IGE Associate Don Proffit Coaches Schools on How To Build ‘Cultures of Integrity’

March 5, 2012 - PRLog -- ROCKPORT, Maine – Since affiliating himself with the Institute for Global Ethics in 2005, associate Don Proffit has been capitalizing on his background as a high school principal and performing arts teacher to help educators establish “cultures of integrity” within their school systems. Using IGE’s Ethical Literacy® cognitive tools and processes, Proffit coaches students, teachers and administrators on how to identify and experience common values and make them an integral part of their school’s way of life.

Proffit’s coaching effectiveness is based on the deep connection he has with school administrators and students. The IGE associate was the principal of New Jersey’s Lawrence High School for six years and Highland Park Middle and High School for two years. Proffit has also served as an interim assistant superintendent of schools, assistant principal, and supervisor of fine and performing arts in the New Jersey public school system. A classroom teacher for more than 25 years, Proffit was a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Teacher Fellow and twice received the New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education.

Speaking of his initial encounter with IGE, Proffit recalled how he participated in a workshop given by Paula Mirk, IGE’s director of education, in the mid-90s and then was later trained by Dr. Rushworth Kidder, IGE founder and president. “Paula helped to transform my way of looking at kids,” he says. “When I returned from the workshop to my position as assistant principal, I employed the IGE methodology and saw a shift in how colleagues and students began to treat each other – with more respect, compassion and trust. It was an eye-opening experience and set me on a path to where I eventually became an Ethical Literacy coach myself.” Since teaming up with IGE, Profffit has coached schools in New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Tennessee, Nebraska and Pennsylvania,

“The big point of difference I see with the Ethical Literacy approach is its focus on the culture of a school,” Proffit notes. “The IGE process empowers both students and adults by showing them what they have in common and how each person is responsible in creating a community of safety and trust.”

IGE not only guides individual schools toward an integrated focus on ethical behavior at their institutions but also connects them to a worldwide network of schools that have been helped by the IGE process. A principal in Omaha, for example, can call a counterpart at a school in Pennsylvania to share ideas, challenges and best practices for instilling a culture of integrity at their individual site. “With the Ethical Literacy Learning Community, assistance or encouragement is just a phone call away to someone who shares almost identical concerns and hopes. This is a tremendous value added that IGE offers,” says Proffit.

For more information about the Ethical Literacy® Learning Community, visit http://www.ethical-literacy.org or call +1-207-542-1546.

About the IGE
Founded in 1990, with offices in Rockport, Maine, New York City and London, the Institute for Global Ethics (www.globalethics.org) is an independent, nonsectarian, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ethical action in a global context. IGE’s challenge is to explore the global common ground of values, elevate awareness of ethics, provide practical tools for making ethical decisions, and encourage practical action based on those decisions.