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Notes from Mary Lewis GrowA Summary of Day of Concern and Student Pledge Against Gun Violence ActivitiesSome ExamplesBecause so many national networks have distributed Pledge materials, there is absolutely no way to have anything even approaching complete knowledge of all the places that are putting the Pledge into their schools for the October 8 observance. Every day this week, I have been learning, sometimes through a random inquiry from a teacher, about whole city-wide efforts, and in one case of a statewide effort. What is certain is that the Pledge materials are "out there" in many networks that I do know about and many that I don't. And, of course, many of the thousands who have visited the web site simply take what they need (the Pledge is down-load-able), pick up the ball, and run with it. I think this is the nature of a large grassroots initiative.That said, there is much that I can say with certainty: The following national organizations have distributed materials through their networks, either with letters to their state and/or local chapters or through their national publications: United Way of America sent packets to 600 local chapters; the National Association of Student Councils has distributed Pledge materials in a number of ways: in mailings to states, at their national conference with 1500 Student Council leaders from all over the country, in two of their national publications; the national PTA has sent a national mailing; the Council of the Great City Schools has sent a mailing to all major city school superintendents; the NEA has sent materials to all of its local chapters; the AFT made the Student Pledge its front-page lead story in its action newsletter; the National Association of Pupil Services Administrators devoted five pages out of its eight-page newsletter to the Student Pledge. The Oregon Chapter of the Association of Classified School Employees, in conjunction with the AFT, spearheaded a major dissemination effort in Oregon. In addition, Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton wrote to all the mayors in the U.S. Conference of Mayors, urging them to publicize and encourage participation in their cities; Governor Roy Romer of Colorado wrote to all of his fellow state governors; and the Executive Director of the Council of the Great City Schools has written to all of the major city school superintendents. Pledge materials have accompanied all of these letters. Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey wrote to all his fellow state attorneys general, mobilizing them. The following are some of the cities that have distributed/are distributing Pledge materials to all their schools: New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Richmond VA, Seattle, Bridgeport, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Nashville, Norfolk VA, Washington, D.C., Birmingham, Little Rock, Colorado Springs, Toledo, Miami, Fulton County district (65 schools) in Atlanta. A huge initiative that includes the Pledge will be launched on October 8 in Las Vegas. Las Vegas's efforts are among the ones I learned about by chance because of a related inquiry. They plan a large press event on the 8th that will include police officers from all over Clark County, representatives from the school district, and, I think, the Governors Office. When I asked the woman who told me about this initiative how they had learned about the Student Pledge, she said "Its just out there!" One of the people who had brought it to them was a student who had been at the National Association of Student Councils conference this summer; another was Sheriff Keller who had been at the recent conference in Salt Lake City, where he said the Student Pledge initiative was talked about. Some of the states that have distributed materials statewide: New York, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Illinois (I believe by the AGs Office there), Oregon, Connecticut. A call from the office of the Governor of Kansas indicated that their office will be mailing Pledge materials to every school district in the state probably, because of the time frame, for use after the 8th. States whose governors are supporting, through proclamations or otherwise: Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, Virginia, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Governor Whitman contacted the NJ Department of Education about the Day of Concern. Articles and information about the Day of Concern and the Student Pledge have appeared in Leadership Magazine, the publication of the National Association of Student Councils; Girls Life; Fast Times (with a readership of 2,000,000 readers); Youth Today; Teen People; and in a student edition of USA Today. PAX is arranging for public service announcements to run on Chancellor Media radio stations, the Z-100 rock music stations. The half-hour program, "Bullets with Names," on young people affected by gun violence and the Day of Concern and the Student Pledge was beamed from the NPR satellite on Sept. 18 for stations to record and rebroadcast later. No list could possibly convey the enthusiasm and collaborations that have been set in motion by this observance. In Minnesota, for example, planning for the Day of Concern has brought together state cabinet officials (the Commissioner of Public Safety, Commissioner of the Department of Children, Families, and Learning); the Treasurer of the Teachers Union, an amalgam of the MEA and the MFT, now called Education Minnesota; the head of the private schools association; Minnesota HEALS; the Minneapolis Mayors Office; Attorney General Skip Humphrey's Office; the heads of the Safe Schools Programs for Minneapolis and St. Paul; and Minnesota Twins former super-star, Kirby Puckett. At the invitation of Attorney General Humphrey, Secretary of Education Riley will be coming to Minnesota to participate in a Minneapolis Day of National Concern school event. Minnesota HEALS enlisted the help of private corporations in publicizing the Day of Concern both through billboards displayed around the Twin Cities with Kirby Puckett and in flyers with Pledge information that are being distributed in several major grocery store chains. These same kinds of collaborations have been set in motion by the Day of Concern observance in other cities and states as well. In Chicago, where not only the public schools, but all the schools in the Catholic Archdiocese and many other private schools as well will be participating, the radio music station listened to by most Chicago teens (a local CBS radio affiliate), will, for the third year in a row, donate an hour of commercial-free air time to a call-in show for the Day of Concern. Radios can be plugged into school p.a. systems so the hour can be broadcast city-wide for Chicago's students. Mayor Richard Daley will participate, leading students within the sound of his voice in reciting the Pledge together. Among others scheduled to address students via the radio broadcast are Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard, Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, and both U. S. Senators from Illinois, Carol Mosely-Braun and Dick Durbin. In Colorado, a high school teacher whose best friend (another teacher) was shot and killed is coordinating the statewide effort. In Colorado Springs, where he lives, there are now brand-new cement trucks circulating throughout the city with the Pledge on their rotating barrels. An Olympic Committee member and the Mayor of Colorado Springs, along with some members of the Denver Broncos and some Olympic athletes will participate in that city's efforts. Student Council members from Colorado Springs have been calling their counterparts throughout the state, mobilizing their schools participation. In individual schools, one in Indiana and one in Oklahoma, high school students will be visiting elementary-aged children and reading to them from one of the books we have recommended for dealing with the issue of gun violence in an age-appropriate way. A high school teacher from Nashville told me that his school plans to read a statistic about the toll of gun violence over the p.a. system at the end of every hour and perhaps distribute black armbands to students corresponding to the number of young people who die by gunshot each day. A high school safety officer from Florida wrote me that his school would be doing "a big parade with pledges and posters/banners, etc. The Mayor is proclaiming the day as such. We are having a march around the track with police helicopters, boats, motorcycles, and dignitaries in the center field." On October 8 in Norfolk's Rosemont Middle School, students will place angels on a mural with the names of friends and family affected by guns and violence. They will then sign the Student Pledge. Week-long activities will lead up to the Day of Concern. On Monday, students will be invited to wear yellow ribbons in honor of friends or loved ones affected by violence. On Tuesday and Wednesday, students will write a short story, poem, or letter about young people and gun violence. Awards will be given to the students with the best submissions. In Seattle, hundreds of students will participate in a Peace March on October 8. Students have sent letters and e-mails expressing their appreciation for having a vehicle that allows them to take positive action against gun violence. One student wrote: "Thank you so much for producing this genius work. I am a [high school] freshman. A handful of students and I are taking it upon ourselves to educate our community about gun violence." Another wrote: "I am sick of reading and seeing stories about gun accidents and deaths, and would like to do anything I can to help stop this." From Tennessee, a student wrote: "I just wanted to write you and tell you that I admire you for the effort that you are making to stop gun violence in schools.!!! Could you please send me more information about bringing the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence to my school? If you could, it may be able to help our school come together and stop gun violence." From Miami, Florida: "We lost a student last year to gun violence. Please send me info. I am truly inspired! I would like to do all that I can do!"
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