How it started

The S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts program began in the spring of 1995, when Mike Rozumek, a karate school owner in Pepperell, Massachusetts, began exploring ways to add character education to his school's youth karate curriculum. Mr. Rozumek, a 7th degree black belt who has been involved in the martial arts as student and teacher for over 30 years, believed students at his school should learn more than just self-defense techniques .Knowing how important character education is to the development of young lives, he contacted the Jefferson Center for Character Education regarding its S.T.A.R. program.

Since 1963, the Jefferson Center's main S.T.A.R. program has been used in 60,000 public school classrooms nationwide and has reached more than l.5 million students. The Jefferson Center is a charitable, educational organization with an excellent national reputation regarding the development of character education curriculum.

Mr. Rozumek was eager to see if the main S.T.A.R. curriculum, as developed at the Jefferson Center, could be used in a martial arts setting. After analyzing the Jefferson materials, Mr. Rozumek, with permission from the Center, modified the program to meet the special requirements of the martial arts. The resulting S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts program was first used at the Rozumek karate school in January of 1996.

This program — a comprehensive, simple-to-use, character education curriculum for children — is presented in a 60-page manual complete with posters, calendars, form letter, and class plans. S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts uses monthly themes, activities, and awards to encourage children to act responsibly at home and school. The program is designed to involve parents and teachers. The intent is to help children understand the connection between acts and consequences, and by doing this make better decisions in their lives.

S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts has been an unqualified success. 100% of the children in Mr. Rozumek's school participate in the program. The S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts program made such an impact on the children in Pepperell, that two local schools — Peter Fitzpatrick Elementary and Varnum Brook Middle School — implemented the S.T.A.R. curriculum for their students. The two schools also asked Mr. Rozumek to sit on their school council. The population of both schools is approximately 1600 students.

In the martial arts community, S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts has received the endorsement of the Education Funding Corporation (EFC), the world's largest professional organization for martial arts schools. More than 400 EFC members have purchased S.T.A.R. With participating schools in England, Australia, Canada, and the United States S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts has now reached more than 50,000 students worldwide.

Many karate school owners have contacted Mr. Rozumek inquiring how they can introduce the main S.T.A.R. materials in their local schools. Each EFC owner who has S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts becomes an ambassador for the main S.T.A.R. program. As such, S.T.A.R. school owners are often looked upon in their community as an important educator regarding the teaching of values to children.

In the decade that S.T.A.R. in the Martial Arts has been reaching young martial arts students it has become clear to school owners, parents, and teachers that when we systematically teach character education to children, we shape the future by changing it for the good.