Houston, Katy Schools Named Prestigious ‘State Schools of Character’

Harmony School of Innovation-Katy was one of six Harmony Public Schools campuses to earn the prestigious State School of Character designation from the nonprofit education think tank Character.org. [CREDIT: Clarissa Davila | Harmony Public Schools]

Six Harmony Public Schools campuses named official Texas ‘State Schools of Character’ in total.

Six campuses from Harmony Public Schools – including three in Greater Houston – were named official Texas “State Schools of Character” Monday for their outstanding efforts in promoting cultures of character in their schools and communities.

The awards were announced Monday by Character.org, a national advocate and leader for character development in schools. 

Each year, Character.org certifies schools and districts at the state level that demonstrate a dedicated focus on character development, which the organization says has a positive effect on academic achievement, student behavior and school climate. 

Only 15 campuses total in Texas earned the honor. No other school system earned more than three. The six Harmony campuses selected are:

  • Harmony School of Endeavor-Houston
  • Harmony School of Science-Houston
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Katy
  • Harmony Science Academy-Cedar Park
  • Harmony Science Academy-Pflugerville
  • Harmony Science Academy-Garland

The designations bring Harmony’s total number of active State School of Character designations to eight. Harmony School of Innovation-Fort Worth and Harmony School of Innovation-Houston both received State and National Schools of Character honors in 2020. 

“We are tremendously proud of the effort these schools and their leaders put into creating cultures of character each day for their students and team members,” Harmony CEO Fatih Ay said. “Character always has been a critical part of our program at Harmony, because we strongly believe that traits like integrity, empathy, respect, and responsibility play important roles in our students’ ultimate success here at school, at home, and later in college and life beyond.”

Nineteen other Harmony campuses received “Honorable Mention” recognition, while another 20 were recognized as “Emerging” campuses. Both distinctions are generally considered precursors to future State School of Character designation. Campuses to receive these designations include Harmony schools in Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, Beaumont, and Bryan (full list below).

Each of these schools has put into place a comprehensive, multi-year approach to character education that inspires their students to understand, care about and consistently practice a set of core values that will enable them to flourish in school, in relationships, in the workplace, and as citizens. The schools then underwent a rigorous evaluation process to achieve their certification, documenting how they have implemented character education best practices and structures at each school.

“We congratulate these schools on achieving State School of Character designation in a year filled with so many challenges,” said Dr. Arthur Schwartz, Character.org’s President. “The educators and parents at these schools work together to ensure that every child understands, cares about, and consistently practice the core values that form the heart of each family and school.” 

Harmony Public Schools is a Texas-born, Texas-wide public charter school system with campuses serving PreK-12 students in 23 cities across the state, including Greater Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco, Lubbock, Odessa, Bryan, Beaumont, and the Rio Grande Valley. Harmony’s curriculum places a heavy focus on STEM skills, Character Education, project-based learning, and college readiness. 

Harmony is now accepting applications for both students and team members for the 2021-22 school year.

FULL LIST

2021 STATE SCHOOL OF CHARACTER RECIPIENTS

  • Harmony Science Academy-Cedar Park
  • Harmony Science Academy-Pflugerville
  • Harmony Science Academy-Garland
  • Harmony School of Endeavor-Houston
  • Harmony School of Science-Houston
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Katy
  • *Harmony School of Innovation-Houston (2020 recipient; status active 5 years)
  • *Harmony School of Innovation- Fort Worth (2020 recipient; status active 5 years)

*National School of Character winner 2020

2021 HONORABLE MENTION

  • Harmony School of Science-Austin
  • Harmony School of Excellence-Dallas
  • Harmony School Of Innovation-Garland
  • Harmony Science Academy-Carrollton
  • Harmony Science Academy-Dallas Elementary
  • Harmony Science Academy-Dallas High School
  • Harmony Science Academy-Dallas Middle School
  • Harmony School of Achievement-Houston
  • Harmony School of Advancement-Houston
  • Harmony School of Discovery-Houston
  • Harmony School of Excellence-Houston
  • Harmony Science Academy-Bryan
  • Harmony School of Exploration-Houston
  • Harmony School of Fine Arts and Technology-Houston
  • Harmony School of Ingenuity-Houston
  • Harmony School of Excellence-Sugar Land
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Sugar Land
  • Harmony Science Academy-Beaumont
  • Harmony School of Excellence-Laredo

2021 EMERGING

  • Harmony School of Innovation-Carrollton
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Dallas
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Euless
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Grand Prairie
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Waco
  • Harmony Science Academy-Euless
  • Harmony Science Academy-Fort Worth
  • Harmony Science Academy-Grand Prairie
  • Harmony Science Academy-Plano
  • Harmony Science Academy-Waco
  • Harmony Science Academy-El Paso
  • Harmony School Of Enrichment-Houston
  • Harmony School of Technology Houston
  • Harmony Science Academy-Cypress
  • Harmony Science Academy-Houston
  • Harmony Science Academy-Katy
  • Harmony Science Academy-Sugar Land
  • Harmony School of Innovation-Brownsville

Harmony School of Innovation-Laredo