[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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