Dear Netters:
Stephanie's appeal for support of two bills in Congress is a wonderful
opportunity to learn about our legislative process and how WE can make a
difference. Believe me, if we can go online and vote for someone to win
a contest with but a few clicks of our mouses (mice?), imagine what we
could do with these bills?
I would first direct you to Thomas...a great site for finding out all
about a bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d110query.html
Once at the site, under ENTER SEARCH, change it from Word/Phrase to Bill
Number on the pulldown menu and then type in either S. 1699 or H.R. 2864
- VOILA...there's the bill and you can click around the links and see
who's sponsoring it, the text of the bill (when it arrives), and the
status of it...right now it's been referred to committee.
Since only a few congressmen have signed on...you will need to contact
your rep/senator and get them motivated. The easy way to do this is to
find out who they are and email them...or better write them or call.
Here's where to start:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Just click on your state and you'll have all you need. What I did was
copy and pasted the "Talking Points" paragraph from Stephanie's appeal
and added a sentence or two asking for support. OR if you want to use
your own words...go for it! Give examples of what it is like in the
trenches - tell stories about what you've seen when there isn't a LMS
available.
Had enough??? NO??? Well maybe you'd like to write the folks on the
House/Senate committee where the bills have been sent (and may languish
unless people write in) to get them to move on the bill...you can find
the committees at:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/committee_list.cgi?site=ctc
Or for convenience - go here...and if you see one of your congresspeople
listed - be sure to write them, if your reps aren't there...write them
anyway!
For the house: http://tinyurl.com/cq3js
For the senate: http://tinyurl.com/3366f9
I do believe you'll enjoy this little venture into politics and realize
just how easy it is to contact DC and to get results. No harm in trying
- right ;-)
Stephanie's email on LM_NET was:
Support the SKILLs Act: Urge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 1699 and
your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864.
On Tuesday June 26, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS)
and Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
introduced the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries
(SKILLs) Act that guarantees students across America will be served by
highly qualified, state-certified school library media specialists and
will have the library resources they need to succeed.
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; and 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.
Urgent Action Needed:
This legislation is critical to the future of school library media
specialists. Contact your Senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 1699.
Contact your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864.
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. 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.
Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist
Young Adult Library Services Association
American Library Association
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
skuenn@ala.org
(v) 312.280.2128
(f) 312.280.5276
Register for Teen Read Week!
www.ala.org/teenread
--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jody Newman
Library Aide, retired
Stow, MA
newjody@comcast.net
Reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind;
it forces you to stretch your own.--Charles Scribner, Jr.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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