A groundswell of interest in values education is calling educators to return to the direct and indirect teaching of positive values. Prompted by scandals in the public domain and breakdown in families, character education is gaining ground in public education. Adhering to the "bag of values" approach to moral education and drawing upon the cognitive-developmental approach to moral education, a model using metaphorical tools has been developed and field tested. This model, the Heartwood Program (pilot tested in Pittsburgh), uses folk literature and hero stories representative of countries from around the world (tales that illustrate the attractiveness and validity of ethical virtuous choices). The stories address human problems with solutions based on ethical judgments that touch the head and the heart. Seven attributes were identified: courage, loyalty, justice, respect, honesty, hope, and love. These attributes were then used as the focus of program activities that incorporated literature from around the world. The field testing and subsequent evaluation of the project by superintendents and elementary curriculum coordinators yielded qualitative and quantitative data that are summarized in a results section. Included in the appendices are questionnaire and data sheet results, a Heartwood design flowchart, and a summary of evaluation results. (RR)