Next week is CHARACTER COUNTS! Week! Kelley Petty, the Tulare County CHARACTER COUNTS! coordinator, reports that over 4,700 students from a record 167 schools will be honored next week. Teachers, parents, and other community members nominated the students to be recognized in the program’s 29th annual celebration.

“Over the years, the number of schools participating has grown and we are thankful that so many more students of character are being recognized,” Petty said. “What was once a two-page ad of participating schools is now a four-page ad! And this year we have more schools than ever – 167.”

Read more in the News Gallery Week.

Celebrate National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week  October 20-26, 2024

CHARACTER COUNTS! Week highlights the value of good character and its important role in building strong communities that value positive, healthy relationships and respectful behavior.

During CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, we celebrate young people who are role models of good character in their communities and support the parents and educators who teach our young people to be trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and good citizens.

Look for our Tulare County Office of Education Kids of Character during the week in the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. One student from each school that nominates a Kid of Character will be featured in Tulare County Office of Education’s four-page ad in that weekend edition of the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register.

Leading up to the weekend, the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register will profile six top honorees and numerous finalists as daily Kids of Character. Every morning readers can enjoy learning about the acts of kindness, good decisions, and definitive character our Tulare County youth demonstrate in their communities.

To top off the week, we honor each top honoree and finalist, share their exemplary stories of character, and present them with a scholarship from the Provident-Salierno Family Foundation. Awards ceremony to be held November 6, 2024.