School Library Advocacy to Get Your Groove Back

I recently returned from another conference where technology in education was the focus. Of the sessions I chose to attend, a couple of them didn't promote the use of technology at all. A few others just taught the technology tool. They were taught by either a team of school librarian/teacher or instructional technology facilitator/teacher. But the overall emphasis seemed to be on the tech tool being the focus, not the educational outcome.

As a school librarian, I feel that we may have lost some of our focus. I feel we need to move beyond just teaching technology tools, and move toward collaboratively planning lessons with teachers that allow them to utilize tools and strategies in developing higher order thinking skills and personalized learning. Then we need to demonstrate that practice for other librarians/teachers/administrators who are unsure what that looks like in practice. Also, there needs to be student choice and voice, either in the technology tools they use for creation; choice of reading materials for study, analysis, and grades; and in how we personalize their instruction/learning. In order to advocate for our positions, we need to make it our practice to team plan and teach with teachers and specialists in order to make this happen. Otherwise our value is overlooked and becomes diminished. 

What can we do to be library advocates?

• attend grade level / department level PLT's when planning lessons & reviewing data (PLT - Professional Learning Team)
• become a member of the SIT team (School Improvement Team)
• develop a relationship with your administrative staff; provide updates on your progress with students in your library often; let them see what you do and how your time is allocated in the library
• stay up to date on grade level / library practices, pedagogy, technology tools, and curriculum standards in order to plan & share
• curate resources tailored to student & teacher needs
• to start, work with one teacher per grade level /  department to plan & team teach; most won't come to you
• be active and involved in your local, state, and national library associations
• advocate for a flexible schedule or a fixed / flexible schedule. This will give you availability to meet the needs of students & teachers.
• create an online presence on social media with a PLN (Professional Learning Network) & stay active (participate in Twitter chats, Facebook Library groups, Instagram, etc.)
• partner with businesses in your local community
• create and develop your brand; you represent your library, your students, your school, your profession
• develop your library space to be flexible and meeting current needs of 21st century students. Partner with students / staff for input. Design your space to be the "hub" of your school. May need grants, fundraising dollars, etc. 
• promote your library within your school, especially in April for AASL School Library Month. They have lots of promos and printables. This year, it is all about "Making Connection at your School Library".  http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/slm #AASLslm
• Become a Future Ready Librarian by partnering with librarians, administrators, teachers and staff using the resources found at https://futureready.org/program-overview/librarians/ #futurereadylibs 
• Ask for help if you need it. Librarians are a passionate group who love to share. We are here for you. Take a look at this graphic created by Jennifer LaGarde. It explains our position perfectly. (And she is is an awesome librarian to have in your PLN. @JenniferLaGarde

These are just a few things that will give you a larger voice for you as a librarian, your library and your students. Remember, school librarians are rock stars for students and teachers. Let your star shine! 

Sad State of NC Government

What a week it has been in the NC education arena.  I am deeply saddened that instead of investing in the educational future of our children and the dedicated educators who teach them, our state leaders have chosen to deeply cut the funds set aside for that purpose.  To me, that is an area that should never be touched when it comes to cuts, but respected to the point where the state re-allocates the funds from other areas.  As an educator, I am saddened that teachers are not respected in the professional arena.  That is evident in the fact that the state assembly is cutting Master's pay for those that have taken that extra step to become a skilled master in the art of teaching.  As a parent, I am worried about the teachers who will be teaching my children.  I want those teachers to be highly qualified to teach by having as much education in the art of teaching as they can have.  But with no extra pay to possibly help pay for the student loan that enabled those professionals to gain that mastery, I fear that this will deter many fine teachers from striving to become better teachers by furthering their own education in the art of teaching.  As a school librarian, I have the honor of working with all of the educators in the school and I see what a difficult career choice this is for all of them.  But they all do this because they love to teach, not because they want to get rich.  And for this administration to not only NOT reinstate our yearly salary grades, but continue to find avenues to cut is demeaning.  Those positions that were cut (teacher assistants) are the positions that help keep our schools afloat by providing needed teacher and student support.  Teachers are teaching/supervising children for 7 1/2 hours a day then spend time after hours planning for their lessons for the next school day (yes, each elementary teacher has to plan English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies lessons daily).  All of this on a salary of $30,800 for beginning teachers.  No pay raises, no cost of living increases, plus most supplies are bought by the teachers for their classroom, especially if they are a beginning teacher.  As a school librarian, I have even bought books for my library out of my own pocket due to the lack of funds.  You do what you have to for the students because we want to see them succeed.  But we have families to support also.  So yes, I am very saddened at the turn of events in NC education.  I may not have the support of our government, but I have the support of my students, my colleagues, and my student's parents.  That is why I teach---I love what I do and I love our students.  And yes, WE ARE PROFESSIONALS!  Please NC, treat us as such!