[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S299-S300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNITION OF THE NACHES VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL LEADERSHIP CLASS

 Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, as the Senate prepares to debate 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the coming weeks, one of 
the topics we will no doubt address is this issue of school safety.
  I want to recognize the extraordinary efforts of a group of students 
and teachers in eastern Washington in addressing violent crime in their 
community and making their school a safer place for all students. The 
Leadership Class at Naches Valley High School has done an excellent job 
at incorporating creative solutions and programs to curb gang activity 
and encourage fellow students to do well in school. For their efforts, 
I am presenting these students and their teacher, Mr. Sanford Jetton 
with my ``Innovation in Education'' award.
  Naches Valley is a rural school district at the foot of the eastern 
side of the Cascade Mountains. For years, Naches Valley High School 
reflected the small community values with little conflict between 
students. In 1996, it discovered it was not immune from the problems 
that are common-place in most large urban schools--gangs, drugs, 
depression, crime, to name a few.
  When the high school had its first incident of gang violence, 
students in the Leadership class were both frightened and angry. While 
such a reaction would be expected, their response was anything but 
typical. Not only did the students confront the gang members, 
challenging them to be positive contributors to the school atmosphere, 
but they proactively worked with their principal, their Leadership 
teacher Sanford Jetton, the Mayor, and the deputies from the sheriff's 
department to address the problem.
  The students helped write a town ordinance which declared the local 
park to be part of the school grounds for an hour before and an hour 
after school, or whenever that park is being used for school 
activities. This allows for disruptive students to be dealt with both 
by law enforcement and the school's own ``zero tolerance'' gang policy.
  As a result of this direct intervention, most of the gang members 
relinquished that affiliation and eventually graduated from Naches. In 
addition, there have been no further incidences of gang violence at 
Naches Valley High School since 1996.
  The Leadership class did not stop with the problem of gang violence. 
Its members looked for innovative ways to promote drug and violence 
prevention through school and community service. The list of student-
initiated accomplishments is quite impressive:
  The class established a Student Accountability Board (S.A.B.) which 
provides alternative consequences for students pulled over by the 
sheriff's office for traffic violations. The S.A.B. has resulted in a 
50 percent reduction in traffic citations. Seat belt use among students 
has also risen from 63 percent in 1997 to 93 percent in 1999.
  Working with the University of Washington, the class prepared a 
suicide awareness program which has since spread to six other schools.
  The class initiated a ``Student Sharing Solutions'' program which 
teams up schools throughout the Yakima Valley for such events as a 
countrywide graffiti paint-out.

[[Page S300]]

  The class has also taken the lead in such projects as replenishing 
local food banks and in raising money for a fellow NVHS student who was 
severely injured in a car crash and whose family has no medical 
insurance.
  These young leaders, and their teacher have been recognized in their 
community at problem solvers and generous servants. In 1998, the Naches 
Valley Leadership Class received the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce 
Service Award.
  As the Senate prepares to take on the reauthorization of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, I believe we in Congress would 
do well to trust students and teachers, like Sanford Jetton and his 
Leadership class with more freedom and flexibility to create these 
types of innovative programs.
  That is why I have introduced my Straight A's education bill to give 
parents, teachers, principals, superintendents and school board members 
with the flexibility to make the best decisions about how to educate 
our children and provide measures to keep states accountable for the 
results.

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