Decisions for Education

The Decisions for Education program arose from a conversation between Peter Hawks and John Painter, a teacher and advisor to the Student Council at Vermont’s South Burlington High School (SBHS). John acknowledged the great value in helping students look inside themselves, as Ryan did, to craft a self-composed set of Core Values. With enthusiastic support from students, faculty and administrators, a four-step program was conceived and piloted with 900 students.

Pat Burke, SBHS Principal, states “with absolute confidence that no program was easier to garner support for in and out of school, no change was more important, and no systemic shift has made a more positive impact on our students and their futures than the core values program”

To date, some 1200 students at SBHS have participated in the program. Some have characterized it as “life changing.”

The 4 major components of the program:

Learning about Core Values and what they mean by breaking down and discussing the terms Core, Values, and Core Values.
Helping students and faculty to look within themselves to discover and enumerate their own Core Values.
Preparing multimedia presentations that highlight students’ Core Values and the things about which they are passionate.
Sharing these Core Values presentations with peers, teachers, parents, coaches and other significant people in participants’ lives.

The outcomes of the program include a better understanding of oneself, and a set of principles that guide decision making in all aspects of daily life. For many, this means better decisions and a reduction in risky behaviors.

The Foundation has prepared three videos that describe the program and introduce Ryan and his Core Values:

Program Introduction with Peter Hawks (7:55) The South Burlington High School Experience (3:20) Meet Ryan Hawks (4:39)

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The 4 major components of the program: