[LM_NET] Fwd: Better version!!! Send Your Senators a "Save School Libraries" Valentine!

[Sara Kelly Johns <sarakellyjohns@YAHOO.COM>]

AASL, ALSC and YALSA - are sending out a call to action to library workers to have 
teens, children, parents and library supporters in their community send “I Love 
My Teen Services Librarian” or “I Love My School Librarian” Valentine cards 
to their U.S. Senators and Representatives, and to ask their elected officials to 
co-sponsor the SKILLS Act &/or support LSTA funding for libraries.  Currrently only 
about eight Congresspersons have signed on to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act.  A major 
grassroots effort is needed in order for this critical piece of library legislation 
to get passed.  Please consider participating in this campaign.  For more 
information go to 
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/I_Love_My_Librarian_Campaign. 

 

Additional information and talking points for the Skills Act can be found at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLs_Act_TP.cfm

Sara Kelly Johns <skjohns@gmail.com> wrote: To: sarakellyjohns@yahoo.com
Subject: Fwd: Better version!!!  Send Your Senators a "Save School Libraries" 
Valentine!
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:06:32 -0500
From: Sara Kelly Johns <skjohns@gmail.com>


Begin forwarded message:

From: Rosalind Reynolds [mailto:rreynolds@alawash.org] 
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 10:12 AM
To: Julie Walker
Subject: Send Your Senators a "Save School Libraries" Valentine!


 
Send Your Senators a "Save School Libraries" Valentine!

Take Action!

 
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.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will be 
considering reauthorization of NCLB in the next month. In order for the SKILLs Act 
to be included in NCLB � that is, to place a state-certified school library media 
specialist in every school � each member of the Senate must co-sponsor the SKILLS 
Act.
 
 

This Valentine�s Day, have your teens, parents, children and library supporters 
flood federal elected officials� district offices with Valentines that express 
love for your school library and its staff and ask for support for important 
legislation.

This is your chance to send an �I Love My School Librarian� Valentine card to 
your U.S. Senators, and to ask them to co-sponsor the Strengthening Kids� 
Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act! (See the YALSA I Love My Librarian 
Wiki for more info.
The names of your Senators must appear on this bill! If your Senators' names do not 
appear as co-sponsors, please call their offices immediately and request that they 
support the SKILLs Act. Then ask your Senators to contact either Senate HELP 
Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy (D-MA) or Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Mike 
Enzi (R-WY) to express the importance of the SKILLS Act of be included in NCLB 
reauthorization.
If your Senators' names DO appear on this bill, contact and thank them for the 
continued support of school libraries and school library media specialists. 
Sponsors: 
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Co-Sponsors:
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
The bill number in the Senate is S. 1699.

When contacting your Senators prepare 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 state-certified school library media 
specialist in each school library;
   Establishes as a state goal that there be at least one state-certified 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 
constraints.
 
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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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