[aisle] ADVOCATE FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES!

[Janine Asmus]

Good Morning!

Below is a letter sent to *The Chicago Tribune*, advocating for school
librarians and school libraries. Your AISLE Board/Team are advocates! If
you would like to write a letter, please do!

__________________________**
Janine M. Asmus
Leyden High Schools District # 212
Librarian, West Campus
Alumni Wall of Fame Coordinator
*2019 Illinois School Librarian of the Year*
*AISLE Board Member*
1000 N. Wolf Road
Northlake, IL 60164
847.451.3140
@asmusj  <https://twitter.com/asmusj?lang=en>🐦
_______________________________________________________________*


Dear Letter to the Editor:


Cutting certified school librarians is shortsighted and detrimental to
students, yet it happens with shocking regularity across our country. ln
several Illinois school districts, school administrators and school boards
recently relegated their school librarians to budgetary fodder. School
librarians know the importance and impact of independent reading,
information, and media literacy. We know kids who read will score higher on
standardized tests, and more importantly, will find joy, adventure,
empowerment, and knowledge through reading. School librarians often change
the educational trajectory of students who come to the library not knowing
what to read or not wanting to read. Maybe that was once your student - the
same student who now comes into the library asking with genuine excitement,
“Do you have another book just like this one?!”


The school library isn't what it used to be, nor is the school librarian.
The cliche'-ridden notions are no more. The old stereotype of a school
library as a quiet place with a shushing, scolding librarian is the
opposite of true in today’s school. It is still a place to read, but it is
also that "third" space where students can tinker and explore.  Many school
libraries have makerspaces where 3D printers and robotics are at the
ready.  Here, students use their imaginations to create and iterate. For
some students the school library is a respite. And in a world bombarded
with information, learning how to discern credible information is
imperative within a 21st Century educational paradigm. The school library
and school librarian are at the very heart of this practice.


If you are a student or parent of a student and you value the gift of
reading, research, and literacy, please contact your school district’s
Board of Education to let these elected members know that closing school
libraries and cutting certified school librarians is not what is best for
students.


Happy School Library Month!


Janine M. Asmus, Board Member, Association of Illinois School Library
Educators (AISLE)

Gail Meyer, Board Member, Association of Illinois School Library Educators
(AISLE)

Andrea Perrin, License Renewal Manager (AISLE)

Robyn Whitlock, Membership Chair (AISLE)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.railslibraries.info/pipermail/aisle/attachments/20220411/da57afe2/attachment.html>