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Yorktown Schools Win National Character Award

YORKTOWN, N.Y. -- The Yorktown Central School District was notified this week that it is one of only four districts in the country to be designated a National School of Character by a nonprofit organization. 

Yorktown Schools Superintendent Ralph Napolitano

Yorktown Schools Superintendent Ralph Napolitano

Photo Credit: File

Character.org designated 67 schools and four districts from 15 states as National Schools and Districts of Character for 2016 in its announcement Tuesday. Yorktown was named a statewide district of character in February, the only one in New York and the first time a Westchester County school district has received this honor. 

Since that time, the district has had a site visit and other reviews by Character.org to determine if it would progress to a National District of Character.

 "This further recognition of our district-wide emphasis on character education is very rewarding. Our district and our staff have a strong commitment to character development for all our students in all our schools,” said Dr. Ralph Napolitano, Superintendent of Schools said. “I am proud to be recognized along with three other districts across the nation.” 

Check the district’s website at this link to see examples of character education in every grade level and school building. Since the inception of Character.org’s Schools of Character program in 1998 more than 263 schools and only 14 districts have been designated as National Schools or Districts of Character. 

“We are extremely proud of this year’s designated schools and districts for their dedication to character development which has proven to increase the well-being of so many students’ lives across the United States and beyond,” said Becky Sipos, president and CEO of Character.org. 

Last year, the Mildred E. Strang Middle School was one of five schools in the state, and the only one in Westchester County, to be named a 2015 National School of Character. Character.org will honor the Yorktown district and the other designated schools and districts at its 23rd National Forum on Character Education on Oct. 14 to 15 in Washington, D.C. For more information on the National Forum, go to this link.

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