Long before “character education” became a process that needed to be imbedded into the school curriculum, Brigantine Elementary School was realizing the positive results of learning to be people of character. Fifteen years ago our town underwent a dramatic change. Atlantic City brought in casino gambling. Brigantine’s demographics changed drastically.  Prior to this time, Brigantine was a small community. It grew theoretically over night. The changes to the town affected the climate of the city. We experienced many growing pains. The school underwent unexpected changes: we experienced low morale, behavioral problems, cultural differences and poor test scores. We needed to reevaluate our goals. Our character education program began in response to this dramatic change.