama.

Huntington’s website shares the exciting news with their community by announcing, “This is not an award, but rather a recognition of Huntington’s commitment to teach the whole child. We are committed to teaching our students our core values. Huntington is a place where students learn, grow, and achieve by being honest, kind, compassionate, respectful, and responsible. That’s the Wildcat Way!!”

A schoolwide celebration took place on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. The Hope Institute’s Founder Drayton Nabers and Executive Director Jodi Newton joined students and staff to offer congratulations on behalf of The Hope Institute and recognize the school’s achievement through the presentation of a special plaque.

Tuscaloosa News captured photos of the excitement: Huntington Place Celebration

Huntington Place Elementary was one of the first group of schools who sent a team of school leaders through The Hope Leadership Academy. They began in January 2018, and this initial team completes their three-year participation this year. Simultaneously, a second group of educators from Huntington Place joined The Hope Leadership Academy in October 2018; they are now in their second year of participation. Principal Andrea Hamner describes her school’s partnership with The Hope Institute this way, “Drayton Nabers and Liz Huntley are passionate about providing schools with quality character education professional development. They have inspired my staff to take the concepts that we have learned, and we are transforming our school into a school of character.”

In 2019, the school received a Promising Practice Award from Character.org for their Squad Wars initiative focused on service learning and building a caring community. Next, the school will pursue designation as a National School of Character. We at The Hope Institute will continue to cheer them on.