By Daniel Stefanski |

Arizona’s Education Department is attempting to engage the state’s children in a greater awareness and appreciation of American citizenship.

Earlier this month, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne revealed that the Arizona Department of Education would be conducting a “drawing, painting, and poster contest celebrating Citizenship.”

In a statement accompanying the news release, Horne said, “I am a strong proponent of the Six Pillars of Character which are, Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. I am very pleased to announce this contest promoting Citizenship, which emphasizes volunteering, cooperation, being informed and voting, knowing and obeying laws, choosing to protect the safety and rights of others and doing your share to make your home and community better.”

According to the Department, there will be two tiers to the contest: K-8 students “who can create a drawing, painting or poster that conveys the trait of Citizenship,” and high school students who “create a poster that supports character values on social media using the good Citizenship pillar.” The contest is open to all Arizona K-12 students in district, charter, private, and home schools, and the deadline to turn in submissions is at the end of the year, December 31.

The Department also offers a Character Education Matching Grant, which is made available to “any public or charter school that teaches a character education curriculum pursuant to section 15-719.” Programs are expected to include a minimum of six of the following ‘character’ attributes: attentiveness, caring, citizenship, compassion, diligence, discernment, fairness, forgiveness, generosity, gratefulness, initiative, integrity, obedience, orderliness, respect, responsibility, sincerity, trustworthiness, virtue, and wisdom.

The Republican schools chief is a strong advocate for Arizona’s emphasis on character education training in schools. He noted, “I believe every school in Arizona should be using the Six Pillars of Character program to help students understand these basic characteristics that, when followed, result in students having overall strong character and classrooms that have students who respect others. This is foundational for a healthy society.”

There will be a ‘Character Education Celebration Event’ in January, where the winners of this new contest will be honored.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.