[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5057-5059]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING LUTHERAN SCHOOLS

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 106) congratulating Lutheran schools, students, 
parents, teachers, administrators, and congregations across the Nation 
for their ongoing contributions to education, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 106

       Whereas the Nation's Lutheran schools deliver high-quality 
     education and challenge students to reach their potential;
       Whereas there are 4,841 Lutheran early childhood centers, 
     elementary schools, and secondary schools in the United 
     States served by 40,076 teachers;
       Whereas the Nation's total Lutheran school student 
     enrollment is 572,877;
       Whereas Lutheran schools produce students strongly 
     dedicated to their faith, values, and morals by providing an 
     environment that encourages honesty, trust, respect, and 
     responsibility; and
       Whereas the week beginning on March 2, 2003, has been 
     established as National Lutheran Schools Week for the purpose 
     of recognizing the vital contributions of the Nation's 
     Lutheran early childhood education centers, elementary 
     schools, and secondary schools: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals of National Lutheran Schools Week, 
     which is celebrated by several synods that have educational 
     institutions, for the purpose of recognizing their academic 
     achievement; and
       (2) congratulates Lutheran schools, students, parents, 
     teachers, administrators, and congregations across the Nation 
     for their ongoing contributions to education.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Res. 106.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Delaware?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 106. This resolution honors Lutheran 
schools and their students, parents, teachers, administrators and 
congregations for their ongoing contributions to education.
  I would like to thank the sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman 
from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), 
the Chairman of the Committee on Education, and the Workforce for 
bringing this resolution to the floor today.
  In 1524, Martin Luther said that a city's best and greatest welfare, 
safety and strength consists rather in its having abled, learned, wise, 
honorable and well-educated citizens. Lutheran churches and schools 
have long been active in meeting this mission by providing education 
opportunities as early as 1640 in what is now Delaware, my home State.
  In Delaware, I am proud of the contributions of the nine Lutheran 
schools, the names of which I will submit here for the Record.

       Concordia Lutheran Preschool, 3003 Silverside Rd, 
     Wilmington, DE 19610, 302.478.3876.
       Faith Lutheran Preschool, 2265 Red Lion Rd, Bear, DE 19701-
     1849, 302.834.3417.
       Our Redeemer Preschool, 10 Johnson Rd, Newark, DE 19713, 
     302,737.617.
       Little Ones Lutheran Preschool, 7 Bay Vista Road, Rehoboth 
     Beach, DE, 302.226.7860.
       St. John's Elementary School, 1156 Walker Rd, Dover, DE 
     19904, 302.734.3767.
       St. John's Early Learning Center and Day Care, 119 Lotus 
     St, Dover, DE 19901, 302.734.1211.
       Hope Lutheran Child Care, 230 Christiana Rd., New Castle, 
     DE 19720, 302/328-7909.
       St. Paul's Lutheran School, 701 S. College Ave., Newark, DE 
     19713, 302/368-0553.
       Zion Lutheran Preschool/Kindergarten, 2101 Lancaster Ave., 
     Wilmington, DE 19805, 302/655-7874.

  Lutheran schools deliver high quality education where individuals are 
challenged to reach their full academic potential. The Lutheran school 
system is the largest Protestant school system in the United States and 
consists of 4,841 early childhood centers, elementary schools and high 
schools, over 40,000 teachers and more than 570,000 teachers.
  Lutheran schools serve a diverse population. For example, in the 
schools affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, 
one-third of the students and one-quarter of the staff are persons of 
color, many of whom are not Lutheran. In Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 
affiliated schools, 44 percent of elementary school students and 37 
percent of high school students are not Lutheran.
  Lutheran schools produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, 
values and morals by providing an environment that encourages honesty, 
trust, respect and responsibility.
  National Lutheran Schools Week, celebrated this year from March 2 to 
March 8, recognizes the vital contributions of America's Lutheran early 
childhood education centers and elementary and secondary schools. We 
congratulate Lutheran schools, students, parents, teachers, 
administrators and congregations across the Nation for their ongoing 
contributions to education and urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume, and I rise in support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bereuter) for introducing this resolution because it is a good 
resolution, and it gives me an opportunity to highlight the importance 
and value of education in our Nation.
  H. Res. 106 recognizes the contribution of Lutheran schools to the 
mix of fine educational opportunities available to American children. 
We are very fortunate in the United States to have such a diverse 
system of education.
  The goal of the education system in America, both public and private, 
is to give every child in every State the opportunity to succeed, and 
that recipe for success, Mr. Speaker, certainly includes Lutheran 
schools, as well as other religious schools, non-religious private 
schools and, of course, our public schools. It is this variety, this 
diversity that makes our education system a success and makes America a 
strong, strong Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, as we recognize the educational contributions that 
Lutheran schools make to our Nation, let us recognize, too, the 
importance and value of all the many different types of schools in 
America and the contributions they make to the lives of our children 
and our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
resolution. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I 
thank the leadership of the committee for bringing this resolution to 
the floor in such a timely fashion.
  Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of a Lutheran Elementary School myself, 
St. Paul's Lutheran School of Utica, Nebraska, and an individual well 
acquainted with the many first-rate Lutheran educational institutions 
in his congressional district, this Member rises today to congratulate 
Lutheran schools, students, parents, teachers, administrators and 
congregations across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to 
education.
  Lutherans have long been active in providing education for children. 
As mentioned by the distinguished gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), 
the first Lutheran school was established in the colonies in 1640 by 
Swedish Lutherans, and it was located in

[[Page 5058]]

the State of Delaware. There is evidence that Lutherans from Salzburg, 
Austria, started schools in what is now the southern part of the United 
States in the 1730s.
  Pastor Henry Muhlenberg, known as the patriarch of the Lutheran 
Church and father of two members of the 1st Congress, one the first 
Speaker of the House, established a significant number of Lutheran 
churches and schools in Pennsylvania.

                              {time}  1415

  By 1800, some 400 Lutheran schools dotted the east coast from New 
York to Georgia.
  Today, our Nation has a total of 4,842 Lutheran schools, which are 
served by 40,076 teachers. This Member is proud of the 122 Lutheran 
early-education centers, elementary schools, and secondary schools in 
Nebraska, as well as the three Lutheran colleges and universities in 
this Member's district, and those Lutheran schools located throughout 
the Nation which deliver high-quality education opportunities and 
challenges students to reach their full academic and spiritual 
potential.
  Not only are Lutheran schools known for their academic quality but 
for their ability to aid in their students' moral development. These 
institutions provide spiritual guidance to students, instilling 
fundamental values that are crucial to personal development. Through 
their education, Lutheran schoolchildren gain an appreciation of the 
importance in their lives of family values, community service, and in 
their religious faith. This in turn has helped shape students of 
Lutheran schools into good civic and educational leaders for America, 
past, present and future.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, this Member urges his colleagues to support 
the resolution honoring the contributions of Lutheran schools in 
American education; and I thank the cosponsors of the resolution, which 
are numerous.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this 
piece of legislation rapidly to the floor. As my kids went to school 
yesterday, I got a chance to drop them off and in front was a big 
banner saying ``Lutheran Schools Week.'' So I got to do it officially 
yesterday and I get to do it, I guess, officially now on the floor 
today; but I rise today in recognition of National Lutheran Schools 
Week, which began on March 2 of this week.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a graduate of a Lutheran school, Holy Cross 
Lutheran School, in my hometown of Collinsville, Illinois. My father 
also attended this school. And a known fact is that my first grade 
teacher was my father's first grade teacher, a patriarch of education 
in Collinsville, Miss Bohland. It is a story I like to tell quite a 
lot. I also had a fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Richter, who taught me and 
who I tried to keep from retiring so that I could tell the same story 
for my sons, or so they could tell the same story. But she retired to 
an enjoyable life and is still very active in the church.
  That is really something to be said, when you have that longevity in 
a teacher in a grade school. Two generations. And it is something that 
makes Lutheran schools a critical aspect of our society. My three sons 
now attend. David is 10, Joshua is 7, and Daniel will be attending next 
year in the preschool program, but who does get involved in the Sunday 
school program on Sunday and the weekends. My wife even teaches music 
at Holy Cross Lutheran School with the church programs and the choirs 
and all that stuff. So Lutheran schools have been a key component of my 
life for many, many years.
  Before I became a Member of Congress, I returned to Illinois to teach 
government history at a Lutheran high school, Metro-East High School in 
Edwardsville, Illinois. As a teacher, I had the opportunity to instill 
the fundamental values and morals of the Christian faith, which is 
involved in the total educational aspect of the school. Parental 
involvement is key in Christian education; and Lutheran doctrine talks 
a lot about law and gospel, how we are condemned by the law but saved 
through God's saving grace, which is a critical aspect of the Christian 
faith, but it ties very neatly into the educational program.
  In teaching kids to achieve all they can achieve, we know that you 
can never get 100 percent all the time, and there are failures along 
the way. That is where in the law and gospel aspect of education, the 
foundational principle of what makes Lutheran schools an exciting place 
to be, is that the constant love and compassion and actually the gospel 
aspect of forgiveness is involved in the educational setting.
  Today, approximately 572,877 students attend Lutheran schools; and 
over 40,000 teachers provide an environment that encourages honesty, 
trust, respect, and responsibility. This also is a benefit to society 
because that are half a million kids that are not burdening, if we 
would call it a burden, to society. It is not an additional cost to the 
public school system. So the parents who choose Lutheran education, or 
perhaps Catholic education or other types of private schooling, take 
these kids out of the public school arena where more of the tax dollars 
can then work in public education, which I think is an additional 
benefit. Sometimes we forget that.
  I am proud of the education that the students are able to receive 
from dedicated parents and teachers because of the efforts of Lutheran 
educators. Students throughout my district in central and southern 
Illinois receive spiritual guidance through an outstanding learning 
environment. I would like to congratulate the Lutheran schools, 
parents, teachers, administrators, and congregations across the Nation 
for their outstanding work in educating our youth.
  One of the primary aspects of Martin Luther, when he changed the 
course of history, in essence the Protestant revolution, was education 
of the great masses, actually the education of children and youth. That 
is why the Lutheran faith education has a critical pillar in what we do 
on a day-to-day basis.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I 
also thank the sponsor for bringing this legislation forward.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), a new member of the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
for yielding me this time, and I too want to join with my colleagues in 
congratulating Lutheran schools, students, parents, teachers, and 
members of the congregation for outstanding contributions they have 
made and continue to make in education.
  In my congressional district, they are indeed the mainstay for early 
childhood education. Lutheran Family Services provides any number of 
early childhood education programs; and we are fortunate to have one of 
the top high schools in the State, Trinity Lutheran, in our 
congressional district, where practically all of the young people who 
come through end up going to college. It has been, and continues to be, 
an outstanding institution.
  I want to commend and congratulate all of those who are a part of the 
Lutheran congregations for the outstanding contributions that they have 
made and continue to make to education.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
to simply say that we support this resolution, and I am proud to be 
here doing that.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
thank the sponsor of the legislation and the other cosponsors with him, 
as well as all those who came to the floor to speak today about this 
subject of a great deal of significance in terms of education in this 
country; part of the overall global education that means so much to our 
young people. I encourage everybody to support this legislation.

[[Page 5059]]


  Mr. VITTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lutheran Schools for 
their continuing contributions to educating young Americans. Lutheran 
schools impact not only the intellectual life of our Nation's youth but 
also their moral, physical, and social lives.
  The Lutheran schools in Louisiana deliver high-quality education and 
challenge students to reach their potential. The administrators and 
faculty provide students an environment that encourages honesty, trust 
and responsibility.
  This year more than half a million students in the United States will 
be enriched by their Lutheran school education. America's Lutheran 
schools are internationally acclaimed for their academic excellence and 
can boast a student-teacher ration of 14 to 1.
  During National Lutheran Schools Week and throughout the year, I 
salute the Lutheran schools, students, parents, teachers, 
administrators, and congregations across the Nation for their ongoing 
contributions to education.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
allowing me to offer my comments congratulating Lutheran schools.
  In his 1524 letter, ``to the councilmen of all cities in Germany that 
they establish and maintain Christian schools,'' Martin Luther wrote, 
``My dear sirs, if we have to spend such large sums every year on guns, 
roads, bridges and dams, and countless items to ensure the temporal 
peace and prosperity of a city, why should not more be devoted to the 
poor neglected youth--at least enough to engage one or two competent 
men to teach school?''
  Since this very humble request, the Lutheran Church's role in 
educating our young has flourished. There are currently 4,821 Lutheran 
schools operating in America, instructing over half a million students. 
These schools not only provide a traditional education, but also 
produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, values, and morals 
by providing an environment that encourages honesty, trust, respect, 
and responsibility.
  In a world which faces such grave social, political, and economic 
choices as ours today, it is especially important to remember the words 
of Martin Luther and recognize the contribution that the Lutheran 
Church has made to education in our own Nation and around the world. I 
congratulate our Lutheran schools and I thank them for all that they 
have done for the spiritual and educational well-being of our youth.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 106.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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