IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM CHARACTER LAB:
Due to the evolving public health situation around COVID-19 and developments at OCPS related to school closures, Character Lab has cancelled research activities at OCPS this spring.
Schools will still receive Research Snapshots from their participation in winter research activities. We plan to resume research activities in the fall, per our usual calendar.
Student safety and health are top priorities for us, and we want to support school leaders and educators as they focus on serving students and families. As OCPS continues to respond to this situation, Character Lab will look for opportunities to support the district.
Orange County Public Schools is a founding district research partner of Character Lab. Starting in the 2017-18 school year, this partnership connects students and schools with leading experts like Angela Duckworth to improve educational practices.
Why partner with Character Lab? Students who participated in similar activities have shown improved achievement and well-being. This may look like increased academic effort, greater homework completion, better attendance or higher GPA.
What is the Character Lab Research Network? The Character Lab Research Network facilitates research in schools to increase students’ character strengths. View the Research Network video (2:59) for an overview.
What will my child do? Your student will have the opportunity to participate in activities that support motivation and learning. Students typically complete these activities on their school laptops. At most, participation will last up to one class period (less than 45 minutes), no more than three times per year. These activities will not conflict with any special school activities or interrupt valuable learning time. For some activities, students may elect to receive automated text messages after school and on weekends (never during the school day) that are meant to encourage positive behaviors.
Is participation voluntary? Yes, your child may choose to not participate
at any time. There is no penalty if your child elects not to participate. If he
or she elects not to participate, an alternative activity will be made
available.
What are you doing to protect my child’s privacy? Character Lab is taking comprehensive measures to protect student privacy. To learn more, you can review the Character Lab Student Privacy Policy at
https://www.characterlab.org/student-privacy.
Participating Schools