[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 101 (Thursday, June 21, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PRAISING THE SUCCESS OF THE SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION 
                   PROGRAM IN ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

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                          HON. CHARLES W. DENT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2007

  Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that I share 
with my colleagues an article prepared by Mr. Myron Yoder, the Social 
Studies Curriculum Coordinator for the Allentown School District in 
Allentown, Pennsylvania, regarding the School Violence Prevention 
Demonstration Program.
  The School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program is administered 
by the Center for Civic Education through the U.S. Department of 
Education. The program explores how civic education can be used as a 
strategy to foster civic engagement, law-abiding behavior, the peaceful 
management of conflict, and the prevention of violence in schools. 
Currently, the program is being implemented at grades 4 through 12 in 
urban, suburban, rural, and Native American school districts at 24 
sites in 19 States across the Nation. The article is below.

 Civic Education To Be Celebrated in ASD Schools June 5: A Call to the 
                      Allentown Community. Join Us

                            (By Myron Yoder)

       Good civics--practice and recognition--is a concern and 
     part of the fabric of every healthy community. To a school, 
     civics is a fundamental part of instruction; to a diverse 
     society, it is an imperative to maintain and grow our 
     civilized way of life. The Allentown School District has been 
     involved in a federal grant administered through the Center 
     for Civic Education called the School Violence Prevention 
     Demonstration Program, or SVPDP, for short. This civics-based 
     curricular program has become ASD's elementary civics 
     component for social studies in grades K-5. The goal behind 
     the program is essential to our society: If you build good 
     civics practices with students in school communities, then 
     you proactively deal with issues of student attitudes, 
     behavior and, theoretically, head off school violence by more 
     students. This year, the Allentown School District civics 
     program is in over 400 classrooms and reaches over 8,000 
     students.
       The many planned ``culminating'' activities at the end of 
     students' studies this spring are deliberately performance-
     based not only to allow for creativity and self-expression by 
     our students and teachers but also to provide a means to 
     integrate learning and foster even stronger academic growth. 
     Many parents notice students discussing issues at home with 
     them as well as noticing a desire to become involved in 
     issues our community faces. These culminating activities are 
     occurring in many of our schools over the months of May and 
     June. You can check with your neighborhood school for when 
     these events are planned. We invite you to observe our 
     students showcasing their learning this year.
       Best of all, the SVPDP program helps ASD students become 
     citizens of our community, our state and our nation. Further, 
     we see a difference in many of our students, not only 
     academically but also with attitudes and behaviors that we 
     believe will proactively prevent school violence in many of 
     our students.
       The time has come to recognize, celebrate and thank our 
     staff and students for this very committed effort on their 
     part. On June 5, 2007 there will be a ``Civic Celebration'' 
     lunch served by ASD's Child Nutrition Services department to 
     celebrate SVPDP efforts in the schools and to recognize the 
     work of our students and staff in this program.
       Many schools will have culminating activities going on, 
     community service activities, award ceremonies, school clean 
     up, community awareness or simply taking a moment over lunch 
     to say thank you to the staff and students for their efforts. 
     Each school will be doing something different that day, but 
     all will celebrate civic participation with the lunch.
       Citizens of Allentown, here are some of the expressions of 
     understanding and change that ASD children and their teachers 
     are experiencing with this program:
       ``Because I was a bully, I had a little bit of friends. 
     Most of them were bullies, too. The responsibility book 
     helped me stop being a bully. And now I have friends cause I 
     am not a bully. Bullying is not for me!''--Fourth grader, 
     Jackson ES.
       ``I ask the children what they have learned through the 
     stories and plays and they say: Be fair to others so that 
     they will be fair to you; There are consequences for our 
     actions; Share with other people; Don't be a bully; Be nice 
     to your friends; Be helpful to other people; Obey the 
     laws.''--Lou Ann Hein, Teacher, 2nd Grade, Dodd ES.
       ``I just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed 
     teaching SVPDP and how much my students enjoyed it and 
     learned from it. It covers so many issues students need in 
     order to be good citizens and addresses issues they often 
     don't understand. It has always been difficult to fit social 
     studies into first grade but the journal coordinated exactly 
     with what I was teaching in reading and writing, so there was 
     plenty of time for social studies!''--Elizabeth Harting, 
     Teacher, 1st Grade, Cleveland ES.
       Allentown School District has a clear and dedicated 
     commitment to teaching the qualities and values important to 
     our society. We ask parents and the Allentown Community to 
     join us in educating for America's future by celebrating 
     civics on June 5, 2007.

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