Using the Right Terms Creates the WOW Moment! Have you ever been in a situation where you are talking to someone, but you know that your message is not being understood by the other person’s body language? Sometimes the problem is the terms that you are using. To them you are speaking another language. Therefore, in conversations with state leadership, administrators, and other coalition members use the terms within ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) because you want them to make the connection. Thus creating the WOW moment that school libraries and librarians are an essential part of the plan! The AASL Vision for Implementing ESSA Task Force created a handout of ESSA Terms. ESSA Terms Within the language of ESSA, several terms are defined. Blended Learning (Section 4102)Digital Learning (Section 4102)STEM-Focused Specialty School (Section 4102)Well-Rounded Education (Section 8802-52) Other critical language used within ESSA are defined by the U.S. Make the connection between ESSA and school library programs! Tags: ESSA
But My Principal Won't Let Me! Leadership, Advocacy, & Some Rebel Yell from the Library “I love that idea–but there’s no way my principal would ever go along with that…” “That is really cool that you can do that. But it wouldn’t fly in my school…” “I wish my principal would let me try something like that…” Have those thoughts ever flitted through your mind while you read an inspiring article, sat in a workshop, or took a class? Then join the rest of school librarians across the country. It’s important to remember that administrative rules for libraries don’t derive from bad intentions; they are usually just deeply rooted in misperceptions and the ease of following long-set tradition. Pay attention to what your principal needs. The school library needs to provide resources for all of its patrons. Share national guidelines and goal-setting with your principal. Set goals for your library and then support them with AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner or the AASL’s National School Library of the Year criteria. Make visuals to show what you do and where you want to go.
Bryce Don't Play Library Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues Introduction Libraries face a number of challenges in protecting the privacy of users, especially students in elementary, middle, and high schools. School libraries offer print, media, and online content to meet students’ educational and research needs as well as to nurture their intellectual curiosity and development. School libraries typically are integrated into their district's administrative and technology infrastructures. ALA issues these guidelines to provide school libraries with information about appropriate data management and security practices in respect to student use of library collections and resources in order to strengthen student privacy protections. Why Privacy Is Important Protecting user privacy and confidentiality has long been an integral part of the intellectual freedom mission of libraries. Students' and minors' First Amendment rights to free inquiry and privacy must be balanced against both the educational needs of the school and the rights of the parents. Audit
ALA Midwinter 2017: Could ESSA Spark a School Library Renaissance? in December, 2015, President Obama signed ESSA into law. Will the education bill, which includes support for school libraries, survive under Trump? When President Obama signed ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) into law in December 2015, it was hailed by librarians as a very big win. After years of advocacy work by the ALA and other library groups, the new federal education law includes significant and long absent support for school libraries—including access to federal grant funding. “We just don't know what's going to happen after the inauguration takes place, but we are hopeful that ESSA implementation will move forward,” says Audrey Church, professor of school librarianship at Longwood University, in Farmville, Va., and the current president of the American Association of School Librarians. That's because the heavy lifting for library advocates did not end with ESSA’s passage. How bad did things get for school libraries under NCLB? “Visible and vocal is my mantra,” Church says.
* The accountant’s hat (Barbara Braxton) Of all the hats the teacher librarian has to wear, for many the accountant’s hat may be the most ill-fitting because the management of money matters, particularly the preparation, submission and disbursement of a budget, requires expertise beyond that of our teaching qualifications. And yet it is an essential part of what we do. From messages to TL networks, it would appear there are three types of budgets… those that are based on the administration’s careful consideration of a properly prepared budget submitted by the TLthose that are based on an amount allocated by the administration (often the school’s business manager) with no consultation with the TL with the expectation that the TL will provide all services within that amountthose that are non-existent requiring the TL to go to external sources such a parent bodies, book fairs, grants and sponsorship and so on to raise the required funds funding Cover these issues in your Collection Policy. preparation disbursement documentation
Disaster Recovery for School Libraries Lately, it feels as though we are in a constant state of preparing for or recovering from disasters, both natural and human made. As storms Irma and Jose were downgraded to what still devastated some U.S. southeastern border communities, we were thankful that apocalyptic media reports were not fully realized. Yet, as citizens of both the Houston and the southeast Gulf Coast areas start the year, thousands of school children begin school in grave need of recovery assistance. School librarians are sometimes the overlooked “link” to recovery; yet they stand singularly poised to offer some very specific assists. As Information Curator Librarians are masters at curating information. Research Specialist Librarians may also wish to offer services that provide both in-house and online links to all the resources necessary for assistance and recovery. Recovery Center: The Library as a Safe Haven Never is there a more immediate need for providing a safe haven for students than post-disaster. Donations
Five Ways School Librarians Can Meet The Needs of Students in Poverty That said, one of the (many) pieces of information Donalyn shared during our time together was the recent research suggesting that children raised in homes with (access to) more than 500 books (over the course of their lifetime) spend an average of three years longer in school than children whose homes contain little or no print material. In fact, this research goes onto to point out that growing up in a household with 500 or more books is “as great an advantage as having university-educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father.” That’s kind of amazing. But it also got me thinking…. 500 books. I’ve written and spoken before about my own experiences growing up in poverty, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared this story: Like most kids, when I was little, I had a small collection of picture books. Of course, we know that poverty has lots of other (potentially) devastating effects on children. depressing post ever!
Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2017 The 2017 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover. Gone but Not Forgotten The following sites have closed, reorganized, or become pay-based since being recognized as an AASL Best Website: The Learnia (Digital Storytelling)
Blended Learning: ESSA Definition and How It Impacts School Libraries and Librarians Blended learning has been happening in libraries since we introduced an Online Public Access Catalog, added online databases, began teaching students to evaluate websites and using technology to create as part of makerspaces. However, blended learning is a bit trickier for our teachers. While many classrooms have Promethean/SMART Boards, Elmos, laptops, and tablets, many times these devices are used as a substitution for former paper/pencil activities rather than true blended learning opportunities for students. ESSA defines blended learning as: a formal education program that leverages both technology-based and face-to-face instructional approaches (A) that include an element of online or digital learning, combined with supervised learning time, and student-led learning, in which the elements are connected to provide an integrated learning experience; and (B) in which students are provided some control over time, path, or pace. Author: AASL Vision for Implementing ESSA Tags: ESSA
Igniting the Flame “I’m in love!” shouted a 4th-grade boy as he walked through my library. Had he just met one of my beautiful high school library aides? I wondered. But then he actually clarified: “I’m in love with all these books!” A smile warmed my heart because after all–even in these days of a 21st-century librarian’s “multi-hatted” life–my most important job still is to promote the love of reading in children. Our K-6 Books4Keep Book Drive came out of the brainstorming of a few motivated high school freshmen who wanted to promote literacy in our district. In our rural district, with approximately 75% of children coming from low-income homes, the need for summer reading books is critical. Having merely dipped our toes into the book drive waters last year–and feeling quite successful with giving books to over 150 children–we set our sights on helping 200 children this year. The book drive officially began in February, continuing through May. Author: Alison Kirkpatrick
The Advocate's Toolbox | Advocate This, Not That! “A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library,” wrote the historian and novelist Shelby Foote. Consider a corollary to this quote—a school is just a group of buildings gathered around a library—and whether it aptly describes how important your school library is to the overall function of your institution. Too often, school libraries are seen as peripheral, not central, to teaching and learning. We can speak to parents, teachers, and principals about the value of our programs and services, but the decisions about how to best allocate funds are often made at the district level. When money gets tight, those programs with the greatest impact on the highest priorities are valued the most. After decades of chronic underfunding, the situation is especially dire here in California, where I live and work. Equity and access, not reading. My own experiences as a classroom teacher confirmed this long before I ever read the research. College and career readiness, not ed tech.
School Librarians and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) AASL Position Statements Definition for an Effective School Library Program AASL supports the position that an effective school library program has a certified school librarian at the helm, provides personalized learning environments, and offers equitable access to resources to ensure a well-rounded education for every student. Appropriate Staffing for School Libraries AASL supports the position that every student in every school, including independent schools and public charter schools, should have access to an updated school library with a certified school librarian. Instructional Role of the School Librarian AASL supports the position that school librarians are instructors as well as collaborators with fellow educators in the pursuit of student learning in school libraries, classrooms, learning commons, makerspaces, labs, and virtual learning spaces. Role of the School Library Program Preparation of School Librarians Latest Information ESSA Updates on Knowledge Quest Rule Making & Guidance
Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Best Websites for Teaching & Learning honors websites, tools, and resources of exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning. Sites recognized foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover. The Landmark Websites are honored due to their exemplary histories of authoritative, dynamic content and curricular relevance. They are free, web-based sites that are user-friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover and provide a foundation to support 21st-century teaching and learning. Landmark Websites for Teaching & Learning 2018-2019 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Committee Stacy Brown Elizabeth Kahn Joy Millam Maria Muhlbauer Floyd Pentlin Leslie Preddy Kathryn Salmela Deborah Schiano Karen Scott Krista Welz Sherry Gick, Chair Phoebe Warmack, Board Liaison Jennifer Habley, Staff Liaison