Monte Vista Elementary first-grade student Vincent Gutierrez was recognized Thursday morning as the 100,000th Tulare County CHARACTER COUNTS! Kid of Character by the Tulare County Office of Education’s (TCOE) CHARACTER COUNTS! program. Gutierrez was nominated by his teacher, Kelley Turri.
Since bringing the program to Tulare County in 1994, TCOE has promoted the CHARACTER COUNTS! program which focuses on six core values common to a democratic society that allows teachers, parents and community members to build and develop character in youth. The six core values --- Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship --- transcend cultural, religious and socioeconomic differences.
This year more than 6,500 Tulare County students were nominated for the 2016 Kids of Character campaign in celebration of National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week.