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Those who have experiences...Any idea how to start a new private school where character and integrity counts and be taught?

Students attending Sequoyah Elementary School learn a new character-building word each month. The word of the month for May is "patriotism." Students had an opportunity to celebrate patriotism during their Sunshine Assembly Monday, which was officially dubbed "Col. Wilhite Day." Special guest for the event was U.S. Army Col. James Wilhite, who recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Wilhite's wife, Emily, is a special education teacher at the school. Wilhite, Sequoyah students, faculty and parents were greeted by Cathy Couch's pre-kindergarten class, which led the group the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the pledge to the state...

ZACHARY -- A program to teach etiquette and respect for others will begin this spring in the Zachary school system and eventually extend to parents and the business community. The Bank of Zachary is underwriting the cost of providing schools with the "Manners of the Heart" curriculum developed by Jill Rigby of Baton Rouge. "This is about building a foundation with our children," School Superintendent Warren Drake said during a gathering of school and city officials and business leaders Monday. Although the etiquette program is widely used in schools and other settings across the country, Zachary is the first community...

Building solid character begins in the home. That's how Chilton County Superintendent of Education Mildred Ellison feels. The state-mandated program currently used by all Chilton public schools only enhances the kind of character education Ellison said she feels parents should be instilling in their children before sending them out into the world. "We have 10 minutes of character education per day in our schools for each student," Ellison said. "That's what the state mandated we do in a ruling in 1995. But, the limited character education the school system is able to provide students must only be secondary to the...