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‘‘I wanted an organization that was is credible in my view, that said the right things and had teeth,” said Young, of Rockville.

But after years of assisting city and school leaders in engaging the program, as well as offering an ethics class at Gaithersburg Middle, Young is retiring June 22.

Character Counts! is a nationwide, bipartisan and nonsectarian coalition of cities and organizations. The organization aims to instill ethical principles in adults and children through six key areas: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Principal Carol Goddard said it is impressive how much Young worked to help students realize their potential.

‘‘I’ll tell ya this, at this age, if you can get across to at least one, you’ve done a good job,” Goddard said. ‘‘When kids start to realize that character does count, you start to see them change and grow.”

As Young recalls, the consequences were steep for giving an adult any lip when she was younger. Now she can count off with ease stories of students talking back, storming out of classrooms or wearing saggy pants that are ungentlemanly, she said.

The Character Counts! program has helped kids excel and progress from away that attitude, she said.

Application of the program’s principles can vary widely between organizations, Character Counts! coalition program coordinator Justin Lu said from the group’s Los Angeles headquarters.

In Gaithersburg, it includes a Person of Character Award, a scholarship for high school seniors as well a week in October dedicated to recognizing the program’s message.

‘‘The beauty of Character Counts! is it brought this multi-faith, multi-race group ... what are considered universal behaviors of what all people of goodwill believe in,” Young said.

The daughter of a college professor and elementary school teacher, Young received a degree in French from Morgan State University in Baltimore and studied abroad in France as a Fulbright Scholar. She joined Montgomery County Public Schools in 1979.

Young joked that a degree in guidance counseling might have better suited the path she chose.

Mayor Sidney A. Katz complimented Young for her accomplishments and noted that former Mayor Edward Bohrer Jr. was enthusiastic about the program’s ability to instill values that seemed to have slipped away, Katz said.

‘‘When people my age and Ed’s age were growing up, the family sat down at the dinner table, you had discussions about what was the right thing to do, what was a good idea and what isn’t,” Katz said.

Now the familiar Character Counts! six pillar design and the moral strength it represents is pervasive in county schools through various classes and programs, Young said.

Young said she’ll miss the Gaithersburg Middle, but is anxious to begin on her new endeavors with religious studies at the Wesley Theological Seminary at American University in Washington, D.C.

She has faith that, with others carrying Character Counts! in her steed, the positive impacts will carry on.

‘‘Sometimes it does just take one person saying, ‘Let’s do it,’” she said.

Counting Characters

Since Gaithersburg joined Character Counts! in 1996, the program has reached more than 120,000 local youth.

In 1999, the city also initiated the W. Edward Bohrer Jr. Memorial Character Counts! Scholarship program. This has about $87,000 to give to 44 high school seniors for college tuition.

Source: City of Gaithersburg