[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15701-S15702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, several months ago, the Senate 
passed Senate Resolution 103, designating the week of October 15-21, 
1995, as National Character Counts Week. Across the country, hundreds 
of towns, cities, schools, and 60 national organizations ranging from 
the YMCA to the Little League, encompassing about 35 million young 
people and adults, celebrated this week.
  As most in this chamber are aware, character counts advocates the 
teaching of the six pillars of character, six ethical values that 
transcend political, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic 
differences: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, 
fairness, and citizenship.
  The character counts nationwide effort is one whose time has come. As 
explained in the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development report, 
``Great Transitions,'' adolescents need help and support from not just 
their families and schools, but also the entire community. I agree with 
the statement of Julius Richmond, professor of health policy at Harvard 
Medical School and surgeon general under President Carter, ``The 
schools go their way, the after-school programs go their way. . . . 
This report really points out the importance of all community resources 
coming together.''
  The idea of a total community approach is an important one. This is 
why I am such an enthusiastic supporter of the character counts 
programs across the State of New Mexico. By way of background, about a 
year ago, I asked the Mayor of Albuquerque Martin Chavez (D), to join 
me in a bipartisan effort to establish a communitywide character counts 
program. We pursued this effort with the local churches, the entire 
Albuquerque public school system, civic and social organizations, 
unions, the police department, parent groups, and the private sector. 
As a result, Albuquerque became the first city in America to adopt a 
citywide character counts program.
  Several weeks ago, the spokesman for the national Character Counts 
Coalition, actor and producer Tom Selleck, joined me in Albuquerque to 
visit schools participating in this community effort. I cannot begin to 
relate the excitement of the students at the Osuna Elementary and the 
Garfield Middle Schools as the entire student body met in their 
gymnasiums to honor their character counts programs.
  The schools were celebrating the word of the month, citizenship. The 
students were able to discuss what citizenship meant and why it was 
important, and the little ones loved to shout out the spelling of 
``citizenship'' or join in the singing of the theme song about 
character. The character counts message is being delivered city-wide by 
many different voices, and it is obvious the children and teachers are 
enthusiastic participants in this program.
  After the successful startup of the Albuquerque character counts 
model, other New Mexico communities started similar programs. Roswell 
invited other nearby towns to join them in the effort so that the 
program could be developed beyond the city's geographical boundaries, 
and this communitywide program has exceeded the expectation of the 
hundreds of organizations and individuals who have joined forces to 
support character counts. As an example, in honor of Character Counts 
Week, at the annual high school football game, the entire halftime 
program was devoted to character counts. The event included all of the 
high schools and middle schools in the area.
  The State of New Mexico received one of the Department of Education 
grants for developing character education programs, a grants program 
that we developed and passed on last year's Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act. These funds will help many other New Mexico communities 
who are initiating similar character education programs in their 
schools and youth organizations.
  To emphasize that this issue is one of concern to millions of 
Americans besides New Mexicans, I think it is noteworthy that after 
Roswell was featured on a nationally televised news story, my State 
office has received more than 1,000 requests from all across the 
country for information about establishing a character counts program. 
This is something new and vibrant--an approach that touches the lives 
of children and adults alike. It reaches out to encircle the youth with 
similar messages--that respect and responsibility and caring, for 
example, are appropriate responses and actions.
  The Albuquerque Public School District, consisting of 118 schools, 
has now developed an extensive and remarkable program. As stated in 
their recent report:

       What began in APS as a grass roots movement in schools 
     interested in promoting more productive behavior in their 
     students, has grown to be a focus area in the strategic 
     planning process for the district and a major educational 
     goal of the superintendent. . . . What followed was an 
     outpouring of interest and action as schools enthusiastically 
     integrated the pillars of character into their own curricula.

I ask that the text of the APS report be printed in the Record at the 
conclusion of my remarks.
  As we read report after report about the state of America's children, 
and we know from talking with parents, teachers, and community leaders 
that children need strong and compassionate support, I believe that the 
character counts program is one effort that can help. As important, I 
believe the model established in cities across New Mexico is the right 
approach. It is an all-encompassing approach that does not start and 
stop with the ringing of a school bell, or last for a single hour in 
church or at a youth organization meeting. Instead, the communitywide 
approach really says that with a rather simple and single message, 
everyone cares, and that everyone in that city is willing to put time, 
money and energy behind its youth.
  Mr. President, for the last 2 years we have passed a resolution in 
support of National Character Counts Week. I know I speak for the other 
nine Senators of the Senate character counts group when I say that our 
legislative efforts are a support mechanism for the really important 
grass roots efforts we see across this country. The reason character 
counts programs are developing in schools and communities across 
America is because there is a genuine quest for resolving the problems 
of our young citizens. This program is an approach where everyone, 
young and old, can be part of a larger effort to make their towns and 
cities better places to work and live. It seems to me that this 
approach is well worth the effort, and I offer my congratulations to 
the thousands of committed citizens who are working together and 
building a program not only for the good of the present, but also for 
the next, generation of Americans.
  The report follows:

                         APS Curriculum Support

       The Albuquerque Public School District opened the 1995-96 
     school year with renewed dedication to the principles of 
     character education as exemplified in the Character Counts! 
     philosophy. What began in APS as a grass roots movement in 
     schools interested in promoting more productive behavior in 
     their students has grown to be a focus area in the strategic 
     planning process for the district and a major educational 
     goal of the Superintendent. When the Board of Education for 
     the Albuquerque Public Schools endorsed the pillars of 
     character as named in the Josephson Foundation's Aspen 
     Declaration, it wisely left the implementation of this 
     philosophy up to the teachers and principals of the 188 
     schools in the district. What followed was an outpouring of 
     interest and action as schools enthusiastically integrated 
     the pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, 
     responsibility, citizenship, caring, and fairness, into their 
     own curricula.
       For 1995-96 APS has adopted a goal for character education, 
     stating, ``The Albuquerque Public Schools will provide 
     learners of all ages the knowledge and ethical foundation 
     needed to become productive citizens in our community.'' 
     Objectives to meet this goal are:
       The Albuquerque Public Schools has endorsed and will 
     support the Character 

[[Page S15702]]

     Counts! program as a way to develop character based on the 
     six core ethical values.
       The Albuquerque Public Schools will continue collaborations 
     with community entities to reach agreements about the role of 
     each in promoting ethical behavior among young people and 
     adults in various aspects of life.
       The Albuquerque Public Schools commit to creating models of 
     ethical behavior among all adults who serve students and 
     schools.
       The APS Core Curriculum will continue to give explicit 
     attention to character development as an ongoing part of 
     school instruction. Materials, teaching methods, 
     partnerships, and services for school programs shall be 
     selected by APS, in part, for their capacity to support the 
     development of character among youth and adults.
       The Albuquerque Public Schools will provide training to 
     enable schools and other administrative units to implement 
     the principles of character education.
       All schools will examine school curriculum, classroom 
     practices, and extra curricular activities to identify and 
     extend opportunities for developing character.
       APS School to Work initiatives will integrate character 
     education with the employability skills necessary to prepare 
     students to enter the workplace.
       The emphasis on character education in the public schools 
     has been met with immediate and enthusiastic support in the 
     business and volunteer community in Albuquerque. Members of 
     the Leadership Council formed to support Character Counts! 
     include representatives from financial institutions, non-
     profit youth agencies, Sandia National Laboratory, the NAACP, 
     the NM Bar Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, the City of 
     Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, and others. 
     This coalition was formed to support the Character Counts 
     initiative financially, and by giving parents in the work 
     force the same message given to their children in schools. 
     The marketing committee from this council planned and 
     implemented a Character Counts rally in Albuquerque's Civic 
     Plaza. Character Counts day at the New Mexico State Fair, and 
     numerous other events to support the program. Citizens of 
     Albuquerque read the Character Counts message on billboards, 
     on soft drink cans, and in city utility bills.
       As schools begin conversations based on character 
     education, they enjoy the freedom to plan learning activities 
     tailored for their own students, staff, and communities. 
     District support for these ventures in the first year 
     included a training session given by Michael Josephson, 
     founder of Character Counts, for representatives of each 
     geographical cluster of schools. There teachers, parents, and 
     administrators will act as trainers and facilitators for the 
     rest of the school district and community. Other support 
     activities included the development of a bibliography for 
     Character Counts based on the six pillars, a parent manual 
     for use in schools, and a manual for administrators 
     interested in initiating a program in their own schools.
       Second year support activities include the distribution of 
     a commitment form for schools to indicate their plans for 
     character education to district administrators, followed by a 
     starter kit to be distributed to interested teachers and 
     students. Other administrative units in the public schools 
     have developed their own plans for character education, 
     including a program for school bus behavior and safety. 
     Join-A-School business partnerships in 1995-96 will focus 
     on respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness as 
     demonstrated in school-to-work training.
       Much of the growth in the second year of Character Counts 
     involvement will be supported by a grant through the New 
     Mexico State Department of Education and the U.S. Department 
     of Education. The New Mexico Character Education Pilot 
     Project will allow the school district to continue its formal 
     plans to provide extended training in character education, 
     further develop a marketing component, involve parents and 
     community members as active partners in character education, 
     mentor a Native American school/community in character 
     education, and develop a clearinghouse for information 
     related to character education.
       The true joy in the growing involvement of APS schools in 
     character education is found not in administrative structure 
     and planning, but in the classrooms and school programs 
     developed to support Character Counts. Examples of student 
     participation include school Character Counts kickoffs like 
     the one at Cochiti Elementary School where staff and students 
     celebrated the word of the month with original songs, raps, 
     and poetry, all focused on ``Respect.'' At this school, 
     student-authored slogans are announced daily and posted in 
     the cafeteria to remind everyone to be respectful to self and 
     to others. At Sombra del Monte Elementary School, teachers 
     and parents performed skits demonstrating ``respect'' to the 
     delight of their students. Students at Chelwood launched 
     their program as they released balloons, each representing a 
     pillar of Character Counts. The students attached cards to 
     the balloons, asking the finder to return the card to the 
     school. Children at Wherry Elementary School sang a rap they 
     composed about character and children performed examples of 
     ``do's'' and ``don'ts'' of good character at an all school 
     assembly. Middle school activities include rewarding students 
     at Madison Middle School for demonstrating behavior related 
     to the six pillars by presenting coupons good for redemption 
     at local businesses, and holding a Jog-A-Thon to kickoff 
     activities at Grant Middle School. McKinley Middle School 
     hosted a breakfast for its school bus drivers to begin their 
     pilot project integrating school bus safety and the concepts 
     of Character Counts. Eldorado High School students are 
     reminded of Character Counts with the printing of the six 
     pillars above all school doorways.
       While APS is presently caught up in the launching of the 
     Character Counts! philosophy, members of the district know 
     that the true test of the value of this initiative will lie 
     far down the road for our young students. The participants in 
     Character Counts in the Albuquerque Public Schools believe 
     the true value in this program will be measured in succeeding 
     years, when student learning and behavior reflects not only 
     the enthusiasm of launching a worthwhile program, but 
     demonstrates the internalization of the six pillars of 
     Character Counts.

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