Life Compass
KPCEL Convenings at BU

KPCEL Convening June 2019

Montrose School LifeCompass Institute, in partnership with Boston University's Center for Character & Social Responsibility, is honored to host the Kern Family Foundation Partners in Character and Educational Leadership (KPCEL).
With the generous support of the Kern Family Foundation, in June 2019 the LifeCompass Institute and Boston University hosted the first of three powerful conversations with representatives of educational leadership programs from around the country.  

June 20-21, 2019: Character Education: What are We Aiming For and How Do We Measure It?
January 16-17, 2020: What Successful Programs Look Like & How They Stay on Track
June 11-12, 2020: Reporting on Best Practices & Next Steps

June 20-21, 2019 Program

  • June 20, 2019, 4:00 PM: Ryan Symposium featuring Angela Duckworth, Founder and CEO of Character Lab, on What Builds Character.
  • June 21, 2019, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM: Presentations and panel discussions about the challenges of defining and assessing character; introduction to network improvement communities (NICs) to support effective program development and implementation.

Presenters included: 
  • Karen E. Bohlin, Head of Montrose School, Director of the LifeCompass Institute for Character & Leadership, Senior Scholar at Boston University’s Center for Character & Social Responsibility
  • Hardin Coleman, Professor, Dean Emeritus & Director at Boston University’s Center for Character & Social Responsibility
  • Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Assistant Research Professor in the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
  • Robert McGrath, Professor and Director, Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Psychology, Director, Integrated Care for the Underserved of Northeastern New Jersey, Senior Scientist, VIA Institute on Character
  • Tenelle Porter, Visiting Scholar at Character Lab and postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Davis
  • Tyler VanderWeele, John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health, and Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard
  • Angela Duckworth, Founder and CEO of Character Lab, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics.

The Big Picture

This exploration of program transformation includes virtual meetings and technical assistance between convenings to support each team’s design and implementation. Over the course of 18 months participants will:

  • Gain a deep understanding of and effective integration of character education and assessment in educational leadership programs;

  • Receive access to resources, research and models of excellence in character education and school leadership;

  • Develop programs, practices, and/or protocols to implement in their educational leadership programs; and

  • Contribute to a report on promising practices for integrating character education and assessment into ed leadership programs.

For more information, contact Edith Ortiz, Convening Coordinator.  
An independent school for girls in grades 6-12
Inspired by the teachings of the Catholic Church

Montrose School

P: 508-359-2423