Character Continuums

The Kirkwood Program is designed to enable children to become successful in terms of their education. In the most fundamental sense, success is defined by growth along seven character continuums: Investment of Energy, Value Development, Goal Setting Behavior, Self-Esteem,Responsibility, Independency, and Spiritual Growth and Development.

The program is designed to work well for every child without selection factor who is capable of mainstream. When a young child comes into the program, it is assumed that he has very little or no growth along any of the affective continuums. As a function of the program, each child progressively develops along each of the affective continuums. He becomes highly invested in terms of putting forth energy into working to learn; he works with a degree of intensity and concentration; the child values his education and believes that what he is learning is relevant and important for him and his success; he is able to set realistic goals for himself and achieve them on a daily basis; the student has developed a high and powerful level of self esteem; and finally, the child assumes a fair measure of responsibility for his own life and is able to work relatively independently.

Academic achievement is seen as an outcome variable as a function of progress along the character continuums. By the end of third grade, most children are working from one to three years above grade level with a very high degree of mastery. Standardize achievement test scores correspond to and validate this high level of academic achievement.

According to the first follow-up survey in 1990, five years after graduation from the program, students continue their high level of success. The survey of those graduates indicates an average GPA of 3.47. A second follow-up study program graduates was completed in May of 1993. These graduates range in grade from forth to twelfth. 44% had a GPA of 4.0. 72% had a GPA of 3.5 or better. Parents rated their children very high on all affective objectives.