School and Community Character Education Practices Honored at the State Capitol 

On May 19, Synergy & Leadership Exchange (Synergy), formerly the Center for Academic Excellence, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), held the fourth annual Minnesota State Schools of Character and Promising Practices Award Ceremony in the Minnesota State Capitol. Special guest speakers included Deputy Commissioner Jessie Montano and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.  

Montano and Ritchie joined Synergy’s executive director Dr. Les Martisko and director Wanda Sommers Wall in congratulating the honorees and distributing recognition awards to Minnesota schools for the successful implementation of character education programs. A reception followed the ceremony in the Minnesota State Capitol Great Hall.   

2011 honorees included:   

2011 Minnesota School of Character   

2011 Minnesota Promising Practice Awards   
In addition, Lakes International Language Academy was selected as one of 50 National Schools of Character (NSOC) finalists by the Character Education Partnership (CEP). They will be recognized at CEP's 18th National Forum as a school on the NSOC path to excellence on October 20-22 in San Francisco.   

Synergy took this opportunity to introduce the Ethical Citizens for Minnesota’s Future initiative, born out of the MNSOC program, and present the first Minnesota Ethical Citizens Award to Speak Your Peace: The Civility Project. Senator Roger Reinert accepted the award on behalf of the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation and the Millennium group. This award recognizes work that exhibits evidence of community-wide collaboration, can be replicated, and demonstrates impact on the development of good character and ethical leadership.  

Photos from the Ceremony: (Please click on each image for a larger view)