[CALIBK12] FW: [aaslaffils] Support the SKILLs Act: Co-sponsors needed for S. 1699 and H.R. 2864.

Wed Aug 22 07:52:42 PDT 2007

Hello All!

Imagine my surprise and delight to see our own Sandy Schukett on page 15 of this month's American Libraries.? There's an article about librarians meeting with Senator Jack Reed about the SKILLs Act, and prominently in the picture, in the group behind him, there's Sandy!? Well done, Sandy!!? If there are others of our number whom I did not recognize, I apologize. 
Penny Brown, MLIS, LMT Elizabeth Learning Center

-----Original Message-----
From: Jo Ellen Misakian <jmisakian at hughes.net>
To: Calib K-12 <calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 9:08 pm
Subject: [CALIBK12] FW: [aaslaffils] Support the SKILLs Act: Co-sponsors needed for S. 1699 and H.R. 2864.

FYI...

____________________________________________
Jo Ellen Priest Misakian, Interim Dean
School of Education, Fresno Pacific University
1717 South Chestnut Avenue, Fresno, CA 93702
Room: WEC 106  Phone: 559.453.2291  Fax: 559.453.7168
http://www.fresno.edu  |  http://www.fresno.edu/schools/education/

Please ***repost*** widely...

American Library Association
Washington Office Newsline

ALAWON
Volume 16, Number 074
DATE : June 28, 2008

________________________________

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.
________________________________

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*
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*
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*
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