Rathdrum school wins character award
Bethany Blitz Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years AGO
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire offensive lineman Jonah Austin hugs Lilliana Yaple as Libby Hatcher looks on after he and Junior Alexis, right, and Sam Charles, not pictured, talked to students at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire football players, from left: Sam Charles, Junior Alexis and Jonah Austin take questions from 4th graders at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning after talking to them about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/Press"Don't ever give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about" Spokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles tells Betty Kiefer Elementary School students on Thursday morning. Charles and two teammates visited the school to talk about the importance of character and applying yourself.
Photos: LISA JAMES/Press Spokane Empire offensive lineman Jonah Austin laughs at a question asked by a sixth-grader at Betty Kiefer Elementary School in Rathdrum on Thursday morning. Austin and teammates Junior Alexis and Sam Charles, not pictured, talked to students about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire football player Jonah Austin, right, along with his teammates Junior Alexis, center, and Sam Charles take questions from 4th graders at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning after talking to them about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles signs autographs for 6th graders at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning after talking to them about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles with students at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning after talking to them about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire offensive lineman Jonah Austin laughs as a 6th grader gives him a basketball to sign after he and two teammates talked to students at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire football players from left: Sam Charles, Jonah Austin and Junior Alexis, take questions from 4th graders at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning after talking to them about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire offensive lineman Jonah Austin signs a miniature football after he and two teammates talked to students at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday morning about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles autographs Stephanie Vogl's shoe on Thursday morning at Betty Kiefer Elementary School after talking to students about character and the importance of applying yourself.
LISA JAMES/PressSpokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles tells Betty Kiefer Elementary School 4th graders he's going to go back and check on them after he and two teammates talked to students Thursday morning about character and the importance of applying yourself.
Spokane Empire wide receiver Sam Charles signs autographs for sixth-graders at Betty Kiefer Elementary School on Thursday.
RATHDRUM — Students at Betty Kiefer Elementary School tilted their heads back in awe Thursday as three Spokane Empire football players walked down the hall.
The athletes visited classrooms and answered questions like “How tall are you?” and “What size shoe do you wear?”
But the men were there to share a deeper message. Their goal was to help the youngsters understand the importance of school, good friends and making good decisions.
“If you don’t help your friends, how are they going to grow and learn?” said Junior Alexis, a defensive lineman for the Empire. “You help your friends, your family and your teachers. At the end of the day this is your environment, and you need to protect your environment.”
The visitors were part of the school’s ongoing mission to build a sense of community and character among its students.
That mission has resulted in Betty Kiefer Elementary School being named the Idaho State School of Character, the only such school in Idaho.
Character.org, a national advocate and leader for the character education movement, recognized Betty Kiefer as a school that has demonstrated its use of character development to drive a positive impact on academics, student behavior and school climate.
The kindergarten- to sixth-grade school has always had a strong sense of community, Principal Lynn Paslay said. Betty Kiefer has consistently pursued projects and fundraisers to help local veterans, food banks and even community members who need support, such as a disabled man in Spokane who wanted a bike attachment to his wheelchair and a young girl in Rathdrum who had cancer. That young girl, Sophie Slugger, is now in second grade at Betty Kiefer.
“We’ve always had a focus, even since before I was here, to help the community as best we can,” Paslay said. “It’s great when we have things like this, so kids can see different people from the community who do different things and are successful.”
The School of Character award was sought by Corey Friis’ sixth-grade class. She prompted them to leave a legacy, and the students decided they wanted a legacy of character. They also wanted to win an award. So, the class found Character.org and went for it.
“It’s been huge for them,” Friis said. “Especially the leadership part — being the older kids in the school and getting to help the rest of the school.”
Betty Kiefer Elementary is now in the running for national recognition from Character.org, and will find out in May whether it was selected.
To promote good character, the school has brought in community members to talk about perseverance and how they have found success in their lives. Friis said she’s had engineers and mechanics come speak to her class.
“They’re good examples of why hard work pays off, instead of me just telling them,” she said. “It’s easy to find negative things to point out but when you have a group and point out positive things, like these [football players] ...it’s much more inspiring.”
Friis’ sixth-grade class could not contain its excitement about being the only school in Idaho with the School of Character recognition.
“It’s awesome to know we’ve reached so many lives,” said Damen Cope, a sixth-grader. “It’s amazing to know what our school has done. We’ve changed lives here.”
One of the last questions for the Empire football players was from sixth-grader Kylee Martin. She asked the players what motivates them. One said the fear of failure and letting people down helps him perform his best, and another said his 1-year-old daughter inspires him.
Kylee said the answers really helped her.
“I have had a lot of stuff happen in my life and when I get to talk to somebody about it, it shows me they can open up and it helps me, too,” Kylee said. “It shows me that even in school I can keep persevering to reach my dreams.”
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