[Tasl] TIME SENSITIVE- Tennessee constituents needed to support the SKILLs Act

[Nancy Dickinson]

Below is a letter from Ann Ewbank, the chair of the AASL Task Force on NCLB.
She is appealing to us for help over the next three days. Please contact
Senator Alexander!
Thanks,
Nancy Dickinson
P.S. Please change my email address to fsufan23 at gmail.com if you have it in
your address book. I am changing Internet providers. Thanks!
>
> Dear TASL,
>
> My name is Ann Ewbank and I am the new chair of the AASL Task Force on
> No Child Left Behind. As you may know, the American Library Association
> has worked very hard to get a bill to Congress called the SKILLs Act (S.
> 1699). This bill would require that a state-certified school librarian
> serve every public school, as part of No Child Left Behind.
>
> We need Tennesseeans' help 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).
> Tennessee Senator Alexander is on the U.S. Senate Health, Education,
> Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The HELP Committee will be
> considering reauthorization of NCLB in the next couple of weeks. 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. It is especially
> important to have Senator Alexander co-sponsor the SKILLS Act since they
> are on the HELP Committee.
> We need as many Tennesseeans as possible to call or fax the Senator's
> office in the next 3 days and ask her to co-Sponsor the SKILLs Act (S.
> 1699). Please send this email out to as many Tennesseeans as possible!
>
> Senator Alexander Voice: (202) 224-4944
> Senator Alexander Fax: (202) 228-3398
>
> When contacting the Senator prepare to state why this issue is of
> critical importance:
>
> The SKILLs Act (S. 1699)
> *     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.
> Thank you,
>
> Ann
>
>
> Ann Dutton Ewbank, Ph.D.
> 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
> http://libguides.asu.edu/education
>
>