Tag Archives: School media center

School Media Specialist

April is School Library Month!

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Yes, we know it is still March, but it is time to start planning for School Library Month in April!

School Library Month is the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in transforming learning. The 2016 theme is School Libraries Transform Learning.

Megan McDonald, author of the popular Judy Moody series, the Stink books, and the Sisters Club trilogy, is the national spokesperson for the 2016 celebration. Go here to view all the ideas you can use in your setting including web graphics, printable posters, and proclamation templates. To celebrate, AASL is offering the following complimentary webinars (live mode only for non-members).

Complimentary AASL Webinars during the month of April

Wed, April 6  |  6:00 p.m. Central
TV on a Dime: Creating a Library TV Studio

Wed, April 13  |  6:00 p.m. Central
Personalized Learning with Gooru

Wed, April 20  |  6:00 p.m. Central
Creating Digital Portfolios Using Google Sites

Wed, April 27  |  6:00 p.m. Central
Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: 7 Projects to Get Students Storyboarding

General, School Media Specialist

Ever heard of your school library as "third place?"

If your students, staff, and teachers think of your school media center as their third place, that trendsis a very cool thing. But, what does it mean?

Quite simply, home is your first place, work or school is your second place, and your third place is where you go to “hang out” with friends, collaborate with your peers, where you meet for quiet discussion or friendly debate. The tricky bit is….can a school media center be a third place when it is also part of a second place. The answer is yes!  The following article tells you how, with examples and additional readings too.  Read the full article here.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/lfpv7xn, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Where Have the Media Specialists Gone in 2015?

We’ve Crunched the Data! This is the fifth year that CMLE has been pulling the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) data and studying the slow decline of school library media specialists in our CMLE twelve-county region. Sharing the data is our attempt to engage people in helping think of solutions to this issue. If there is inadequate media specialist staffing in high schools, are students going to be prepared with the skills they need to be successful in college? Will middle schoolers be prepared to do high school work, and when students have no library program at school, are they simply going to the public library for assistance? Are the public libraries funded or staffed to absorb this work on a large scale? Everyone is stretched for resources, so it is critical that K-12, public, and academic libraries all step up to do their part.

Without further ado, here is data for Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in MN. In a nutshell, the grim news is…..

  • 90 individual schools (45%) in Central MN have no licensed media specialist. This compares with 79 individual schools in 2014, 53 in 2013, and 48 in 2012.
  • 52% of the schools without a media specialist are middle, secondary, or high schools. A whopping 70% of secondary schools are functioning without licensed staff!
  • 43 elementary schools have no media specialist (compared to 38 in 2014 and 28 in 2013), yet as far as I know, we are still focused statewide on demonstrating reading proficiency by 3rd grade!
  • 16 out of 52 districts (31%) have no media specialist in any school in the district. This compares to 16 in 2014, 14 in 2013, and 9 in 2012!
  • Is there any good news? Yes. The great news is that 35% of CMLE schools have a full time media specialist. Let’s applaud those school administrators for understanding the value of maintaining a professionally staffed school media center.

According to public 2014-2015 MDE data, here are the CMLE school districts with no licensed media specialists in any school: Annandale, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Bertha Hewitt, Browerville, Eagle Valley, East Central, Foley, Kimball, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Maple Lake, McGregor, Onamia, Royalton, Staples-Motley, Swanville, and Willow River. Are parents in these districts aware of this issue?

CMLE will use this data in its advocacy work, in targeting its programming, and in working statewide to bring attention to this growing problem. How can we change this trend?  All Minnesota students deserve a high quality, K-12 academic experience that prepares them for the next step in their life. We need students to be able to proficiently use  the research process and to think critically about competing sources of information. These are key lifelong skills needed by all high-functioning members of society.

If you have comments, solutions, or ideas, please email me at papost@cmle.org

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Michigan State Board of Education supports school libraries

More fall leaves...I am pleased to report that the Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution at its October 14, 2014 board meeting in support of school libraries. What I really like is the focus of the resolution, which reaches far beyond the dated stereotype of a school library. Indeed, the resolution specifically cites  certified school librarians as an important way to achieve 21st century learning and teaching goals, then elaborates about how they do so! Although there is no money tied to the resolution, it is believed to be a good step forward in advocating for strong media programs, and the educational civil rights of students.

The Resolution is short, to the point, worthy of a quick read.

But wait….there is more!

What is also interesting to me, is that the Library of Michigan, an office of the Michigan Department of Education, has developed benchmarks for school libraries. These benchmarks allow a school administrator and school librarian (working together)  to evaluate the school library program across the areas of :

  • Building the Learning Environment
  • Teaching for 21st Century Learning
  • Leading the Way to 21st Century Learning

What a breath of fresh air! Administrators can better visualize what is possible in a school library program if they have specific benchmarks to consider! And by working through the benchmarks together, there is an opportunity for much needed conversation too. Do you think a resolution or benchmarks could help with Minnesota school library staffing issues?

School Library 21 (SL21): Measurement Benchmarks for Michigan School Libraries for 21st Century Schools

Update 2/3/2015: Oregon adopts School Library Standards

Please send questions, comments or ideas to me, Patricia Post, Director of CMLE, one of the seven MN multitype library systems, at papost@cmle.org

 

 

Public, School Media Specialist

Make Noise: School Libraries are Critical

Last week, I did a blog post about the continued drop in the number of media specialists in Central MN schools. Quite honestly, there is no library issue that bothers me more. I became a librarian because I am passionate about equitable access to information.  I am sick about what I am seeing in our region around school libraries. In school year 2013-2014, 41% of Central MN schools had no licensed media center staff. And, here is a shocker, 69% of secondary schools have no licensed staff! Without well-stocked, well-staffed school libraries, how are the academic needs of students being met? Certainly, we can do better, we must do better!

Part of what bothers me is that I hear no outcry. Are parents, grandparents, and community members aware of this issue? Why do I only hear deafening silence? Every time the cuts happen with no outcry, it becomes more acceptable! I know for a fact that some of the  school media programs that were cut or eliminated, were the very best! So, the cuts did not happen as a result of a weak program. Take note media specialists, your great program could be cut too if you don’t engage in raising awareness of this issue. These cuts happened quietly, and even when a few people figured it out, there was only deafening silence.

A few years back, some districts would employ one media specialist to cover several schools, to at least put a good face on the situation. Not any more! In last week’s blog post, I listed the school districts who have become so bold as to not employ a single media specialist in any of their schools. People, they are counting on your silence. Certainly, in this information age, this is an atrocity. Yet, where is the noise? Public libraries and college libraries should be concerned, as they often have to pick up the work of remediation of students with no school media program.

What can we do?

We can roar, we can make noise, and help others make noise!  Find out how your county or school district fares on this issue (bullet 2 below). Show the research that demonstrates the impact that school libraries have on academic achievement (bullet 3 below). Consider who in your school can work with your PTO, to ask parents and grandparents to write letters to the editor or the school board (bullet 2 below). Worried about your job? Consider writing an anonymous letter to the editor.

Basically, we want kids to be readers. We need to have systems in place to help them find books that help them grow, think, and enjoy reading and learning. Minnesota is dedicated to ensuring that all children be proficient readers by third grade. With 37% of our elementary schools with no licensed staff, are we supporting that statewide goal?  As kids move along, we want them to be competent researchers by sixth grade, and fluent critical thinkers about information sources by high school. And don’t we all want high school graduates to feel equipped to be successful in either their college career or as information-literate, high functioning  members of society?  Effective school libraries are hubs of learning, they include great books but so much more! Now is the time to make noise! Are you with me?

Resources to Help You Take Action!

  1. Where have the Media Specialists Gone in 2014? (current staffing data for Central MN)
  2. Want help writing your letter or fact sheet? Contact us if you want a specific data set for your district or county to beef up your communications on this issue. We are ready to help!
  3. School Library Impact Studies (the research to support the need for licensed media staff)
  4. School Libraries Transform Learning (The American Library Association’s advocacy doc with different ideas for action)
  5. Los Angeles students need better libraries, not iPads (Read about how after a 19-month investigation, LA believes this school library situation is actually a violation of the educational civil rights of students!)

Send comments, ideas, or solutions to me, Patricia Post, Director of CMLE, at papost@cmle.org

Note: The CMLE region includes Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota