This paper describes guiding principles of educational reform founded upon character education. The signatories of the declaration recognize the following precepts for character education: (1) Education in its fullest sense is inescapably a moral enterprise; (2) We strongly affirm parents as the primary moral educators of their children and believe schools should build a partnership with the home; (3) Character education is about developing virtues--good habits and dispositions which lead students to responsible and mature adulthood; (4) The teacher and the school principal are central to this enterprise and must be educated, selected, and encouraged with this mission in mind; (5) Character is not a single course, a quick-fix program, or a slogan posted on the wall but an integral part of school life; (6) The human community has a reservoir of moral wisdom, much of which exists in our great stories, works of art, literature, history and biography; and (7) Finally, young people need to realize that forging their own characters is an essential and demanding life task. The signatories represent education, government, industry, and various educational and youth foundations. (EH)