In This Issue:  | | • | smf's REMARKS TO THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE | | | • | STOP THE DISMANTLING OF LAUSD LIBRARIES! | | | • | LAUSD School Teacher in Washington Post: “13 REASONS I’M OUTRAGED” | | | • | MODEL SCHOOL LIBRARY STANDARDS FOR CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | "What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education." --Harold Howe II, U.S. Commissioner of Education 1965–1968 - precursor to the Secretary of Education - implemented the first ESEA
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I stepped into the elevator at Beaudry on Wednesday morning and was joined by a young man with a paperback in his hand. (I am old, everyone else is young ...I'm judgmental that way.) As we rose into the Puzzle Palace, up past the cubicles that hold all the bureaucrats and consultants and whoever it is that works during spring break he read his book.
He was one of 'those': A Reader.
As I am one of ''those others': A Writer - I took notes.
He was reading Dostoevsky. And not Brothers Karamazov or Crime and Punishment ....but The Idiot.
As the assent slowed I thought about the speech I was about to give to the poor Bond Oversight Committee (who mistakenly thought they were done with me) about the importance of saving school libraries.
"I hope you thank that teacher who first taught you to read," I said. "And the librarians who fed the fire."
It was my elevator speech about saving school libraries.
I only have one other thing to add Or subtract. (There's math in in there somewhere.).
What if we were to add up all the salaries of all the budgeteers and beancounters and educarats - the practitioners-of-false-economy who hide behind logical fallacy and whine that "in these difficult times" we must choose between counselors and school nurses and art and music programs - and libraries and librarians."
Or worse yet: those who claim they "are prepared-or-willing to make the 'hard choices' on our behalf". (I heard that little speech at a school board candidate debate Wednesday night.)
If that's the public school choice I choose not to choose. Because the times will only get more difficult in the future for the young people they choose to shortchange today.
Instead I vote to fire all those idiots (with apologies to Dostoevsky's idiot/hero, Prince Myshkin) no matter how senior and voluntarily hard-choosing they are. How many nurse and counselor and arts+music teacher and teacher-librarian/library aide jobs can we preserve with their salaries? How many children's educations can we save? It isn't like the money is being well-spent.
Happy Eastover everyone!
Onward/Adelante! - smf
smf's REMARKS TO THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
"In the nonstop tsunami of global information, librarians provide us with floaties and teach us how to swim."-- Linton Weeks, Washington Post, Jan. 13, 2001.
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Public comment by Scott Folsom to the LAUSD School Construction Bond Citizens' Oversight Committee | Wed, 20 April 2011:
Good afternoon. I'm back. My friend and occasional debating adversary Caprice Young once said how much better it was to stand and speak on this side of the horseshoe than the one you are on. General MacArthur famously quoted an old barracks ballad that I will abuse even further: "Old Bond Oversight Committee Members Never Die - they won’t even go away."
I'm here to agree with the other public speakers about the importance of and threat to school libraries in the current budget cuts. I am not here to protect librarians jobs or library aides jobs.- though that is important. I am not eve her to protect the voters will and the taxpayers investment in school libraries and collections paid for in the bonds from BB to k, R, Y and Q. Or to argue that the District is violating contracts made with outside partners like Wonder of Reading, Access Books, PTA's and parent groups to convert and build libraries. Those contracts hinged on agreement that said "If you build it we will staff it - and those promises are being broken as the District eliminates teacher librarian and library aide positions. This is balderdash and I'm being kind.
It is in the library that students learn to do independent study. Where they learn to do research in the book stacks, in the reference collection, in the encyclopedia on the internet. It is here that they learn to read for pleasure. It is here that they learn to think for themselves. Not by themselves, but with the assistance of trained professionals - teacher-librarians and library aides.
I am here to rail about the lack of investment and vision and commitment to education in failing to investment in the future of students in failing to support school libraries.; The District has cleverly made this a local decision - letting principals and school site councils decide whether to staff libraries.
I am also concerned about the integrity of library collections. Books will disappear with no one in charge.
We have heard that libraries will be equipped with Kiosks. The reality is that this is nothing new or additional - it is the current collection software and hardware being operated by teachers, students or volunteers. It's like those surplus police cars parked prominently 24/7 in shopping mall parking lots. An unmanned police car is not a policeman, a vacant library desk is not a librarian. The Ed Code provides qualifications for teacher librarians and library aides - an empty desk and bar code reader don’t meet the qualifications.
The Districts Chief Instructional Officer has said that we will not recognize school libraries as they evolve in the future - but just because they will change doesn’t mean that we need to disinvest in them. Eliminating librarian positions isn't a strategy or a plan, it us a lack thereof - and a blueprint for mediocrity.
STOP THE DISMANTLING OF LAUSD LIBRARIES!
"School libraries help teachers teach and children learn. Children and teachers need library resources--especially books--and the expertise of a librarian to succeed. Books, information technology and school librarians who are part of the schools' professional team are basic ingredients for student achievement." -- First Lady Laura Bush.
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by an Nationally Board Certified Teacher-Librarian in an LAUSD school
In a meeting on March 31st, Judy Elliot, Chief Academic Officer for LAUSD, revealed her vision for LAUSD's over 600 school libraries:
● “Libraries will never look the same”
● “Libraries are probably not going to be staffed next year”
● “Kids will have access to libraries under the supervision of a (classroom) teacher.”
● “Kiosks will be set up in libraries for (classroom) teachers to use to check books out to their own class students.”
When asked “Why are we filling new libraries with books if there will be no one to run them?” Ms. Elliott's response: “The bond requires it” implying that it doesn't require the libraries to be staffed.
This “vision” will adversely affect every single student AND teacher in LAUSD.
This “vision” is NOT purely about budget, it is a vendetta against school libraries.
The school board and the administration they hire MUST be held accountable for this: Cortines, Deasy, and Ms. Elliott.
WHAT is the DATA behind this decision?
HOW will its effects be measured over time?
HOW will THEIR PERFORMANCE be rated based upon the effects of the decisions the make?
WHO provided the research behind the decision?
WHAT TRANSPARENCY and INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS was provided before adopting this policy?
NONE of the decision makers understand or are willing to recognize what library staff provides to student achievement. The DATA and RESEARCH from across the country PROVE that a strong school library is imperative to student achievement.
The belief is, is that a Teacher Librarian “checks out books..”
TL'S ARE IN FACT RESPONSIBLE FOR:
● providing instructional leadership to the entire school staff provide leadership in the acquisition and
● implementation of technology in instruction
● collaborating with teachers in the creation and execution of rigorous standards based projects and assignments
● provide instruction to every student on how to access, evaluate and ethically use ALL sources of information
● maintain and provide assistance to students to access the ONLY source of technology available to every student, staff member and the entire school community.
● Maintain a public presence through a library web site that allows access to the catalog, electronic sources, library programs and instruction
● provide teachers with print and electronic source lists that support their instruction develop the collection to reflect the standards of every subject and the recreational reading requirements of the school community
● provide programs such as book fairs, battle of the books, and book clubs that foster a love of reading and improve literacy
● manage the collection, staff and budgets so the information it provides is available and viable for the present and the future
Libraries have been an integral part of instruction since antiquity. Study after study proves the effect school libraries have on instruction. and student achievement.
The state education code requires a staffed school library. The state recently adopted school library standards.
Yet in the face of it, this small group of people have decided otherwise. Their decision begs many questions:
WHO will be responsible for maintaining the collection?
WHO will be responsible for the proper shelving and organization of the library?
WHO will be responsible for the selection, purchase and processing of new books, as well as selection and access to electronic sources?
WHO will be responsible for teaching how to access the information, evaluate it for its efficacy, and learn how to use it in a way that is comprehensible?
WHO will be responsible for the teaching of the ethical use of technology, the Internet, and the proper citation of sources?
WHO will be responsible for access to the library outside of instructional hours?
WHO will be responsible for providing the instructional staff with training and use of electronic sources, effective use of the Internet, and correlations between the standards and available information sources?
IS THIS ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY THAT IS GOING TO PLACED ON OUR ALREADY OVERLOADED AND STRESSED CLASSROOM TEACHERS?
WE MUST STOP THIS MADNESS! THE DECISION MAKERS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! ONLY A PUBLIC OUTCRY WILL FACILITATE CHANGE.
DO NOT LET THE SCHOOL BOARD BLAME SACRAMENTO.
THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WAY IN WHICH THEY SPEND THE MONEY THEY DO HAVE.
STAFFING OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES REPRESENTS ONLY 2.4% OF THE BUDGET DEFICIT, YET AFFECTS THE ENTIRE SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
WHY NOT CLOSE ALL THE LOCAL DISTRICT OFFICES? NOT ONE CLASSROOM WOULD BE AFFECTED.
LAUSD School Teacher in Washington Post: “13 REASONS I’M OUTRAGED”
"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better. It's an enormous force for good."- President Obama (He's not right all the time; none of us are. But he is right about this ...as are we all.)
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By Kathie Marshall in Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet in the Washington Post | http://wapo.st/gvHeXj
WP: Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 04/21/2011 - This was written by Kathie Marshall, a veteran public school teacher in California. She is a a member of the Teacher Leaders Network and the Accomplished California Teachers group. She currently teaches language arts at Pacoima Middle School.
In May 2005, I wrote an op-ed for one of our Los Angeles newspapers, in which I vented my frustrations about the state of education in my community. Here’s some of what I said:
“I’ve been an educator in the Los Angeles area for more than 30 years in grades two through eight, including general education, second-language learner, gifted, special-education and intervention students. I’ve taught some of the wealthiest families to some of the poorest, in both private and public schools. For the past four years I have been a literacy coach at a middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, working with teachers and students to improve instruction and learning. And I have to tell you, many things that have taken place in education over the last decade have me mad!”
Lately I’ve been feeling a powerful urge to vent again. Fellow teachers can probably relate. So here’s an updated version:
Nearly six years have passed, and I’m not just mad – I’m outraged. I’ve been an educator for nearly four decades now, and the current and continuing onslaught against public education is unprecedented.
I’M OUTRAGED that President Obama has so let down public educators by enabling the continuing rhetoric against bad teachers and failing schools, all the while neglecting to undo the worst aspects of No Child Left Behind. What happened to those campaign promises for meaningful reform?
I’M OUTRAGED that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan continues his laser-like focus on teacher evaluations and monetary rewards based on unreliable standardized test scores, without addressing ongoing problems of “teaching to the test” and the narrowing of curriculum—especially in low-performing schools. Where will Duncan position himself when the achievement gap widens even more?
I’M OUTRAGED that Michelle Rhee is still a media darling, appearing on CBS and Fox News to publicize her “Save Great Teachers” campaign and undo teacher seniority in layoffs, as though all or even most great teachers are among the recently hired. Why isn’t Rhee out there exposing the dire state of education financing and its impact on poor and minority children, campaigning for a return to budgetary sanity in public education?
I’M OUTRAGED that a handful of extremely wealthy individuals increasingly control the policy agenda and use their big bucks to force corporate solutions on schools where many students are suffering the consequences of poverty and Wall Street’s reckless raids on the economy. How can we continue to allow them to persist in their delusions that they know best what should happen in students’ lives?
I’M OUTRAGED that scores of media continue to exclude teacher experts and teacher leaders from substantive conversations about education reform. How do teachers morph themselves into media darlings?
I’M OUTRAGED that California politicians have so destroyed the eighth largest economy in the world that we are close to having a third-world educational system in place. Who’s going to want to educate my beloved grandchildren when they enter school?
I’M OUTRAGED that the workforce at my large high-needs middle school, where we accomplished the nearly unheard of goal of increasing the state Academic Performance Index score by 47 points last year, continues to be gutted. How are we to make do next year with two assistant principals instead of four? With four clerical workers instead of 12? With one custodian instead of five? No magnet school coordinator? No librarian? No literacy coach? No math coach? No nurse?
I’M OUTRAGED that 15 more of my school’s most talented, experienced teachers are going through the turmoil of Reduction in Force notices – informed that they may, in fact, be jobless after June. Who understands how valuable these teachers are to the future of public education?
I’M OUTRAGED that the tireless dedication of my principal is being rewarded with the continual spiraling down of paid days in which to perform her job well and the continual ratcheting up of pressures to demonstrate teacher effectiveness and student learning. How is she supposed to support us with so little support herself?
I’M OUTRAGED that my students, growing up in one of the poorest communities in Los Angeles, are expected to perform better than ever while being provided with fewer and fewer resources in and out of school during these dismal economic times. Who cares about students who’ve lost their homes? Lost a parent? Speak little English? Didn’t eat yesterday?
I’M OUTRAGED that after a decade of ill-informed rants against bad teachers and failing schools, now the pundits and politicians are coming after our pensions and health benefits. With the added insult that in 15 states, including my own, Social Security benefits will be reduced by approximately 40% because a partial teacher pension is considered “double dipping.” How is it that my 37 years in this important role now counts for so little as I near retirement?
I’M OUTRAGED that so few Americans attempt to understand the dedication and long hours that are required in the teaching profession and so easily accept media portrayals of teachers as being overpaid for their “cushy part time” jobs. Where, oh where is the public outcry against teacher-bashing and the decimation of school budgets?
MOST OF ALL, I’M OUTRAGED over the growing negative impact on teachers of all of the above. Across the country, teachers are feeling disrespected, unappreciated, threatened, demoralized, and defeated. Nonetheless, we appear daily before our treasured students with a smile and a new, important lesson for the day.
When will those in power and position finally understand that in order to have a strong, vibrant, economically sound future for America, we must give teachers respect, empower them to reform their profession, and support them with adequate finances to realize our dreams for all our students?
smf: Susan Ohanian in her reblog of this article [http://bit.ly/hy6Km4] - which has gone viral - asks: "How does a school prevent total disarray when going from five custodians to one? A school with 2,188 students and only one custodian???
"The school's website boasts of 15,000 books in the library. But Kathie Marshall notes they have no librarian."
MODEL SCHOOL LIBRARY STANDARDS FOR CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE
"If we didn't have libraries, many people thirsty for knowledge would dehydrate." --Megan Jo Tetrick, age 12, Daleville, IN
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Adopted by the State Board of Education, Sept 16, 2010 | http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/lb/
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted the Model School Library Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (Library Standards) under the authority of California Education Code Section 18101, which requires the SBE to “adopt standards, rules and regulations for school library services.” The Library Standards include two types of standards:
“SCHOOL LIBRARY STANDARDS FOR STUDENTS” that delineate what students should know and be able to do at each grade level or grade span to enable students to succeed in school, higher education, and the workforce.
“SCHOOL LIBRARY PROGRAM STANDARDS” that describe base-level staffing, resources and infrastructure, including technology, required for school library programs to be effective and help students to meet the school library standards.
The Library Standards recognize that school libraries have evolved from simply providing print materials to offering rich selections of print, media, and digital resources; from teaching students how to search a card catalog to teaching students strategies for searching a variety of print, media and digital resources; from teaching basic reading literacy to teaching information literacy (the ability to access, evaluate, use, and integrate information and ideas effectively). The student standards also include the legal, ethical and safe use of information both in print and online, other aspects of cyber safety, and use of technology.
The “School Library Standards for Students” are organized around four concepts: Students access information
1. Students evaluate information
2. Students use information
3. Students integrate information literacy skills into all areas of learning
Each concept is followed by three to four overarching standards that continue across all grade levels and form the basis for detailed standards at each grade level or grade span. The detailed standards increase in complexity through the grades. For example:
Overarching standard 3.1 states that the student will “demonstrate ethical, legal and safe use of information in print, media and online resources.” Here are examples of detailed grade level standards:
Grade 1 3.1.b Understand that the Internet connects the user to the rest of the world.
Grade 2 3.1.c Demonstrate basic knowledge of the district or school’s acceptable use policy.
Grade 3 3.1.a Define cyberbullying and its effects.
Grade 5 3.1.a Record bibliographic information in an acceptable format.
Grade 7-8 3.1.a Explain ethical and legal issues related to the use of intellectual property including print, visual, audio, and online materials (e.g., fair use, file sharing).
Grade 9-12 3.1.b Understand the differences between quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing and apply these skills to own work.
The Library Standards are not stand-alone standards taught in isolation but are meant to be taught collaboratively by the classroom teacher and the teacher librarian in the context of the curriculum.
Organization of the Standards This is an overview including the overarching standards under the four concepts.
1. Students access information
The student will access information by applying knowledge of the organization of libraries, print materials, digital media, and other sources.
1.1 Recognize the need for information.
1.2 Formulate appropriate questions.
1.3 Identify and locate a variety of resources online and in other formats by using effective search strategies.
1.4 Retrieve information in a timely, safe, and responsible manner.
2. Students evaluate information
The student will evaluate and analyze information to determine what is appropriate to address the scope of inquiry.
2.1 Determine the relevance of the information.
2.2 Assess the comprehensiveness, currency, credibility, authority, and accuracy of resources.
2.3 Consider the need for additional information.
3. Students use information
The student will organize, synthesize, create, and communicate information.
3.1 Demonstrate ethical, legal, and safe use of information in print, media, and digital resources.
3.2 Draw conclusions and make informed decisions.
3.3 Use information and technology creatively to answer a question, solve a problem, or enrich understanding.
4. Students integrate information literacy skills into all areas of learning The student will independently pursue information to become a lifelong learner.
4.1 Read widely and use various media for information, personal interest, and lifelong learning.
4.2 Seek, produce, and share information.
4.3 Appreciate and respond to creative expressions of information.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
"Cutting libraries during a recession is like cutting hospitals during a plague."- Eleanor Crumblehulme, library assistant, University of British Columbia
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COULD TEACHERS VETO CHARTER OPTION?: DISPUTE OVER WORDING OF ‘PARENT TRIGGER’ OPTIONS By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://bit.ly/hZne0d
FAIR TAXATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SACRIFICE
Themes in the News for the week of April 18-22, 2011 - A weekly commentary written by UCLA IDEA on the important issues in education as covered by the news media | http://bit.ly/ghaMrk
LAUSD School Teacher in Washington Post: “13 REASONS I’M OUTRAGED”: By Kathie Marshall in Valerie Strauss’ Answe... http://bit.ly/frI0e1
School Food stories without Jamie Oliver!: CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL BANS HOME-PACKED LUNCHES: Students are not allo... http://bit.ly/f5HgBB
smf to Bond Oversight Committee: SAVE SCHOOL LIBRARIES: by smf for 4LAKids: comments to school construction bond... http://bit.ly/fsguPb
AUTHOR DAVINA FERREIRA DENOUNCES LAUSD’s DECISION OF ELIMINATING LIBRARIANS FROM SCHOOLS: Young Author Strongly ... http://bit.ly/gdnsOm
2
The news is wacky in: CALIFORNIA Prisoner wants sex change TEXAS Gun falls out of kindergarten backpack, wounds 3 Glad to be from CA !! -smf
Editorial: NEW WAYS TO EVALUATE TEACHERS + smf’s 2¢: San Gabriel Valley Tribune Editorial | http://bit.ly/hysZuH... http://bit.ly/icO3ou
FEDERAL EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS IN THE 2011 CONUNTUING RESOLUTION: By Jeff Simering, Director of Legislation, COUN... http://bit.ly/fnF2Qv
CELEBRATION IN SYMPHONY AND SONG: The 8th Annual LAUSD Middle School Honor Music Festival: from the arts educati... http://bit.ly/hIegx1
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Don't miss the 2011 CALIFORNIA STATE PTA ANNUAL CONVENTION
April 28 – May 1, 2011
Long Beach CA
http://bit.ly/ih1c83
THE 2011 LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS is where readers can meet their favorite authors, kids can watch children’s books come to life, and families can enjoy the fun of reading together. The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held:
Saturday April 30, 2011 from 10am – 6pm
Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 10am – 5pm at:
University of Southern California
Click here for map.
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.
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