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| These Members of the United States Congress Have Taken The Pledge: |
Steve Chabot - 1st District, Ohio
David Wu - 1st District, Oregon
Earl Blumenauer- 3rd District, Oregon
Peter DeFazio - 4th District, Oregon
George Miller - 7th District, California
Dennis Kucinich - 10th District, Ohio
Carolyn McCarthy - 4th District, New York
Tom Osborne - 3rd District, Nebraska
Neil Abercrombie - 1st District, Hawaii
Karen McCarthy - 5th District, Missouri
Sheila Jackson Lee - 18th District, Texas
John Larson - 1st District, Connecticut
Grace F. Napolitano - 34th District, California
Juanita Millender-McDonald - 37th District, California
Sam Farr - 17th District, California
Ken Lucas - 4th District, Kentucky
Earl Pomeroy - North Dakota at large
Bill Delahunt - 10th District, Massachusetts
Nita Lowey - 18th District, New York
Brian Baird - 3rd District, Washington
Diana DeGette - 1st District, Colorado
Zoe Lofgren - 16th District, California
Lynn Woolsey - 6th District, California
Steny Hoyer - 5th District, Maryland
Steven LaTourette - 19th District, Ohio
John Tanner - 8th District, Tennessee
Dennis Moore - 3rd District, Kansas
Jesse Jackson, Jr. - 2nd District, Illinois
Ed Pastor - 2nd District, Arizona
Tammy Baldwin - 2nd District, Wisconsin
Jim Kolbe - 5th District, Arizona
Marcy Kaptur - 9th District, Ohio
Eva M. Clayton - 1st District, North Carolina
Sue Myrick - 9th District, North Carolina
Robert Underwood - Guam
Julia Carson - 10th District, Indiana
Baron Hill - 9th District, Indiana
Bill Barrett - 3rd District, Nebraska
Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers Endorses the Hands Project
| click here to read Attorney General Myers' School / Community Saftey Coalition report |
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| WALNUT MIDDLE SCHOOL Submitted by: Vikki Deuel, Principal and Mary Ann Richards, Counselor 1600 N. Custer - Grand Island, NE 68803 - Ph: 308-385-5990 |
“While attending a Character Education conference in St. Louis, in the summer of 2000, we discovered the ‘frosting’ to our bully prevention program. We found Purple Hands - The Hands Are Not For Hurting Project...developed...to decrease the incidence of school violence and increase the development of healthy relationships among students based on respect and equality...In October of 2000, we had a huge ‘Purple Hands Pep Rally’...to introduce Purple Hands to our school community and to the larger Grand Island community as well...”
"Respect and responsibility can not be 'measured' in the same way that math and reading skills are; there are no standardized tests to tell us whether or not we’re making headway in our journey toward a safer and more nurturing school environment. We do, however, have discipline reports on Walnut Middle School students that have been compiled over the past three years...”
Incident Numbers for school year
| Incident: |
98/99
|
99/00
|
00/01
|
| Failure to Follow Instructions/School Rules |
304
|
226
|
126
|
| Disruptive Behavior |
218
|
289
|
151
|
| Inappropriate Language/ Obscenity |
60
|
90
|
29
|
| Assaults & Fighting |
146
|
61
|
51
|
| Police Reports for Assaults |
48
|
36
|
26
|
* In the new 2001 school year nearing the end of 1st quarter there have been only 3 incindents reported to date - None for Inappropriate Lanaguge/Obscinity!
“In the months since, the hands of the Governor and the Secretary of State of Nebraska, several professional athletes, a U.S. Congressman, and a U.S. Senator, have found their place on our walls. The other middle schools in Grand Island have joined with us as Purple Hands 'partners,' and extensive local media coverage has helped students feel tremendous self-respect as community leaders who can tell Grand Island, 'Every person can make a difference in stopping violence by taking the Purple Hands Pledge.'”
Some of the famous names on the walls at Walnut Middle School include:
NFL player - Irving Fryar (Patriots, Dolphins, Eagles and Redskins)
NFL player - Tom Rathman (49ers and Raiders)
NFL player - John Parrella (San Diego Chargers)
Congressman - Tom Osborn
Governor - Mike Johanns
Secretary of State - John Gale
US Senator - Ray Aguilar
Members of the 2001 National Volleyball Champions - University of Nebraska
“Anyone visiting Walnut Middle School on any day of the school year will see everything at Walnut come to a halt at 8:05am, when every student and every adult in the building, led by student volunteers on the intercom, repeat the United States Pledge of Allegiance followed by the Purple Hands Pledge. Students know that taking the Pledge each morning is a promise to take responsibility for their words and their actions during the day! ...teachers and support staff have continually emphasized the importance of respect and responsibility ...in the classroom and in informal student interactions.”
In 2001, Walnut Middle School Staff Members were invited to be presenters to share their story of great success after implementing anti-bullying curriculum which includes The Hands Are Not For Hurting Project at the following conferences:
National Character Education Conference - July 12-15
St. Louis, MO
Middle Level Regional Conference - Omaha, Nebraska - Oct 3-4-5, 2001
(Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska represented)
National Middle School Conference - November 1-3
Washington, D.C.
In addition, representatives from Walnut Middle School staff accepted an invitation to Chicago, Illinois in September 2001 to work with Chicago Public Schools middle level principals and school resource officers on the “Kid, Cops, Counselors and Character” strategies which includes The Purple Hands Pledge.
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| WALNUT MIDDLE SCHOOL Submitted by: Vikki Deuel, Principal and Mary Ann Richards, Counselor 1600 N. Custer - Grand Island, NE 68803 - Ph: 308-385-5990 |
Cindi Schweigert, Assistant Principal (Oaklea Middle School, Junction City, OR) presented at the National Character Education Conference in St. Louis, Missouri - July, 2000
Impressive statistics from OAKLEA MIDDLE SCHOOL where The Pledge is Recited Daily and Purple Hands Pledges are Permanently Displayed:
Discipline Data - June 1998 to June 2000
| Assault | 85% Decrease |
| Insubordination | 82% Decrease |
| Fighting | 50% Decrease |
| 6+ Level 1 Referrals | 88% Decrease |
| Skipping | 48% Decrease |
| Excessive Tardies | 55% Decrease |
| Profanity | 54% Decrease |
| Vandalism | 56% Decrease |
| Theft | 81% Decrease |
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