    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 10, 2006]
    [Pages 1800-1807]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on School Safety in Chevy Chase, Maryland
    October 10, 2006

        The President. Thank you very much. Thank you all for coming. In
    many ways, I'm sorry we're having this meeting. In other ways, I know
    how important it is that we're having this meeting. The violence that
    has been occurring in our schools is incredibly sad, and it troubles a
    lot of folks, and it troubled me and Laura. And
    so I asked Margaret and Al to host a gathering of concerned citizens, the
    purpose of which is to come up with best practices and just shared
    experiences so that others might know how to react--to prevent and react
    to inexplicable and--violence that is hard to imagine.
        All of us in this country want our classrooms to be gentle places of
    learning, places where people not only learn the basics--basic skills
    necessary to become productive citizens but learn to relate to one
    another. And our parents, I know, want to be able to send their child or
    children to schools that are safe places. And the violence we've seen,
    this is upsetting to a lot of people, and I know it's upsetting to the
    professionals who are with us. But rather than be upset, it's best for
    all of us who are responsible for helping folks not only cope but to
    prevent action from taking place. It's best to be proactive. And that's
    what this meeting is. And so I want to thank you all for joining.
        I got a firsthand report on one of the panels from Laura, who said that--I think if I could summarize your words,
    it was, like, really interesting and very important. And so I thought
    what I would do is ask Al and
    Margaret to begin this session and maybe
    hear from some of the folks here, and then, if time permitting, hear
    from you all out in the audience.
        Again, I want to thank Margaret and
    Al for setting this up, and really thank
    you all for coming and taking an interest. I know we got people from all
    around the country, and it's--this is a nationwide effort to help people
    who are responsible protect our children.
        Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
    Thank you. Mr. President, thank you for asking Margaret and I to host
    this important conference. We've had some good panel discussions, as
    you've already heard already. You've met some of the panelists that
    we've invited back. And just for our audience, again, we've asked Dr.
    Marleen Wong, Craig Scott, Fred Ellis, and Sheriff Jeff Dawsy to help us
    speak with the President about this important issue.

    [At this point, Attorney General Gonzales continued his remarks.]

        The President. I like the Secret Service too, Art. [Laughter]

    [Art Kelly, former police chief, New Bedford, MA, made brief remarks.]

        The President. Let me ask you a question, Al--not you, Chief, but--well, I can
    ask you too. I presume out of this there will be a series of best
    practices that you will share with principals and schools districts that
    explain, for example, what people could look for to determine whether or
    not there's an early warning sign, and then how to respond.
        Attorney General Gonzales. Exactly.
        The President. Okay, good. Thanks, Chief.

    [Attorney General Gonzales made further remarks, and Jeff Dawsy,
    sheriff, Citrus County, FL, made brief remarks.]

        The President. Is there an opportunity to share, between sheriffs
    around the country, how they're dealing with this issue? Does it make
    sense to have the National Sheriffs' Association contact members, ask
    for stories, practices, and then condense

    [[Page 1801]]

    them and send them back out so that people can--who probably aren't
    listening to this will be able to----
        Sheriff Dawsy. I think it would be a
    wonderful initiative. One of the things I learned today was not more
    about questions but more of solutions. There was many different speakers
    that came up and told us about different resources to use.
        The President. Yes, that's my point.
        Attorney General Gonzales. Mr.
    President, I think that Sheriff Dawsy would say that this program helps
    him to do his job, which means that I'm sure all the sheriffs around the
    country would like that kind of program as well, to help them do their
    job.
        The President. That's my point. Yes. So who is responsible for
    talking to the head of the Sheriffs' Association or the police chiefs to
    make sure that happens?
        Audience member. I'm right here, sir, and it will be done.
        The President. Thank you, sir. Very good.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Did you say 81 percent of the students were aware of
    a violent act?
        Fred Ellis. Some of the data that I had
    heard today from the Secret Service and some of their research, that
    much information was out there.
        The President. It seems like a pretty good opportunity to prevent an
    attack if 81 percent of the--there's an 81-percent awareness of a
    potential attack, which then, I guess, would lead to making sure
    principals explain to students: ``When you hear something, please tell
    me.''

    [Mr. Ellis, director, Office of Safety & Security, Fairfax County Public
    Schools, Centreville, VA, made brief remarks, and the discussion
    continued.]

        The President. Is it typical of a student that expresses a wish to
    die, makes that clear to his or her peers and to--if people are attuned
    to what that means, to pay attention to somebody who exhibits the
    behavior that says, ``I am depressed, and I want to die''? I mean, is
    it--it's a pretty strong statement.
        Marleen Wong. It's a wonderful question,
    because there are behaviors and there are expressions of hopelessness
    that come before that. And so I think we have to do a lot of education
    with just folks who say, you know, ``They've changed. They don't have
    joy in life,'' and that this is an early warning sign.
        The President. But is it easy to define the behavior that would tip
    off an adult in a school, or some--a coach or an art teacher that this
    is the kind of behavior that ought to say to us, we better pay attention
    to this person, this child?
        Ms. Wong. Yes. There's a short list, and
    actually, the student who sat on the previous panel did an excellent job
    of naming all of those things. I was so proud of her. I thought she
    ought to come and do some training with our----
        The President. And how many educators do you think that can name--
    good job, by the way--how many adults do you think around the schools in
    America can name the traits that would say, we better pay attention to
    this person?
        Ms. Wong. Not enough.
        The President. And therefore, what can we do to make sure that
    people understand what to look for? It seems like to me that a lot of
    our focus ought to be on preventing. And no question, we ought to worry
    about recovering, but preventing is--makes the recovery not necessary.
        Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Chiarasay, you did such a nice job this morning. Why
    don't you go to the microphone real quick and tell us the nine signs.
        The President. Where are you from, Chiarasay?
        Chiarasay Perkins. Mr.
    President, I'm from Walton County, Florida.
        The President. Good. I know your Governor.
    [Laughter]

    [[Page 1802]]

    [Ms. Perkins, student, Walton Senior High School, DeFuniak Springs, FL,
    made brief remarks.]

        The President. That's great. Thank you.
        Ms. Wong. Thank you.
        The President. Let me ask you a question. From your experience,
    Marleen, if a teacher were to notice those
    traits, is it typical that someone would act on them? In other words,
    I'm just trying to make sure I understand. If a student sees--I mean, a
    teacher sees a student begin to change clothes and begin to--does a
    principal and a teacher tend to say, ``Well, that's really not my
    business; it's the parents' business?'' In other words, awareness
    requires, by the way, some kind of response.
        Ms. Wong. And I think that varies around
    the country.
        The President. Yes, I'm sure it does.
        Ms. Wong. I think that more and more people
    are beginning to pay attention just because we have paid such a dear
    price for ignoring some of the warning signs.
        The President. So maybe an outcome for this is to encourage--for you
    to get in touch with the principals' organizations or the teachers'
    organizations and help----
        Secretary Spellings. ----them be
    aware of the warning signs.
        The President. And then--I guess there's a certain confidence that
    has to come with interfering--not interfering, but interceding in a
    child's life. My only question is, is there hesitancy when an adult
    says, ``Well, maybe this is just the way it's supposed to be,'' or,
    ``Maybe it's none of my business''? And the question is, if that's the
    case--if you can determine that's the case, how do you get people to
    respond differently?
        Secretary Spellings. Cathy Paine from
    Oregon told us about--where they had an incident there, that there were
    dozens of signs of this particular shooter and that the full picture
    didn't become clear until after the incident.
        The President. Can you--do you mind sharing that? Thanks, Cathy.

    [Cathy Paine, special programs administrator, Springfield School
    District, Springfield, OR, made brief remarks.]

        The President. The whole purpose of this exercise is to help educate
    and, if there needs to be cultural change inside schools, for teachers
    to become more aware and more active--or principals--is to try to
    stimulate these kinds of discussions, obviously, outside of Washington,
    at the local level or State levels, in the hopes of preventing these
    from happening in the first place.
        Thank you for coming to share your experience and appreciate your
    sharing your expertise.
        Secretary Spellings. One of the
    people who's been doing that in a very meaningful way is Craig Scott,
    who has talked all over the country to teenagers and teachers and
    educators and school leaders. And he has a very powerful story, as you
    know. His sister, Rachel, was murdered in Columbine.
        So, Craig, why don't you share your thoughts.

    [Craig Scott, former student, Columbine High School, Aurora, CO, made
    brief remarks.]

        The President. Good job. Whew. Which one of us up here can now talk
    after that? Thank you. Yes, that's great. You are changing our society.
    You may not realize it, but thank you--powerful statement.
        I'd be glad to hear from people in the audience. [Laughter] Yes, I
    probably won't be able to hear from all of you in the audience.
        That was great, Craig. Thank you. Could I
    have that?
        Mr. Scott. Oh, absolutely.
        The President. Thank you. Yes, sir.

    [[Page 1803]]

    Character Education/Community Involvement in Schools

        Q. Mr. President, I haven't had this feeling since I was 17, and
    that's the last time that I asked you a question in Herbert, Texas. I've
    spoken to hundreds of thousands of people since. Last time I was nervous
    was when I was 17 in Herbert, Texas, and you were campaigning in
    Herbert, Texas.
        The President. Don't tell them I came in second place in a two-man
    race. [Laughter]
        Q. My name is Pete Vargas. I'm the national director for Rachel's
    Challenge, the program----
        The President. Oh, fantastic, Pete.
        Q. ----that Craig just talked about. And I want to echo something
    that's very dear to my heart and Darrel, his father, who is sitting
    right here.
        The President. Your dad is there? Where is
    your dad? Excuse me. Okay, thank you. Raised a good man here.
        Q. I talk to thousands of educators every month--our team does--
    thousands. And one of the things that disturbs me is there's hundreds
    that say, ``Pete, you all have changed the culture of our school.'' But
    then there's thousands that say, ``It's so hard for us to fit our--we
    want your program so bad, but we have testing and testing and testing
    and this and that,'' and it made me think about something, President. It
    made me think about growing up--I was going the wrong direction
    completely. I was stealing; I was doing everything possibly wrong--
    vandalism, beating up kids. And in seventh grade there was a teacher,
    Mrs. Muldanado, who touched my heart. In 10th grade, there was a lady
    that you know from Herbert, Texas, that touched my heart. And in ninth
    grade my tennis coach touched my heart, and those three people changed
    my life. And as we--why I believe in what I'm doing so much is Darrel's
    motto is that if we touch the heart of the kid, the head will follow. If
    we touch their heart, the head will follow, and the hands will make the
    difference.
        My question to you today is, I don't want us to look at the warning
    signs; I want us to eliminate the warning signs.
        The President. Right, right.
        Q. What can we do--what can we do--and this is echoing Darrel and
    what Craig just said--what can we do from the government's standpoint to
    go back to touching the heart of the kid, to teaching character
    education? Because we hear that all the time about the testing.
        The President. I agree. Pete, let me say--
    first on the tests. Thanks for coming. It's good to see you again. I was
    probably more nervous than you were when you asked the question.
    [Laughter]
        Q. You look the same. [Laughter]
        The President. I like selected memory. [Laughter]
        First, in terms of testing, I don't think it's zero sum. I think you
    can make sure a child learns, and I think you can instill character at
    the same time. I don't think you have to choose. As a matter of fact, I
    know we can't say that one doesn't beget the other. I happen to believe
    that self-esteem comes when a child realizes he or she can read early,
    at grade level. And I think one of the real problems--[applause]--I
    think one of the real problems we have, Pete, is
    a school system across the country that basically gives up on children
    because we don't measure to determine whether or not they have the
    skills necessary to read, for example.
        And so I'm concerned about a system that socially promotes children,
    because I think that at some point in time, that begins to affect a
    child's vision of the future, and a grim vision of the future may be
    that which triggers a response that is negative.
        Character education is--I know we funded quite a bit of it when I
    was the Governor of Texas. Let me put the funding issue right on the
    table. The Federal Government is a limited funder of education,

    [[Page 1804]]

    and I happen to believe that's the way it should be. I don't think it's
    possible for the people to have expectations that the Government should
    fund public schools. This is a local responsibility. It's been that way
    throughout our history. I think it makes sense to do so because it tends
    to make control of our schools more localized, which I happen to think
    is the best way to achieve excellence.
        And so therefore, not to try to pass responsibilities--although we
    do have character education grants out of Washington, and we've got
    school safety grants out of Washington. But the best place to facilitate
    that kind of initiative, to make sure that character is taught in
    schools, is at the State level.
        Secondly, it's really important, Pete, that
    people not think government is a loving entity. Government is law and
    justice. Love comes from the hearts of people that are able to impart
    love. And therefore, what Craig is doing is--he
    doesn't realize it--he's a social entrepreneur. He is inspiring others
    to continue to reach out to say to somebody who is lonely, ``I love
    you.'' And I'm afraid this requires a higher power than the Federal
    Government to cause somebody to love somebody. And therefore, it's a--
    [applause]--and therefore, one of the things we can do, though, is to
    call upon people--we've got the USA Freedom Corps Initiative, for
    example, that calls on volunteers to take active participation in their
    communities.
        You know, Craig said something interesting.
    I believe societies change one heart at a time. I don't mean to mimic
    what you said, but I was actually praising what you said, because that's
    how it works. And the truth of the matter is, if we really think about
    it, the primary responsibility, the primary teacher of character is the
    parent. That is the frontline of enabling our society to be a
    compassionate, decent place. You wouldn't be sitting here if your
    mother and father
    hadn't instilled in you a--something inside your soul that caused you to
    sit here in front of the President of the United States and give an
    unbelievably eloquent testimony about compassion.
        And the second line of defense in schools is, obviously, teachers.
    And the hope is, is that out of this violence and terror comes this
    notion that teachers have got to be--and by the way, the teachers have
    got an unbelievably hard job--to not only teach but to show concern and
    compassion. They've got their own lives to live. They've got their own
    families to raise many times, and now they've got to deal with yet
    another family situation, Pete. But yet,
    nevertheless, that is where the compassion--you notice, you didn't say,
    ``I went to a program.'' You named three individuals that were heroic in
    your lives. And that's the way it works.
        Now, teaching character matters--no question about it--and there's
    some great curriculum to do it. But the truth of the matter is, all this
    need to say, ``I love you,'' comes from your soul. And so hopefully, out
    of these tragedies will come the sense of communal obligation all
    throughout our country, for people to take an extra effort to comfort
    the lonely. That could be a student or a teacher--Pete, in your case, a tennis coach. Still got a backhand?
    Anyway, thank you, buddy. It's good to see you again.
        Yes, ma'am. Oh, yes, sir.

    Voluntarism

        Q. My name is John Kavelin. Up until yesterday, I was a Walt Disney
    Imagineer for 16 years, but I have quit that activity to commit myself
    for the rest of my life to a character education program that my sister,
    her husband, and I created 15 years ago, on a little island in the
    Pacific Northwest, called The Virtues Project. And it is exactly what I
    think many people are looking for because it reaches the heart. It is a
    multifaith, multicultural effort to simply teach five strategies that
    help people practice virtues in everyday life.

    [[Page 1805]]

        What we've learned in 85 countries where this is applied is that
    values are culture specific; virtues are universal to every sacred
    tradition. So simply practicing virtues in the home, in the school, in
    the workplace makes a shift in the culture.
        And I am offering my love and my admiration for so many good-willed
    people in this room for bringing this group of people together. It's so
    exciting. And we're simply here to support whatever is going on.
        The President. Yes, thanks for doing what you're doing. See, this is
    a--our country is blessed by the fact that we have people who stand up
    and say, ``I want to contribute,'' like you. Just retired yesterday? You
    don't look a day over 60. Anyway--[laughter].
        But see, Craig, what you're doing and what
    this gentleman is doing will stimulate a lot of--as you said, you've
    talked to a million kids, or a million people--same with you, sir. I
    believe that there is no single answer, no single program. It's a mosaic
    of programs all stimulated because people have decided to do something
    about the problem. And it's really the uniqueness of the country.
        I like to remind our fellow citizens that de Tocqueville recognized
    this in 1832, the fact that voluntary organizations came together to
    help solve local problems. And it is--in my judgment, it is this
    capacity of citizens to take action to solve problems that defines the
    true greatness of America.
        And, Pete, to answer your question about
    government: Government's role, in many ways, is to stimulate and to
    encourage and to thank people who have taken it upon themselves to
    either start character education or go into classrooms and to change
    society one person at a time.
        Yes, sir.

    Parent and Community Involvement in Schools

        Q. Mr. President, my name is Marvin Nash. I represent the Bullying
    Hurts Program and the NASH Foundation, which stands for ``No Adolescent
    Should Hurt,'' from Cheyenne, Wyoming. I want to let you know that I
    will be traveling back to Nashville, Tennessee, where Storme Warren,
    with Great American Country, and Charlie Daniels will be helping me make
    PSAs to address this issue. Instead of talking about my program though,
    I want to give my time up to this lady right here. She spent seven--she
    spent her time with 17 students locked in a closet at Columbine, and she
    has a question for you. So we're not going to talk about me; we're going
    to talk about her.
        The President. Thank you, buddy. Nice-
    looking hat.
        Q. Mr. President, Madam Secretary of Education, Marleen, Craig, and
    everybody else, my name is--[inaudible]--and I'm just a regular person.
    I don't have a radio talk show. [Laughter] And I don't--I'm not in
    charge of a big, major organization. I am a flight attendant for
    Frontier Airlines, and I'm shaking right now because I didn't think I
    was going to get up here. And I'm also a proud, retired teacher from
    Columbine High School.
        And I think everything I was going to say just kind of flew out of
    my mind. I'm also a professional volunteer, and I am not here to ask for
    money for any program. When I said ``professional volunteer,'' I don't
    mean I make money volunteering, but there are a whole group of just
    regular people like me out there. Even though I retired from Columbine,
    I have a daughter at Columbine right now who is a junior. I volunteer in
    the postgrad center there. I volunteer with the cheer squad, the
    football team, and it doesn't always take a lot of money to get things
    done. It's little people like me--I don't mean in size. I mean, it's
    little people like me who get there, little people like us. Like Grand
    Daddy Wong used to say, ``Okay, one stick--you break it one at a time,''
    but if we stick together, we can get it done.
        I'm just saying, unless us volunteers--I always have time to
    volunteer, and I know

    [[Page 1806]]

    other people do too. And it's what Craig was saying, it comes from the
    heart. President Bush, it's what you were saying. It's what our parents
    taught us, and it's what we need to teach our kids. It's that--I hope I
    don't pronounce it wrong--generativity, where we help to make the next
    generation better. So I'm sorry I forgot what my question was.
    [Laughter]
        The President. What matters is your testimony, not your question.
    Thank you.
        Last question, and I've got to go. Gonzales is also reminding me; actually I'm on a schedule here. I
    apologize. I'd like to sit here all day listening, and I am inspired
    that so many came to talk about this subject.
        Yes, ma'am.

    Character Education in State Curricula

        Q. Good afternoon, Mr. President, Madam Secretary. My name is--
    [inaudible]--and I'm a youth programs director in New York City for a
    nonprofit called Art of Living Foundation. And like a lot of these
    wonderful people here, we teach a program in human values and stress
    management for teenagers and how to handle their negative emotions--
    which they just don't learn, I'm finding, nowadays. And what I have
    students constantly asking me is, ``Can't this be a class in our school?
    Can we learn human values and universal ethics that are found in every
    culture?'' But they're not being taught--a lot of times not at home--
    they're not being taught. And they're definitely not always being taught
    in schools. There's some amazing public school teachers, but there's
    also some very stressed-out public school teachers.
        The President. Absolutely.
        Q. Can this be--is there a way to have a class in public school
    where students learn stress management, the ability to deal with their
    own anger, frustration, and violent tendencies, and also to learn human
    values and actually practice them? Can they receive credit for a class
    like this? This is what students are asking, and I have superintendents
    coming to me saying, ``What can you do?''--in our suspension centers--
    ``We'll give credit to students for doing this.'' Is there a way we can
    do that?
        Secretary Spellings. Well, those are
    State curriculum issues, and lots of States have included character
    education or programs like that as part of their required curriculum and
    give credit for it. But I would commend all those superintendents to
    their State board of education and put them to work. We had some of that
    in Texas and gave a lot of credit for peer mentoring and those sorts of
    things that are so supportive of kids.
        The President. I am sorry for those of you standing in line. I know;
    I apologize.
        Q. Time for one more?
        The President. Okay, one final guy--go ahead. [Laughter]

    Voluntarism

        Q. I wanted to explain why I had on a bright red jacket.
        The President. Yes, that's why. [Laughter]
        Q. I appreciate it.
        The President. Thank you for coming.
        Q. My name is Michael Wade Smith, and I'm the national president for
    Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. We are an in-school,
    high school, and middle school organization focusing on the family. Our
    main mission is to promote family as the basic unit of society.
        And I'm happy I got to follow up after your question because we
    are--family consumer sciences--its curriculum in high schools and middle
    schools is teaching character education, that is teaching youth violence
    prevention. We're teaching career exploration. Because of our title,
    Family and Consumer Sciences and Family, Career, and Community Leaders
    of America, we address every one of the issues that's been presented in
    the discussions and in this room. And we are willing and wanting to
    partner with every single person in here to help students get this
    message out to students. We're about peer-to-peer message

    [[Page 1807]]

    sharing. We want each and every student in our organization, which
    reaches about a quarter of a million students, to be a lot broader than
    that. We want to touch every student in America through our programs and
    through our mission to promote family as the basic unit of society and
    the values thereof.
        So I thank you, Mr. President, Mrs. Bush----
        The President. Why the red coat? [Laughter] Just so you got called
    on? I mean, is there a--[laughter].
        Q. I just wanted that. No, our colors in the organization are red
    and white.
        The President. Fabulous.
        Q. So all of the officers wear our red jackets.
        The President. I, once again, apologize. I've got to get on an
    airplane. But I do want to thank you all for coming. I hope you have
    found this interesting. I am a results-oriented person, and I expect
    from Margaret and Al to make sure that out of all this effort comes some
    concrete action to help people understand what is possible, what is
    doable, the programs that are working. And the head of the sheriff's
    department readily sprung to his feet to say, ``You can count on me.''
        The purpose has got to be more than just hoping somebody is
    listening to TV. The purpose has got to be--out of this--that we share
    information so that we can save lives, encourage parents, and help
    people respond.
        And I want to thank you all very much for coming. I'm proud you're
    here. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:24 p.m. at the National 4-H Conference
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.
    Participating in the event was Marleen Wong, director, Crisis Counseling
    and Intervention Services, Los Angeles Unified School District, and
    director, Trauma Services Adaptation Center for Schools and Communities,
    Los Angeles, CA.