Carlisle schools present expansion plan for Character Strong social‑emotional program

The Carlisle Area School District’s education committee received an informational update on Character Strong, a social‑emotional learning program used at Wilson Middle School and piloted this year at Lambertton Middle School.

Miss Slover, who introduced the presentation, said Character Strong is a research‑backed, educator‑developed program that teaches social and character skills through a 25‑lesson sequence. She told the committee the school adopted a consistent every‑other‑Wednesday block so the lessons do not displace core classes and to reinforce the work with schoolwide announcements and practices.

Dr. Cassay described how the program was implemented across Wilson: “The character strong block was implemented by all the teachers in the entire building. Every teacher had a small group,” she said, noting lessons covered topics such as building relationships, belonging and conflict resolution.

Kina Wolf, an eighth‑grade social studies teacher at Wilson, said the schedule and pairing of students across grade levels helped sustain student engagement. Wolf read student feedback to the committee, including comments such as, “I love Character Strong. One thing I love about it is getting to know people you might not be friends with and growing with them throughout the year.” He added the classroom implementation was teacher‑friendly and did not significantly reduce instructional time in core classes.

Presenters said Lambertton staff visited Wilson and ran a spring 2026 pilot that produced whole‑building engagement and teacher enthusiasm. On cost, a district staff member reported the vendor offered a two‑year commitment at a locked rate of $3,999 per year; the district plans to pay the cost from federal Title funds. As the speaker put it, the vendor was flexible about start‑of‑fiscal‑year billing and accommodating to the district.

Committee members asked about participation rates and opt‑out procedures. Presenters said they do not have a district‑wide opt‑out tally at the meeting but described classroom experience in which some teachers reported roughly 90% participation among their small groups; students who opt out are provided alternative supervised activities in the cafeteria during the Character Strong block.

The presentation was explicitly informational: staff told the committee a contract and any required board action would come forward later. The district also noted small‑group structures and scripted lessons allow teachers to adapt content while maintaining program fidelity and supporting special education needs.

The committee did not vote on the program; staff will bring contract documentation and any final cost or participation figures to the board at a future meeting for formal action.