Building good citizens good, character,
and good discipline

Information and Facts
To build good citizens, good character, and good discipline, we need to have high expectations and high standards for each and every student. We must teach students the skills and help them acquire the knowledge they need to contribute in an ever-changing economy and to get on the right course. For the first time since 1991, teen drug use is leveling off and, in some cases, even decreasing, but it is still far too high. We need to give young people opportunities to say "YES" to learning and "YES" to living safe and drug-free. The average child spends forty hours a week in front of the television. That's forty missed hours of reading, of playing the guitar, of sharing a hobby, of getting extra help with a hard subject in school, forty missed hours of living and learning. Let's give our children something better to do with their time!

• Six out of ten Americans say that it is very common for teenagers to face social problems like drugs, gangs, or crime. Four in ten teenagers say they see people their own age using drugs or alcohol almost every day.
• Approximately half of teenagers said they would be very comfortable doing community service such as volunteering at a hospital, church, or at a soup kitchen, working with homeless children, or tutoring kids at school.

Start a parent patrol at school or in the community. Enlist family members to help keep order at school-sponsored and community events such as sporting events, dances, and other student activities. Fathers can be especially effective in this capacity. Community members, especially businesses, can work together to help provide a safe pathway for students who walk to and from school.

Make a pledge. At the vice president's Family Reunion VI conference, Families and Learning, President Clinton challenged principals, teachers, and parents to have a written compact outlining their shared responsibilities for student learning. At Signal Hill Elementary School in Long Beach, California, parents pledge in the compact to volunteer at least ten hours a year at the school. What pledge will you make?

Host a community learning day and volunteer summit for students, families, and the community. Participants make pledges for how they will support education throughout the year. Families can pledge to read to their children at home. Older students could pledge to help younger students with math homework. Community members can pledge to volunteer at a school. Participants would begin fulfilling their pledges that day, with various special school projects taking place all over the community.

Serve for our future. In April 1997, the President's Summit for America's Future was held in Philadelphia to focus attention on the need for and the importance of community service. America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, directed by General Colin Powell, is carrying the mission of the Summit forward. Hundreds of corporations, non-profits, government agencies, communities of faith, civic and fraternal organizations, and service clubs from all across America made commitments. For more information on America's Promise and the commitments, check out their Web site at www.americaspromise.org or call 1-800-365-0153.

Support after-school programs.The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has pledged $55 million to help create thousands of community-based, after-school programs over the next five years. This money will support the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers program by providing training, leadership development, technical assistance and evaluation. Visit www.mott.org for more information.

Develop a report card on school crime and violence. One step in addressing the problems of drug use and violence is to better understand what problems affect your particular school. The Departments of Education and Justice are developing an annual national report on school safety, and you may want to develop a report for your own individual school or school district.

Resources to Help
The following publications are available free of charge from the U.S. Department of Education by calling 1-800-624-0100.

• Growing up Drug Free: A Parents Guide to Prevention
• Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know
• Manual on School Uniforms
• Manual to Combat Truancy )
• Creating Safe and Drug-Free Schools: An Action Guide

Current, New and Proposed Resources from the U.S. Department of Education
Call 1-800-USA LEARN for more information on any of the following programs.