Thank you to everyone around the country who have passed the word on about the Washington legislation and/or showed support in other ways. Lisa's mother even came from Ohio to stay with her family so that she could be in Olympia!

GREAT news came later yesterday afternoon from Susan McBurney, one of the Spokane Moms (Denette, Susan and Lisa):

Susan wrote:

Well folks, unbelievably good news!

Olympia continues to mystify and thrill us. After passing out of Ways and Means yesterday, we expected to wait to be scheduled in the Senate Rules Committee. But .... SB#6380 was heard by and passed through the Rules committee this morning, and then went for a full Senate floor vote this afternoon. Senators McAuliffe, Eide, Marr, Brown, Honeyford, Hargrove, and Parlette spoke in support of the bill, and it in was UNANIMOUSLY PASSED just after 4pm this afternoon.

Lisa was there to experience it, and was mentioned by name in Senator Eide's speech. Our grassroots effort was also publicly recognized in the speeches given by Senators Brown, McAuliffe and Parlette.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all you've done to get us here! This is an AMAZING accomplishment, a testament to all of us! The bill will go over to the house next. We'll keep you posted.

There will be more info. posted at the blog later http://librariesfordemocracy.org/fundfuture/
But we wanted you to know the great news.

YEE-HA!!!

Susan and Denette

It was absolutely inspiring to represent AASL at the Fund our Future rally and summit in Olympia Washington. The three Spokane Moms--Lisa, Susan and Denette--are patient, persistent, polite and passionate about the crucial role school libraries and school librarians  have in the future of the students in Washington State. When Spokane schools did not agree to restore cuts to positions, someone suggested that they take their cause to the capital in Olympia, so they did! They took the advice of the staffers of important legislators about how to get support and a bill introduced that will put a school librarian in every school and provide funding for resources.

The rally was wet, windy, cold and uplifting as speaker after speaker spoke about the importance of school libraries and support for the proposed bills...and people dressed in black and white (it's a black and white issue, after all) yelled their approval. Many more people would have arrived from the western part of the state but a huge snow fall closed the pass through the mountains. But there were kids, librarians, teachers, parents...including a mother named Susie (I think) from Oregon who drove up from Portland to announce that there was now going to be a Fund our Future Oregon....will Arizona be next?  Hope so! And it was so exciting when it was reported that House Bill 2773 moved out of committee while we were there!

Mike Eisenberg and WLMA (Washington Library Media Association) leaders worked very hard to put together a meaningful and thought-provoking summit...Mike produced agenda after agenda right up until the day before; it included Jamie McKenzie, Gary Hartzell,  ALA President Loriene Roy,  AASL Executive Director Julie Walker, me, President of Antioch University Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh,Director of the Seattle Public Library Deborah L. Jacobs and four administrators, all concentrating on what it is that school librarians and school library programs do in their schools which leads to excellence. Past AASL President and NCLB Task Force Chair Linda Williams came to show her support. The Spokane Moms are fun, smart and savvy. They presented very special, personalized READ posters to several key legislators among other recognitions.

 

It's grassroots advocacy at its best...librarians were there--as they need to be--but the power of passionate parents is a HUGE piece of the advocacy puzzle.  AASL and ALA will be following the progress of the Spokane Moms and Fund our Future Washington <http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org/> and will be supporting them and others as they work for students' educational experiences.

(With Denette, State Librarian Jan Walsh, Susan, Lisa, Loriene Roy, Julie Walker)                                                        

Above pictures  are from the ALA Flickr site.  I took the one below of Marika...her mom, Sarah Applegate, had to return to work from maternity leave today...My pictures are on my Flickr

Know any one in Washington state? Below is a link to an ALA news story about the efforts to rescue school library positions in Washington, an effort led by the "Spokane Moms." They are looking for 6380 (the number of the Senate bill) signatures by Friday from Washington state residents.

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2008/january2008/washingtonskills.cfm

I found out about this effort through a Google news feed and then quickly received a nudge from Doug Johnson. After I sent the news story to ALA Director Keith Fiels who had promised to get ALA's support of school library position cuts when there was a community group to work with, ALA and AASL ramped up the Advocacy Office and the Public Information Office (PIO). AASL Executive Director Julie Walker has been talking to and e-mailing with the Spokane Moms almost every day!

Julie, ALA President Loriene Roy, staffers from the PIO and Advocacy Office and I will all be on the scene on Friday at a rally at the state capital in Olympia. You can help by contacting anyone you know in Washington who could sign the petition--some may ask others to join the effort.

Here is the link to the Fund our Future Washington web site and the petition:
http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org/index.html
If you click on the "Rally" link, you will see what we all will be doing on Friday--grassroots action.

AASL has long put together resources and training for advocacy, marketing and promotion of strong school libraries and each of us needs to include those as part of our work, but passionate parents and students are the most powerful advocates we can have. We see this action as the basis for a national model and encourage other states to seize and create opportunities for rescuing and strengthening school library programs--to the benefit of the students we teach.

So...know anyone in Washington?

During the process, input came from a draft on the AASL homepage, an open forum at LA Midwinter and from a wiki. Every comment was examined and considered. Thank you to everyone who sent in that input.  I remember so very clearly the AASL  Board meeting in New Orleans when we realized that we had just voted to revise the guidelines AND standards, not just the guidelines as was the item on the agenda. Whew!

There's more to come. The program guidelines are being revised, the Learning Standards and Assessment Task Force is developing a document that will aid us in applying the standards, the Guidelines and Standards Implementation Task Force is looking for the best ways to get the word out about the standards to school library media specialists, teachers, administrators, parents and all involved in education. The Chair of that task force, Susan Ballard, told the people in the Celebrtae Conference that they (and all of us) are members of that task force.

AASL is working hard for us all.

 

As soon as I got back to school, it was time to get plans rolling for Teen Read Week next week. I was inspired by hearing reading promotion expert Peggy Sharp at MEMO at the same time that my Teaching Assistant Peggy Plank was learning from reading promotion expert Kathy Baxter right in Lake Placid, a meeting I missed by going to MN. I hope to catch Kathy's presentation in Reno at the AASL conference. Watch out, Lake Placid, Sara and Peggy are psyched to do even more to promote reading!

In the vein of laughing out loud at your library, I checked out "Library Man's" latest column, "Ask Mr. Library Man: Call Number for Breakfast is 641.52," a series of "Q & A's" about being a librarian that will make you laugh--and think, I was drawn by his reply to whether NCLB had harmed school libraries. He points out that the library can become a refuge from the NCLB craziness. I disagree, though, NCLB HAS harmed school libraries in many places across the country as library budgets are hit to create "classroom libraries" (library COLLECTIONS!) and school librarians are replaced by literacy coaches...GRRR. These are some of the push for the SKILLS Act...make that call today.

But lots of his humor is really, really funny in a cynical way...which suits me just fine! From his column:

Q: You know that phrase "information is power"? If that were true, wouldn't librarians be the most powerful people on earth?

A: Shhh! You've figured it out. Librarians are the mighty overlords of the planet. Our low pay (relative to education and expertise) and our lack of public esteem are part of a massive cover-up.

LOL@your library®...a lot! 

Equal access for all? There is a difference in student learning between schools with librarians who care about kids and their learning. We know that, our studies show that, but we need to make the connections for our representatives in Washington as they reauthorize NCLB.

Here’s a way to make sure that all students have equal access to the opportunities they need for literacy and learning. The chance to get the Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act) language included in the reauthorization of NCLB is THIS WEEK. Today is the best time to act, but this week is crucial. Calls to representatives from us, our students, their parents, community members, your relatives, union representatives…ALL are important for students’ futures. Make sure your voice is heard.

We are working to make certain that our students have opportunities to learn the skills they need to be successful as they live, work and learn in the 21st Century.

To read more about the SKILLS Act go to:
http://www.capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=10223941 There you can find out who to contact. Once you have your congress person's name, call the Capitol switchboard at (202)225-3121 and ask for your representative's office. Or go to their website for the phone number. The talking points on the Washington office SKILLs Act page work well with the script AASL Advocacy Committee chair Deb Logan posted below from an OELMA advocacy workshop.

Check out the NPR story for ammunition about the need to increase students’ reading scores; they are flat under NCLB as it is now written. The inclusion of SKILLs Act language would make a difference; our studies show the connection:

YOUR voice can make a difference for kids!

Cross-post widely, please!

Only TWO WEEKS Left to include School Librarians in NCLB in the House...time to marshall all librarians, teachers, parents, community members, politician friends to contact your representative in the House and ask them, every two days, if they have yet signed on to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act!

How? Go to, and send everyone you know, to the ALA Washington Office Legislation Action Center http://www.capwiz.com/ala/home/ to Take Action Now!

It's time to show our grassroots strength!

Sara Kelly Johns, AASL President, 2007-08

________________________________

We need your help - ALL LIBRARIANS AND LIBRARY ADVOCATES - to ensure the inclusion of the Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act in the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This is the single most important piece of legislation
concerning school libraries that will come before Congress this year.

Reauthorization of this bill is critical to the future of school libraries.

On September 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor will be considering reauthorization of the NCLB. In order for the SKILLs Act to be included in NCLB - that is, to place a highly qualified school library media specialist in every school - each member of the House must co-sponsor the SKILLS Act.

There is little more than two weeks to accomplish this goal and the name of your Representative must appear on this bill. If your Representative's name does not appear as a co-sponsor, please call his/her office immediately and request that he/she support the SKILLs Act. If your Representative's name DOES appear on this bill, contact
his/her office and thank him/her for the continued support of school libraries and school library media specialists.

Sponsors:

Raul Grijalva (AZ-7)
Vernon Ehlers (MI-3)

Co-Sponsors:

Bart Gordon (TN-6)
Tim Holden (PA-17)
Steve Cohen (TN-9)
James McGovern (MA-3)

LIBRARIANS: Post this flier in your library
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/schoollibraries/nochildleftbehind/SkillsAct_Final.pdf . (PDF)
GET YOUR TEACHERS, PARENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO CALL! We need as many people as possible to call their Representatives!

Urgent Action Needed: This legislation is critical to the future of school library media specialists and students--the bill will be marked up by the week of September 24. Please contact your Representative immediately and ask him/her to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act.

When contacting your Representative prepare yourself to state why this issue is of critical importance:

The SKILLs Act

* Requires school districts, to the extent feasible, to ensure that every school within the district employs at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in each school library;
* Defines highly qualified school library media specialists as those who have a bachelor's degree and have obtained full state certification as a school library media specialist or passed the state teacher licensing examination, with state certification in library media in such state;
* Establishes as a state goal that there be at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in every public school no later than the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year;
* Broadens the focus of training, professional development, and recruitment activities to include school library media specialists;
* Ensures that funds will serve elementary, middle, and high school students;
* Requires books and materials to be appropriate for and engage the interest of students in all grade levels and students with special learning needs, including English language learners.

Talking Points

* Multiple studies have affirmed that there is a clear link between school library media programs that are staffed by a school library media specialist and student academic achievement. Across the United States, research has shown that students in schools with good school libraries learn more, get better grades, and score higher on standardized test scores than their peers in schools without libraries.
* Academic Librarians: School libraries are KEY to ensuring college readiness.
* Public Librarians: School library media specialists give students the skills they need to utilize your library to its fullest extent.
* Long regarded as the cornerstone of the school community, school libraries are no longer just for books. Instead, they have become sophisticated 21st century learning environments offering a full range of print and electronic resources that provide equal learning opportunities to all students, regardless of the socio-economic or education levels of the community - but only when they are staffed by school library media specialists trained to collaborate with teachers and engage students meaningfully with information that matters to them both in the classroom and in the real world.
* Only about 60 percent of our school libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media specialist on staff.
* With limited funding and an increased focus on school
performance, administrators are trying to stretch dollars and cut funds across various programs to ensure that maximum resources are dedicated to improving student academic achievement.
* Because NCLB does not highlight the direct correlation between school library media specialists and increased student academic achievement, library resource budgets are increasingly being used to mitigate the effects of budgetary shortfalls.

________________________________

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The online committee volunteer form for involvement on ALA Committees is now open, It will be used to develop a pool of names for ALA President-Elect Jim Rettig to use to fill open committee slots. The door closes on December 3rd but many  appointments will be made before that since they have to be approved by Council at Midwinter.

How?  Go to the Committee Volunteer page to fill out the online form and then send an e-mail with your choices to AASL President-elect Ann Martin <libraryann@comcast.net> who will work with Jim. The more Ann knows about your preferences and your qualifications, the more she will be able to encourage Jim to have at least one AASL member on each committee.

AASL staff will have access to that database, too, and I will be able to get names for ALA task forces  and fill-in committee appointments, but this is a chance for us to have a LOUDer voice in "big ALA."

Send in your form as soon as possible; AASL members are smart and savvy and can bring our views and expertise to ALA committee work. Thank you!