By: William Greenwood
MONROE The sight was quite a peculiar one.
Beneath a large banner emblazoned with the words "Character County Post Office," Barclay Brook first- and second-grade students wearing blue Postal Service hats with black rims sorted through about 1,200 envelopes, checking them for postage and correct addresses. Then, they placed them into three bins red, black and blue for delivery to addresses like Perseverance Place, Responsibility Road, Share Street and Trust Trail.
It was enough to raise the question, is this an elementary school or a post office?
It turns out the scene was merely a part of the school’s Character County Post Office program, which began Feb. 26 and ends today (Friday). The program is meant to promote literacy skills, develop workplace readiness and teach good character traits, Barclay Brook guidance counselor Kathy O’Rourke said.
"I think this project has a lot of benefits," she said. "I think the children are so motivated to write, and that’s a wonderful thing. They also have such a sense of pride and accomplishment as they actually perform a working service like the post office."
Each day, first- and second-grade students at the school write a letter or two to send to either friends in other classrooms or members of the school staff, Ms. O’Rourke said. The students are required to place the letter in an envelope and fill out the recipient’s name and class address before placing a stamp on it and sending it to the post office. If the envelope is not filled out correctly, it is returned to its sender.
"Now, in the day of e-mail, it’s wonderful to see the children have followed letter-writing mechanics and get the whole concept of the U.S. Postal Service," Ms. O’Rourke said.
Each classroom at the school is given its own Character County address during the program, each including a good character trait in the title, Ms. O’Rourke said. Throughout the two weeks of the program, each classroom focuses on that trait in its lessons. For example, the second-grade students at Perseverance Place read a story called "Horton Hatches the Egg."
"Horton stays on that egg through all the weather and perseveres," Ms. O’Rourke said. "So, they learn their trait sometimes through literature, most times through stories."
Meanwhile, groups of students gather in the Character County Post Office in the school during each of four lunch periods. Ms. O’Rourke said the mail comes in during the first lunch period, and is all delivered by the end of the fourth.
All of the jobs in the post office, from sorting to delivering, are completed by the students, who seem to be enjoying their work.
"It’s cool," said first-grader Noah Ledford, who helps deliver the mail to each classroom. He said he enjoyed his position "because you get to walk back and forth and put mail in the piles."
First-grader Mikaleigh Molchan, who helps sort the mail by address, said she enjoys the responsibility that comes with her job. She said the mail could not be delivered if it wasn’t for her and the other sorters.
Mikaleigh also said she enjoyed the program as a whole because her class receives quite a few letters routinely.
"That’s why I like it," she said. "We get a lot of mail every day."
Now that the program has come to an end, Ms. O’Rourke said she thought the post office was a great success. She said the project not only taught students about literacy, the workplace and good character but also brought them closer to the school’s staff members, who often responded to mail they received through the post office.
"It’s a bonding experience, you know," Ms. O’Rourke said. "Everybody uses (the post office) differently, but everybody uses it. That’s the important thing."

