CHESTERTOWN — If your student came home from school talking about the Golden Rule, or how to settle differences peacefully, or making good choices, or the difference between being a bully and a buddy, chances are that was the topic of their Character Counts! lesson for the week.
The character education program is available at public and private schools in Kent County.
The stated mission is to “strengthen our community by encouraging a culture of kindness and strong ethical values through the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.”
Character “coaches,” who are community volunteers, lead discussions and organize activities around the importance of having strong ethical values.
Each week for about 30 weeks during the school year, a new lesson is introduced. It’s the same lesson for all students with age-related modifications to facilitate meaningful engagement from pre-K through grade 12.
The lessons last about 20 to 25 minutes.
The culminating activity is the annual essay contest, which in 2025 celebrated its 16th year.
Students — who compete at the elementary, middle and high school levels — may submit one essay, story or poem on a prescribed topic. All essays should be neatly handwritten or typed, not to exceed 1,200 words, and are judged on content, structure, spelling and grammar by the Character Counts! Kent County Advisory Board.
Cash prizes are awarded for first, second and third places in each of the three divisions.
Teachers of first-place winners and overall winners also receive cash awards.
The Dixon Group sponsored this year’s essay contest.
Award winners were recognized in a special ceremony May 12 in the Hotchkiss Recital Hall of the Gibson Center for the Arts on the Washington College campus.
Three students were selected to read their essays: Shawn Elborn, Jaiden Gillis and Michael Bedell.
Printed here are the first-, second- and third-place winners in each grade. A total of about 600 essays were submitted.
Second Grade: Shawn Elborn, first; Gabriella Mitzel, second; and Sadler Bitting, third. All from H.H. Garnet Elementary School.
Third Grade: Jackson Figliozzi, first; Aubrey Milledge, second; and Calvin Mann, third. All From H.H. Garnet Elementary School.
Fourth Grade: Benjamin Boumiea of H.H. Garnet Elementary School, first; Lincoln Downey of Galena Elementary School, second; and Desi Garcia Ebert of Garnet Elementary School, third.
Fifth Grade: Jaiden Gillis of H.H. Garnet Elementary School, first; Eliza Welsh of Kent School, second; and Serafina Kaiser of Kent School, third.
Sixth Grade: Reagan Pettit, first; Ainsley Coyer, second; and Brooklyn Duhamell, third. All from Kent County Middle School.
Seventh Grade: August Swanson of Kent County Middle School, first; Harlynn Crew of Kent County Middle School, second; and Olive Fleetwood of Kent School, third.
Eighth Grade: Clay Fleetwood, first; Brooks May, second; and Michael Bedell, third. All from Kent School.
Ninth Grade: Tanaya Jackson of Kent County High School, first; Gabriela Gamboa of Kent County High School, second; and Alizah Fitch, homeschool, third.
Tenth Grade: Sophie Cousineau, first; Amber Fernandez, second; and Kali Cannan, third. All from Kent County High School.
Eleventh Grade: Gavin Miller, first; Alden Swanson, second; and David Strayer, third. All from Kent County High School.
Twelfth Grade: Ava Bower, first; Kate Cannon, second; and Gillian Benson, third. All from Kent County High School.
The overall winners are — Elementary School: Shawn Elborn, a second grader at H.H. Garnet Elementary School; Middle School: Clay Fleetwood, an eighth grader at Kent School; and High School: Ava Bower, a senior at Kent County High School.
With their permission, The Evening Enterprise is publishing their essays.
Also, Nancy Harrington, a coach in Rebeka VanSant Wooters’ first grade classroom at Galena Elementary School, is the volunteer of the year.
If you’re wondering what the community impact is for Character Counts! in Kent County, consider this data for 2024-25:
• 2,783 hours of character-focused volunteer time
• 1,439 instructional sessions from September to May
• 1,200-plus students
• 48 volunteers
• 64 classrooms visited weekly
• $6,550 awarded to student writers in the annual essay contest
In the spirit of full disclosure, Trish McGee, owner and publisher of The Evening Enterprise, has been a Character Counts! coach for three years at H.H. Garnet Elementary School in Chestertown, which is within easy walking distance of her house.
She came in mid-year of the 2022-23 school year, and took on a kindergarten class.
In 2023-24, she stayed with kindergarten and added first grade, so that she could follow the development of her students from the year before.
This year, she was a coach for three classes, pre-K, kindergarten and first grade — all on Fridays.
She has committed to doing Character Counts! this summer through the Horizons enrichment program and is re-upping for a fourth year with Kent County Public Schools in 2025-26.
Volunteer coaches are always needed. To find out more, contact Executive Director Deeann Jones at director@cckentcounty.org or visit www.cckentmd.org.
