Heather Thies, director of education and volunteers at National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, answers questions about programs at the Pooler museum.

Q:  What is your involvement in the Character Counts! Program?

A: The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force sponsors the Character Counts! program for the (Savannah-Chatham County Public School System). We train the staff of the SCCPSS in the Character Counts! program.

I attended the official Character Counts! training at the Josephson Institute and oversee the program for the museum and help SCCPSS with anything they need regarding the Character Counts! program as well as oversee the education programs in the museum and implement the Character Counts! program in our own museum programs.

Q:  How have you seen it impact schools and students?

A: The Character Counts! program helps schools create a common language regarding positive character traits so that whomever they are working with within the school is using the same wording to discuss how to have better character.

Q: What do you feel this program adds to the education system?

A: Since teachers are already so busy, the program works well because it can be used as a way to discuss comprehension of the topic the students are learning about while incorporating the discussion of character traits at the same time. Therefore, teachers are not trying to fit one more thing into their teachable day, but infusing character topics into their lessons they are already teaching.  

Q: How applicable is this program for teachers?

A: It is so easy to blend into the curriculum that they are already using and not an add-on program. Those in the SCCPSS that are using the Character Counts! program daily really see a difference.  

Q: Where can people go to find out more information about the Character Counts! program?

A: People can go to our website www.mightyeighth.org or email me for more information.