The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S15701-S15702 on Oct. 25, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, several months ago, the Senate passed Senate Resolution 103, designating the week of October 15-21, 1995, as National Character Counts Week. Across the country, hundreds of towns, cities, schools, and 60 national organizations ranging from the YMCA to the Little League, encompassing about 35 million young people and adults, celebrated this week.
As most in this chamber are aware, character counts advocates the teaching of the six pillars of character, six ethical values that transcend political, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic differences: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness, and citizenship.
The character counts nationwide effort is one whose time has come. As explained in the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development report,
``Great Transitions,'' adolescents need help and support from not just their families and schools, but also the entire community. I agree with the statement of Julius Richmond, professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School and surgeon general under President Carter, ``The schools go their way, the after-school programs go their way. . . . This report really points out the importance of all community resources coming together.''
The idea of a total community approach is an important one. This is why I am such an enthusiastic supporter of the character counts programs across the State of New Mexico. By way of background, about a year ago, I asked the Mayor of Albuquerque Martin Chavez (D), to join me in a bipartisan effort to establish a communitywide character counts program. We pursued this effort with the local churches, the entire Albuquerque public school system, civic and social organizations, unions, the police department, parent groups, and the private sector. As a result, Albuquerque became the first city in America to adopt a citywide character counts program.
Several weeks ago, the spokesman for the national Character Counts Coalition, actor and producer Tom Selleck, joined me in Albuquerque to visit schools participating in this community effort. I cannot begin to relate the excitement of the students at the Osuna Elementary and the Garfield Middle Schools as the entire student body met in their gymnasiums to honor their character counts programs.
The schools were celebrating the word of the month, citizenship. The students were able to discuss what citizenship meant and why it was important, and the little ones loved to shout out the spelling of
``citizenship'' or join in the singing of the theme song about character. The character counts message is being delivered city-wide by many different voices, and it is obvious the children and teachers are enthusiastic participants in this program.
After the successful startup of the Albuquerque character counts model, other New Mexico communities started similar programs. Roswell invited other nearby towns to join them in the effort so that the program could be developed beyond the city's geographical boundaries, and this communitywide program has exceeded the expectation of the hundreds of organizations and individuals who have joined forces to support character counts. As an example, in honor of Character Counts Week, at the annual high school football game, the entire halftime program was devoted to character counts. The event included all of the high schools and middle schools in the area.
The State of New Mexico received one of the Department of Education grants for developing character education programs, a grants program that we developed and passed on last year's Elementary and Secondary Education Act. These funds will help many other New Mexico communities who are initiating similar character education programs in their schools and youth organizations.
To emphasize that this issue is one of concern to millions of Americans besides New Mexicans, I think it is noteworthy that after Roswell was featured on a nationally televised news story, my State office has received more than 1,000 requests from all across the country for information about establishing a character counts program. This is something new and vibrant--an approach that touches the lives of children and adults alike. It reaches out to encircle the youth with similar messages--that respect and responsibility and caring, for example, are appropriate responses and actions.
The Albuquerque Public School District, consisting of 118 schools, has now developed an extensive and remarkable program. As stated in their recent report:
What began in APS as a grass roots movement in schools interested in promoting more productive behavior in their students, has grown to be a focus area in the strategic planning process for the district and a major educational goal of the superintendent. . . . What followed was an outpouring of interest and action as schools enthusiastically integrated the pillars of character into their own curricula.
I ask that the text of the APS report be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
As we read report after report about the state of America's children, and we know from talking with parents, teachers, and community leaders that children need strong and compassionate support, I believe that the character counts program is one effort that can help. As important, I believe the model established in cities across New Mexico is the right approach. It is an all-encompassing approach that does not start and stop with the ringing of a school bell, or last for a single hour in church or at a youth organization meeting. Instead, the communitywide approach really says that with a rather simple and single message, everyone cares, and that everyone in that city is willing to put time, money and energy behind its youth.
Mr. President, for the last 2 years we have passed a resolution in support of National Character Counts Week. I know I speak for the other nine Senators of the Senate character counts group when I say that our legislative efforts are a support mechanism for the really important grass roots efforts we see across this country. The reason character counts programs are developing in schools and communities across America is because there is a genuine quest for resolving the problems of our young citizens. This program is an approach where everyone, young and old, can be part of a larger effort to make their towns and cities better places to work and live. It seems to me that this approach is well worth the effort, and I offer my congratulations to the thousands of committed citizens who are working together and building a program not only for the good of the present, but also for the next, generation of Americans.
The report follows:
APS Curriculum Support
The Albuquerque Public School District opened the 1995-96 school year with renewed dedication to the principles of character education as exemplified in the Character Counts! philosophy. What began in APS as a grass roots movement in schools interested in promoting more productive behavior in their students has grown to be a focus area in the strategic planning process for the district and a major educational goal of the Superintendent. When the Board of Education for the Albuquerque Public Schools endorsed the pillars of character as named in the Josephson Foundation's Aspen Declaration, it wisely left the implementation of this philosophy up to the teachers and principals of the 188 schools in the district. What followed was an outpouring of interest and action as schools enthusiastically integrated the pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, citizenship, caring, and fairness, into their own curricula.
For 1995-96 APS has adopted a goal for character education, stating, ``The Albuquerque Public Schools will provide learners of all ages the knowledge and ethical foundation needed to become productive citizens in our community.'' Objectives to meet this goal are:
The Albuquerque Public Schools has endorsed and will support the Character Counts! program as a way to develop character based on the six core ethical values.
The Albuquerque Public Schools will continue collaborations with community entities to reach agreements about the role of each in promoting ethical behavior among young people and adults in various aspects of life.
The Albuquerque Public Schools commit to creating models of ethical behavior among all adults who serve students and schools.
The APS Core Curriculum will continue to give explicit attention to character development as an ongoing part of school instruction. Materials, teaching methods, partnerships, and services for school programs shall be selected by APS, in part, for their capacity to support the development of character among youth and adults.
The Albuquerque Public Schools will provide training to enable schools and other administrative units to implement the principles of character education.
All schools will examine school curriculum, classroom practices, and extra curricular activities to identify and extend opportunities for developing character.
APS School to Work initiatives will integrate character education with the employability skills necessary to prepare students to enter the workplace.
The emphasis on character education in the public schools has been met with immediate and enthusiastic support in the business and volunteer community in Albuquerque. Members of the Leadership Council formed to support Character Counts! include representatives from financial institutions, non-profit youth agencies, Sandia National Laboratory, the NAACP, the NM Bar Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, and others. This coalition was formed to support the Character Counts initiative financially, and by giving parents in the work force the same message given to their children in schools. The marketing committee from this council planned and implemented a Character Counts rally in Albuquerque's Civic Plaza. Character Counts day at the New Mexico State Fair, and numerous other events to support the program. Citizens of Albuquerque read the Character Counts message on billboards, on soft drink cans, and in city utility bills.
As schools begin conversations based on character education, they enjoy the freedom to plan learning activities tailored for their own students, staff, and communities. District support for these ventures in the first year included a training session given by Michael Josephson, founder of Character Counts, for representatives of each geographical cluster of schools. There teachers, parents, and administrators will act as trainers and facilitators for the rest of the school district and community. Other support activities included the development of a bibliography for Character Counts based on the six pillars, a parent manual for use in schools, and a manual for administrators interested in initiating a program in their own schools.
Second year support activities include the distribution of a commitment form for schools to indicate their plans for character education to district administrators, followed by a starter kit to be distributed to interested teachers and students. Other administrative units in the public schools have developed their own plans for character education, including a program for school bus behavior and safety. Join-A-School business partnerships in 1995-96 will focus on respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness as demonstrated in school-to-work training.
Much of the growth in the second year of Character Counts involvement will be supported by a grant through the New Mexico State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education. The New Mexico Character Education Pilot Project will allow the school district to continue its formal plans to provide extended training in character education, further develop a marketing component, involve parents and community members as active partners in character education, mentor a Native American school/community in character education, and develop a clearinghouse for information related to character education.
The true joy in the growing involvement of APS schools in character education is found not in administrative structure and planning, but in the classrooms and school programs developed to support Character Counts. Examples of student participation include school Character Counts kickoffs like the one at Cochiti Elementary School where staff and students celebrated the word of the month with original songs, raps, and poetry, all focused on ``Respect.'' At this school, student-authored slogans are announced daily and posted in the cafeteria to remind everyone to be respectful to self and to others. At Sombra del Monte Elementary School, teachers and parents performed skits demonstrating ``respect'' to the delight of their students. Students at Chelwood launched their program as they released balloons, each representing a pillar of Character Counts. The students attached cards to the balloons, asking the finder to return the card to the school. Children at Wherry Elementary School sang a rap they composed about character and children performed examples of
``do's'' and ``don'ts'' of good character at an all school assembly. Middle school activities include rewarding students at Madison Middle School for demonstrating behavior related to the six pillars by presenting coupons good for redemption at local businesses, and holding a Jog-A-Thon to kickoff activities at Grant Middle School. McKinley Middle School hosted a breakfast for its school bus drivers to begin their pilot project integrating school bus safety and the concepts of Character Counts. Eldorado High School students are reminded of Character Counts with the printing of the six pillars above all school doorways.
While APS is presently caught up in the launching of the Character Counts! philosophy, members of the district know that the true test of the value of this initiative will lie far down the road for our young students. The participants in Character Counts in the Albuquerque Public Schools believe the true value in this program will be measured in succeeding years, when student learning and behavior reflects not only the enthusiasm of launching a worthwhile program, but demonstrates the internalization of the six pillars of Character Counts.
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