[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 722-723]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                        NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged en bloc from further consideration of 
S. Res. 292 and S. Res. 294, and that the Senate proceed to their 
consideration en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolutions by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 292) designating the week beginning 
     February 2, 2004, as National School Counseling Week.
       A resolution (S. Res. 294) designating January 2004 as 
     National Mentoring Month.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolutions and preambles be agreed to en bloc, the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc and that any statements 
relating thereto be printed in the Record, the above occurring with no 
intervening action or debate, with the consideration of these items 
appearing separately in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions (S. Res. 292 and S. Res. 294) were agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  The resolutions, with their preambles, read as follows:

                              S. Res. 292

       Whereas the American School Counselor Association has 
     declared the week beginning February 2, 2004, as ``National 
     School Counseling Week'';
       Whereas the Senate has recognized the importance of school 
     counseling through the inclusion of elementary and secondary

[[Page 723]]

     school counseling programs in the reauthorization of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       Whereas school counselors have long advocated that the 
     American education system must leave no child behind and must 
     provide opportunities for every student;
       Whereas personal and social growth results in increased 
     academic achievement;
       Whereas school counselors help develop well-rounded 
     students by guiding them through their academic, personal, 
     social, and career development;
       Whereas school counselors were instrumental in helping 
     students, teachers, and parents deal with the trauma of 
     terrorism inflicted on the United States on September 11, 
     2001, and its aftermath;
       Whereas students face myriad challenges every day, 
     including peer pressure, depression, and school violence;
       Whereas school counselors are usually the only 
     professionals in a school building that are trained in both 
     education and mental health;
       Whereas the roles and responsibilities of school counselors 
     are often misunderstood, and the school counselor position is 
     often among the first to be eliminated in order to meet 
     budgetary constraints;
       Whereas the national average ratio of students to school 
     counselors of 485 to 1 is more than double the 250 to 1 ratio 
     recommended by the American School Counselor Association, the 
     American Counseling Association, the American Medical 
     Association, the American Psychological Association, and 
     other organizations; and
       Whereas the celebration of ``National School Counseling 
     Week'' would increase awareness of the important and 
     necessary role school counselors play in the lives of the 
     Nation's students: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK.

       (a) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the President should designate the week beginning 
     February 2, 2004, as ``National School Counseling Week''.
       (b) Proclamation.--The Senate requests the President to 
     issue a proclamation--
       (1) designating the week beginning February 2, 2004, as 
     ``National School Counseling Week''; and
       (2) calling on the people of the United States and 
     interested groups to observe the week with appropriate 
     ceremonies and activities that promote awareness of the role 
     school counselors perform within the school and the community 
     at large to prepare students for fulfilling lives as 
     contributing members of society.
                                  ____


                              S. Res. 294

       Whereas mentoring is a strategy for motivating and helping 
     young people succeed in life, by bringing them together in 
     structured and trusting relationships with caring adults who 
     provide guidance, support, and encouragement;
        Whereas mentoring offers a supportive environment in which 
     young people can grow, expand their vision, learn necessary 
     skills, and achieve a future that the young people never 
     thought possible;
        Whereas a growing body of research shows that mentoring 
     benefits young people in numerous ways, through improvements 
     in school performance and attendance, self-confidence, 
     attitudes and relationships with adults, and motivation to 
     reach their potential;
        Whereas mentoring is an adaptable, flexible approach that 
     can be tailored to focus on helping young people with 
     academics, social skills, career preparation, or leadership 
     development;
        Whereas over 15,000,000 young people in this Nation still 
     need mentors, falling into a ``mentoring gap'';
        Whereas mentoring relies principally on volunteer mentors, 
     so mentoring programs must recruit even more volunteers in 
     order to expand their program to help more young people;
       Whereas, in an effort to begin closing the mentoring gap, 
     this year Congress has significantly increased Federal grant 
     funding for local mentoring organizations to $100,000,000;
        Whereas the recipients of these grants and other entities 
     carrying out mentoring programs all across the country will 
     need an influx of volunteers to meet the growing demand for 
     mentoring;
        Whereas nonprofit groups and leading media companies have 
     joined together to designate January 2004 as National 
     Mentoring Month to recruit more mentors for young people; and
       Whereas the month-long celebration of mentoring will 
     encourage more adults to volunteer their time as mentors for 
     young people and enlist the involvement of nonprofit 
     organizations, schools, businesses, faith communities, and 
     government agencies in the mentoring movement: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1)(A) designates the month of January 2004 as ``National 
     Mentoring Month''; and
       (B) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States and interested 
     groups to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities that promote awareness of and volunteer 
     involvement with mentoring;
       (2) praises individuals who are already giving their time 
     to mentor young people; and
       (3) supports efforts to recruit more adults as mentors, in 
     an effort to close the Nation's mentoring gap.

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