Action Requested: support for NYC school librarians

Dear colleagues all over the country, New York State law requires secondary schools to have either a full- or part-time librarian, depending on the population of the school. Many of us in New York state have jobs because of this law. However, many schools in NYC violate these state regulations, as reported in Monday's Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324769704579006604137520932.html and also picked up by the Atlantic Wire: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/08/new-york-city-has-fewer-school-librarians-ever/68217/ Now the NYC Department of Education wants to seek a waiver from the state so that it does not have to staff its schools with librarians. This was just reported on NY1 news two days ago: http://www.ny1.com/content/education/187074/doe-asking-state-to-waive-regulation-requiring-schools-to-employ-librarians So I am writing because there is a petition that was started by Christian Zabriskie, a NYC librarian, that will be sent to Dr. John B. King, New York State Commissioner of Education, to keep librarians in NYC schools. I would like to make you aware of it in case you would like to sign it: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/librarians-belong-in.fb30?source=c.fb&r_by=8579709 Thank you for your support, Patricia ____________________________________________ Patricia Sarles, MA, MLS Librarian Jerome Parker Campus Library 100 Essex Drive Staten Island, NY 10314 718-370-6900 x1322 psarles@schools.nyc.gov http://www.scoop.it/t/help-with-the-common-core-state-standards/ http://paper.li/psarles/1332609247 http://psarles.wikispaces.com http://library.nycenet.edu/common/welcome.jsp?site=6467 To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction ... The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. - Martin Luther King, Jr. The Purpose of Education There is no fiction or nonfiction area of the Internet. - Alan November

27 Things Your Teacher Librarian Does -- A Cool Infographic

Another wonderful infographic entitled 27 Things Your Teacher Librarian Does is making the rounds of library circles this week.  Have you seen it?  And it is so true.  How many hats do you wear?  In any given day, how many different technologies, different teachers, different students, different projects.... do you see, help, work on, teach, problem-solve, etc.?   A few years ago, I had the privilege of working with a small group of library colleagues in our Putnam/No.Westchester BOCES School Library System on a Power Point presentation and video about what all happens in our libraries.  We were bouncing around ideas one summer day and I offered up the fact that "it all happens in the library" meaning all subject areas are taught/studied in the library, all students and teachers are served by a library program, all manner of skills are practiced in the library - even though we don't teach them ourselves.  Our video was part of the AASL advocacy toolkit and we all use(d) it for parent meetings and presentations.  With all these great tools, we can arm ourselves for the daunting task of advocating for school librarians, school library programs, and library resources.  We would love to hear about your advocacy efforts.  What works for you?  What additional resources or assistance would be beneficial?  Let us know at SLMSSENY. 

Here are some other advocacy tools.

Strong School Libraries Build Strong Students an infographic created by the AASL Legislation Committee  http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf

School Library Program Health and Wellness Toolkit  (AASL)

School Libraries build Strong Students infographic--how can you use it?

School districts are making decisions NOW about what positions to cut and school librarians are vulnerable. Support from people who are not school librarians is crucial, talking to school board members and superintendents, attending budget hearings.

How could you use the new AASL "Strong Libraries build Strong Students" infographic? In an AASLForum message, Virginia school librarian Ann Crewdson said: "The infographic has style! It’s succinct and shows the importance of school librarians in a visually appealing and educational way. I’ve forwarded it to PTAs, Parent FB groups and the superintendent of public instruction in my daughter’s school district. I plan to forward it to more groups and leaders soon."
It's here:
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf

Thanks in advance for any ideas, Sara

--
Sara Kelly Johns, School Librarian
Lake Placid Middle/High School Library
Instructor, Mansfield University School Library & Information Technology Program
AASL Division Councilor. ALA Council
AASL Legislative Committee
67 Canaras Ave.
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
johns@northnet.org
skjohns@gmail.com

Librarians at Occupy DOE

They came, we came! Grey haired retirees, union presidents (yes, that IS Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers' Union), administrators, student poets, teachers who quit rather than continue the abuse excessive testing imposes on the most vulnerable students (and all the rest), professors of education, students who organized walk outs in protest of the tests, authors, librarians, musicians, lawyers, parents, grandparents, graduate students of education, education historians, patient spouses (mine!), and more. Susan Polos, librarian in the Bedford School District, pulled me into this and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to her.

It was a small but powerful group gathered in front of the imposing Department of Education fortress. So much information: dots connected that reveal the deliberate unravelling of public education.

Some folks to read in books or on blogs: Diane Ravitch (http://dianeravitch.net), Lois Weiner, Stephen Krashen, Sam Anderson, Nancy Carlsson-Paige. I encourage you to look at the United Opt Out website. We can begin to dismantle this takeover of education by corporations bent on making millions/billions from their irrelevant tests that harm our children. Remind all parents of children in public schools: their children's data including test scores, any services received, SS#s is for sale to the Gates foundation, Rupert Murdoch, and all the testing companies. It is possible for parents to opt out of these tests---and schools are required to provide an alternative learning environment for the testing time. 

The Common Core State Standards are another travesty: Created largely by a representative of a testing corporation and without a single early childhood educator---which explains why they are so developmentally inappropriate. I've heard, but haven't yet verified, that there actually wasn't a single educator in their development. 

What you can do:

Write letters to local newspapers, congressional representatives, state education commissioner, senators, Arne Duncan (whose ties to big testing companies are mind boggling). 

Onward!

Melissa H.

Letter in Defense of School Librarians

Greetings All,

If you are aware of a school library media specialist position that is slated for elimination in the 2012-13 school year, please send me the name of the school and (if possible) the names of the superintendent and school board president.

NYLA is issuing letters in defense of school librarians to all districts that are considering this terrible move.

Many thanks,

----Jeremy Johannesen

Interim Executive Director

New York Library Association

6021 State Farm Road

Guilderland, NY 12084
518-432-6952

518-427-1697 FAX
events@nyla.org

Libraries Deserve Same Increase as Schools

Urge NYS Legislature to Restore Library Funding

Please send a message to your state legislators asking them to recognize libraries as educational institutions deserving of the same percentage increase as schools.  Library Aid has been cut 23% since 2008 from $102 million to $79 million in 2011.  The Governor has proposed a 4% increase in School Aid.  Libraries deserve a similar increase.  Take Action!

My principal approached me a couple of weeks ago about a mid-year report.  I had provided him with some quick stats just in time for his fall presentation to the board of ed and those stats were a hit... so now he's back for more.  I have been collecting ideas in my Evernote account on what might constitute relevant and effective evidence.  I have a new database that has thousands of views in 4 months time that I can tie to classes I've taught.  Not bad.  What else?  As I say , I have a running list , but I would love to hear what eveyone else is doing.  With the looming shadow of new teacher evaluation systems being negotiated ànd implemented, our ever present efforts to justify our value in our schools are more critical than ever.  What's your favorite measure of your impact on students? Responses will be shared in a future post.

What You Can Do To Support School Libraries In Crisis

Carl Harvey III, president of AASL,writes in last week's Huffington Post about the crisis for school libraries across the country. Many readers added comments in which they tell their stories. Have you shared yours? http://huff.to/sukrpZ