[Tasl] Fw: SKILLs Act Letter Writing Toolkit

[Nancy Dickinson]

This was posted on lm_net in the last few days. Please forgive 
cross-posting, but this is so important! Thanks,
Nancy Dickinson

> Colleagues,
>
> Below are sample letters to be used when writing your Congresspersons or
> Senators urging them to support the SKILLs Act.
>
> This toolkit will be posted on the AASL web site but because the matter is
> so time sensitive I am sending these letters to you now. So please,
> encourage anyone you can to email their reps and ask them to support the
> SKILLs Act!
>
> SKILLs Act Letter Toolkit
>
> These sample letters are provided for you as templates to write your
> senators and congresspersons to ask them to support the SKILLs Act.
>
> Information about the SKILLs Act:
> http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLS_Act.cfm
>
> SKILLs Act Talking Points:
> http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLs_Act_TP.cfm
>
> Tips for contacting your Congressperson/Senator:
>
> To find your representatives:
> http://www.house.gov
>
> To find your senators:
> http://www.senate.gov
>
> 1) Email or fax is the best way to send your message, due to the
> delays on paper mail on Capitol Hill.
>
> 2) Keep your message short and to the point.
>
> 3) Ask for the specific action ("support the SKILLs Act") and
> include the bill number in your correspondence.
>
> 4) Include your name, address, and zip code in your correspondence.
>
> 5) It is vitally important that you get as many non-school
> librarian advocates to write letters in support of this bill as
> possible. We have provided samples for teachers, parents,
> administrators, school board members, book publishers/resource
> providers, students, and public/academic librarians.
>
> Letter sent by a School Library Media Specialist
>
> Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a certified school
> library media specialist, I urge you to strengthen the direct correlation
> between school library media specialists and increased student academic
> achievement so that all students can learn the
> essential skills they need to live, work, and learn in the 21st century.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
> Letter sent by a Teacher
>
> Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a teacher, the
> collaboration that my school library media specialist brings to my lessons
> assists in meeting student achievement goals, and also helps to prepare my
> students to live, work, and learn in the 21st century.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
> Letter sent by a parent
>
> Dear Sen. (or Rep.) _________________,
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a parent, I feel
> that it is crucial that my child(ren) receive the necessary instruction
> that he/she/they need to live, work, and learn in the 21st century. School
> library media specialists help to achieve that goal.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
> Letter sent from a school administrator
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a school
> administrator, I see the valuable instruction that my librarian brings to
> each lesson. He/she is an integral component in the continual student
> achievement at this school, and prepares students to live, work, and learn
> in the 21st century.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
>
>
> Letter sent from a school board member
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a school board
> member, I recognize the valuable contribution that school library media
> specialists have in each school in my district. They are integral in
> increasing student achievement, and prepare students to live, work, and
> learn in the 21st century.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
> Letter sent from a student
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a student, my
> school library media specialist along with my teacher help me to be the
> best student I can be. He/she also teaches me the skills I will need to be
> successful in college and work.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
>
> Letter sent from a book publisher/library resource provider
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a book
> publisher/library resource provider, I know that the school library media
> specialist is the vital link between the information that my company
> provides and the student. Without him/her, students risk the chance of not
> learning the important skills of learning to live, work, and learn in the
> 21st century.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
>
>
> Letter sent from an academic librarian
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As an academic
> librarian, I know that it is vitally important that students receive the
> skills they need to find and use information before they come to college
> in order for them to be successful. The SKILLs Act will help to achieve
> that goal.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
>
> Letter sent from a public librarian
>
> Throughout the United States, only about 60 percent of our school
> libraries have a full-time, state-certified school library media
> specialist on staff. 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.
> School libraries 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.
>
> Please support the SKILLs Act (H.R. 2864/ S. 1699). As a public
> librarian, our facilities are often relied upon if there is not a
> sufficient school library. However, public libraries have a different
> mission and cannot provide the valuable teaching component that a school
> library media specialist offers. This is what students need to live, work,
> and learn in the 21st century, and become lifelong patrons of public
> libraries.
>
> Your Name
> Your Address
> Your City, State, Zip
>
>
>
> 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
> Mail Code 0152
>
> ***************
>
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