[LM_NET] SKILLs Act Letter Writing Toolkit

[Ann Ewbank <Ann.Ewbank@ASU.EDU>]

Colleagues,

Below are sample letters to be used when writing your Congresspersons or
Senators urging them to support the SKILLs Act. 

This toolkit will be posted on the AASL web site but because the matter
is so time sensitive I am sending these letters to you now. So please,
encourage anyone you can to email their reps and ask them to support the
SKILLs Act!

SKILLs Act Letter Toolkit

These sample letters are provided for you as templates to write your
senators and congresspersons to ask them to support the SKILLs Act.

Information about the SKILLs Act:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLS_Act.cfm

SKILLs Act Talking Points:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLs_Act_TP.cfm 

Tips for contacting your Congressperson/Senator:

To find your representatives:
http://www.house.gov 

To find your senators:
http://www.senate.gov 

1)      Email or fax is the best way to send your message, due to the
delays on paper mail on Capitol Hill.

2)      Keep your message short and to the point.

3)      Ask for the specific action ("support the SKILLs Act") and
include the bill number in your correspondence.

4)      Include your name, address, and zip code in your correspondence.

5)      It is vitally important that you get as many non-school
librarian advocates to write letters in support of this bill as
possible. We have provided samples for teachers, parents,
administrators, school board members, book publishers/resource
providers, students, and public/academic librarians.

Letter sent by a School Library Media Specialist

Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a certified
school library media specialist, I urge you to strengthen the direct
correlation between school library media specialists and increased
student academic achievement so that all students can learn the
essential skills they need to live, work, and learn in the 21st century.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip

Letter sent by a Teacher

Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a teacher, the
collaboration that my school library media specialist brings to my
lessons assists in meeting student achievement goals, and also helps to
prepare my students to live, work, and learn in the 21st century.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip

Letter sent by a parent

Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a parent, I feel
that it is crucial that my child(ren) receive the necessary instruction
that he/she/they need to live, work, and learn in the 21st century.
School library media specialists help to achieve that goal.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip

Letter sent from a school administrator

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a school
administrator, I see the valuable instruction that my librarian brings
to each lesson. He/she is an integral component in the continual student
achievement at this school, and prepares students to live, work, and
learn in the 21st century.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip



Letter sent from a school board member

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a school board
member, I recognize the valuable contribution that school library media
specialists have in each school in my district. They are integral in
increasing student achievement, and prepare students to live, work, and
learn in the 21st century.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip

Letter sent from a student

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a student, my
school library media specialist along with my teacher help me to be the
best student I can be. He/she also teaches me the skills I will need to
be successful in college and work.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip


Letter sent from a book publisher/library resource provider

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a book
publisher/library resource provider, I know that the school library
media specialist is the vital link between the information that my
company provides and the student. Without him/her, students risk the
chance of not learning the important skills of learning to live, work,
and learn in the 21st century.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip



Letter sent from an academic librarian

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As an academic
librarian, I know that it is vitally important that students receive the
skills they need to find and use information before they come to college
in order for them to be successful. The SKILLs Act will help to achieve
that goal. 

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip


Letter sent from a public librarian

Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
specialist on staff. 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.
School libraries 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. 

Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a public
librarian, our facilities are often relied upon if there is not a
sufficient school library. However, public libraries have a different
mission and cannot provide the valuable teaching component that a school
library media specialist offers. This is what students need to live,
work, and learn in the 21st century, and become lifelong patrons of
public libraries.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip



Ann Dutton Ewbank, Ph.D.
President, Arizona Library Association 
Education Liaison Librarian 
Fletcher Library 
Arizona State University at the West campus 
P.O. Box 37100 
Phoenix, Arizona 85069-7100 
602.543.8527 
Fax 602.543.6500 
Mail Code 0152 

***************

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
 * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------