Re: [LM_NET] Support the SKILLS Act: Cosponsors needed for S.1699 and HR 2864

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

Dear Colleagues,

The AASL Task Force on NCLB, led by Linda Williams, met during ALA. We will be 
developing a toolkit for you to use to urge EVERYONE to support the SKILLS Act. The 
toolkit will contain sample letters from parents, administrators, teachers, and 
other librarians (academic, public) along with sample op-eds and letters to the 
editor for the newspaper. This toolkit will be developed and posted very quickly. I 
will let you all know when it is up. It is up to all of us to ensure that a highly 
qualified librarian serve every student in a public school in America!

Ann Ewbank
ALA Councilor-at-Large
Member, AASL Task Force on NCLB


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 


Date:    Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:56:21 -0700
From:    Sara Kelly Johns <sarakellyjohns@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Support the SKILLS Act: Cosponsors needed for S.1699 and HR 2864

You may notice that there are lots of people urging
you to urge your federal senators and representatives
to support these bills. That's because it will take
people from all 50 states to weigh in on its
importance to get the language included. Stephanie's
talking points at the end of this message are very
helpful.=20

AASL could not have acheived this bill introduction
alone without the help of the ALA Washington Office,
but it will take AASL and ALA MEMBERS to get the bills
passed.
It's time to act.=20

Thanks in advance for all your work, Sara Johns

PS--be sure to check out the Flickr pictures; there
are many familiar faces wearing those red shirts with
"Support Libraries" on them in the heat:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/alawash/page3/>
Page 4 has more, too.
--- Cyndi Phillip <cphillip_56@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> Thanks for posting this Stephanie. AASL and ALA have
> worked very hard to get this to where it is today.
> As I said on "the hill" it took coordination and
> cooperation from a lot of people within the ALA
> divisions and offices. Now IT IS UP TO YOU to get
> this legislation to pass. Coordinate efforts in your
> area to get everyone -- parents, teachers,
> administrators, all voting adults in your district
> to write in, call in, and otherwise contact your
> senators and representatives.
>=20
> Cyndi Phillip, AASL Past-President
>=20
> Stephanie Kuenn <skuenn@ALA.ORG> wrote: Support the
> SKILLs Act: Urge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 1699
> and
> your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864. =20
> 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=E2=80=99 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.
>=20
> 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=E2=80=99s 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;=20
> 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.
>=20
>=20
> Urgent Action Needed:=20
>=20
> This legislation is critical to the future of school
> library media
> specialists. Contact your Senators and ask them to
> cosponsor S. 1699.=20
> Contact your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864.
> =20
>=20
> Talking Points:
>=20
> 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 =E2=80=93
> 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.
> =20
> =20
> Stephanie Kuenn
> Communications Specialist
> Young Adult Library Services Association
> American Library Association
> 50 E. Huron St.
> Chicago, IL 60611
> skuenn@ala.org=20
> (v) 312.280.2128
> (f) 312.280.5276
> Register for Teen Read Week!=20
> www.ala.org/teenread
>=20
>
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>=20
>=20
>=20
>    Cyndi Phillip, Library Media Specialist
> 2007-08 AASL Past-President
> Grand Haven Area Public Schools=20
> Grand Haven, Michigan
> cphillip_56@yahoo.com
>=20
>  =20
>  =20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>
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>=20


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sara Kelly Johns
AASL 2007-08 President
Associate Editor for AASL Community, Knowledge Quest
Lake Placid Middle/High School LMC
34 School Street
Lake Placid, NY 12946
518-523-2474, ext. 4132
FAX: 518-523-4861
johns@northnet.org
SaraKJohns@aol.com
<http://fromtheinsideout.blogspace.com>

"Information is the currency of democracy." -- Thomas Jefferson

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