Medium Vol.32 #3 Arrives in today's mail!

The Medium arrived today. The focus was Be the Link - For Student Success. I'm always in awe of the work that Alice, the editor, does to make each issue happen. I enjoyed browsing through the articles: Information about Puget Sound Council, small schools, T-L's part in K-12 education, Spokane moms, and more! I especially liked the article from our youngest correspondent (Sarah's baby). I was also reminded that I need to register for October's Joint Conference.

Destiny Training

My district, Edmonds, will be using Follett's Destiny circulation system beginning this year. We are saying so long to Winnebago! Yesterday and today half of use attended training (the other 1/2 train next week). We learned how to complete basic tasks and set up patron & material types. We also learned about the many reports we can print.
I think that my students and staff will like this new system. I especially like how lists can be created by myself and teachers and then shared with users. I'm also excited about having one search so students can search not only our catalog, but also our purchased data bases. It was fun to see many of my fellow librarians and meet some of the newer librarians in the district.
Now the challenge is to make everything work!

PSC May Meeting

I went to the May Meeting of the Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Literature at the UW-Bothell Library. We met at our old meeting room on the 2nd floor of the library because the Chair learned that the university was charging a custodial fee for the other space we've been using this year. I turned in 10 of my book reviews and I heard some great reviews and I will add some of the titles to my "buy" list. I shared the news from Edmonds during announcement time and a discussion ensued about issues in Northshore and Federal Way. I love this supportive community.

Edmonds District Librarian Meeting @ MW K-8

The librarians of the district met at Maplewood K-8 School this afternoon. John was our host. The meeting was faced paced. People shared information about the proposed library cuts that were eventually dropped. There was some sharing about how we needed to come together to prevent cuts in future years. We talked about tying our work to the new certification competencies. We also talked about effective communication with administration.
Other topics of the meeting included: district technology help, upcoming conversion to a Destiny circulation, electronic lockers for student work, CBA work with technology and strategies to thrive during the spring post-WASL research season.

CLP District Librarians Study Group @ TP K-8

The librarians participating in the Collaborative Literacy Project study group met today at Jenny's library at Terrace Park K-8 School. We talked about the chapters in "Strategies the Work" about determining importance in text, summarizing, and synthesizing. Ideas for lessons that develop these skills were shared. We also added 2002 & 2003 WCCPBA titles to our list of books that fit the various strategies. I'm looking forward to next month's meeting!

Great News about Edmonds Librarians

We learned this afternoon that the district is backing off of its plan to make the 6 smallest elementary schools have 1/2 time teacher-librarians. This is truly wonderful news. The smallest school (under 200 FTE) librarian will be .6, our district library services coordinator will be reduced to .5. So while the news is great, there are still going to be some cuts.
I know that there was a groundswell of community support for libraries. Parents from schools all over the district (not just the 6) email board members, district officials, and legislators. Librarians were working on educating their principals and other district staff. People at the IMD were working on educating district budget officials on the importance of full-time librarians.
Many people are still planning on attending tomorrow night's school board meeting and the librarians will be presenting an informational packet to the board.

First Ever Shoreline-Edmonds Librarian Social

After work today, a group of school librarians met at Scott's Bar & Grill on the snowy King/Snohomish County line. There were 4 from Shoreline and 5 from Edmonds, which is pretty good since Joanna & I decided to try this earlier this week. No agenda, we just had a social time. We talked about the proposed Edmonds cuts and how they can support our efforts to stop them. We learned about how each of our districts operates and we also learned about some good Chinese restaurants in Seattle. Some of us talked about how we might get a "friends of school libraries" organization started. It was a good time and we're thinking of doing this again in May/June.

WASL Testing Begins

In the Edmonds District, most elementary librarians are the testing coordinators for their buildings. That means a lot of extra work (at least this year there is a stipend!).
The end of last week I was sorting test booklets into class sets and organizing them into crates (I use a milk crate for each teacher/each test). Also last week, I lead the proctor training in my building, printing specialist schedule changes, divided pencils into class groups, printing "do not disturb" signs, and answered many questions from teachers (a lot of info. on dist. testing page).
So today the teachers came to the library this morning to sign out the test booklets for the day's testing. All the prep from last week made everything run smoothly.

Edmonds Librarians Crisis Meeting #2

After work, the district librarians met at Mountlake Terrace Elementary School to continue our work on preventing the budget-cut proposal that would effect the librarians at the 6 smallest elementary schools (blog). Tasks were divided: packet for school board, flyer for public, research, etc. The word is that although surplus notices went out, there is still some hope. It was another productive session. Everyone is to encourage others to attend next week's school board meeting.

OSPI Staffing Ratios Workgroup Meeting #1

I participated in OSPI's workgroup on staffing ratios representing WLMA. The workgroup is one of many that is working on developing OSPI's proposal for the Basic Education Task Force. We met at the Puget Sound ESD in Renton. Today's meeting focused on classified staff. Discussions about security, aides (educational assistants), and technology support were lively. I had the opportunity to talk to the value of library techs in supporting the library programs. People had questions about the difference between a certificated teacher-librarian and a library tech. I talked about the value a certificated professional brings to the program that a library tech can not. I was asked to bring a list of tasks that a library tech would complete and I'm working on that.

Edmonds Librarians Crisis Meeting

As most people were running out the building to head on spring break, I headed to Westgate Elementary for an important meeting. Mid-week, 6 librarians learned that their positions would be only half-time next year due to proposed district budget cuts. Most of the librarians from the district delayed their get-away plans to learn about what had happened, discuss strategy, and make plans.
We learned that the 6 smallest elementary schools in FTE were the one affected (Edmonds, Evergreen, Mountlake Terrace, Sherwood, Westgate, & Woodway). It was generally agreed that if the district makes these cuts this year, more will follow next year. We also learned that seniority might affect placement next year of these librarians, so other school might have a change in librarians.
The mood was shock and sadness because we have felt supported for so long (Edmonds has had full-time librarians at every school since 1979). There was also a sense of everyone coming together to see if we can change this proposal.
A blog has been set up and people began working on gathering data/information, organizing, and getting the word out to the community. Everyone agreed to talk to their principals about this issue. We also set up a yahoo group to keep communications off of the district email resources.
Although it seems like this is a pretty done deal, I think we're going to try our best because if we don't we'll be on a slippery slope

WLMA Legislative Wrap-up Meeting

The presidents (present, past, & elect), along with the advocacy committee chair, and our legislative liaison met at the Urban Onion in Olympia to discuss the $4.09 per student for libraries the legislature allocated in the supplemental budget. Marianne is preparing a brochure to let librarians know about the money and its uses. We also talked about how to be included in the definition of basic education in light of the work that the state Basic Education Task Force is starting. I left feeling hopeful about future WLMA advocacy work.

WCCPBA Spring Selection Meeting

The committee met at Wellington Elementary in Woodinville. Diane was our host. The committee discuss business items first. Two new members replaced retiring members this year. We now have someone from Spokane and Tacoma on the committee. As I'm moving into the WLMA President role next year, we selected a new co-chair! We decided to delay the 25 year poster to a 30 year poster, giving us a bit more time to collect permissions and possibly a new WCCPBA logo.
Here's how the book selection works. There are 3 rounds at the beginning. During a round each member book talks a book from the suggested title list (a list of about 100 books suggested by members from throughout the state). As a book is talked about, it is added to a table. After the 3rd round there are about 30 books on the table. Members then get up and discuss, debate, and consider. The titles everyone agrees on are placed on another table. Books that most members aren't excited about are moved off of the table. More discussion ensues until there are 20 books left.
During this discussion members are talking about how kids responded to the titles, diversity, type of story, and many other factors. It's very hard to get the list down to 20 and there are always some titles that you liked, but weren't in the group of 30. It's also about compromise, sometime you might not like every title on the final list. I've never seen a final list where everyone loved every book. All in all, the lists are pretty strong year after year.
The next job for the committee members is to develop lessons for each book. Members also have other tasks like: poster/sticker sales, creating a video, compiling the lessons, purchasing award plates and having them engraved, contact publishers for copyright permissions, contacting the winners, tabulating votes. The committee members are truly dedicated to this program and with over 100,000 votes each year, they have an impact on many students across Washington.

Book-It Theatre Assembly & Workshop

Book-It Theatre visited our school on this 1/2 day for students. The PTA sponsored assembly included "The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales" and "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs." I got students ready for the assembly by sharing the books with most of the classes. For instance, in grades 4 & 5 I've been working on fractured fairy tales, so this fit in very nicely. We compared the original version of 3 little pigs with other versions, looking specifically at characters, setting, problem, and solution. It paid off because the kids really enjoyed the performance.

Later the actors worked with one of the classes. In one hour: they came up with a story, divided the text to make it into a reader's theater, and had the kids perform! It gave me ideas for creating reader's theater scripts and using this in the future.

Author Visit - Cindy Aillaud

Alaskan teacher/photographer/author, Cindy Lou Aillaud, was at our school today. She shared her book "Recess at 20 Below." The visit was sponsored by my school's PTA. Cindy Lou did 2 assemblies (1 for primary, 1 for intermediate(top photo)). You could tell she was a former teacher, her programs were adapted for each level of kids and they were interesting. During the rest of the day, she met with smaller groups in the library to answer questions and talk about her writing process (lower photo). Our staff had a potato bar potluck in her honor for lunch! She autographed books for students and staff. At the end of the day she organized a game in the gym call "blizzard" which involves all of the student body. The entire school was divided into 2 teams and each grade level was brought up to throw "snowballs" into a container. It was amazing to hear the school cheer for each grade as they came up to compete. The scores were kept and at the end of the game, were combined to make a "school record!" Cindy Lou was affordable and I would recommend her visit to any elementary school.

WLMA Full Board Mtg. @ Sea-Tac

The Full Board of WLMA meet at the SeaTac Doubletree this weekend. It was a very productive 2-day-long meeting. Friday night included an auction (top photo) for our advocacy fund. We raised 1000$! Everyone brought items to sell and we had both a silent auction and regluar auction. It was a fun event. We also heard reports from the various WLMA committees and officers. Later, we organized ourselves into regions and we learned what each region has been doing since the fall conference. Saturday was a good work session. We signed thank you cards to legislators and their staff who supported the $4 million for school libraries (middle photo). We also focused on things that WLMA can do to increase member participation. In small groups we barinstormed a variety of questions and then reported back to the whole group. There were some great ideas and I felt like things were going to happen!

Social Studies CBA/TTT Meeting #2

Met today at the district office to further discuss the upcoming Social Studies CBA for 5th grade and how librarians and the "Teach the Teacher" program and support this effort. We discussed various issues that could be studied and have a rich level of resources. The group also discussed a timeline for rolling out the unit to 5th grade teachers. The social studies team was going to work on a unit for us to look at next time.

CLP District Librarians Study Group @ BRE

Our librarian "Collaborative Literacy Project" group met at my school today. We shared ideas from "Strategies that Work" with each other. At then end of the meeting we began looking at past Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees and tagged them with strategies (i.e. Questioning, visualizing, inferring) It was fun to refresh our minds with some of the old nominees (we did 2000 & 2001). We figured this was a great list of books because almost everyone has them in their libraries. Hopefully, we'll continue in creating this list.

Lunch with MLIS Study Group

While in my master's program at the Univeristy of Washington's iSchool, I got to work with 3 exceptional individuals throughout most of my program. We were put together in LIS 500 as an "other" group - we didn't like the prescribed topics - and had fun working together. As a result, we did projects together in most of the core classes. Today we met at Dad Watson's in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood for lunch and to catch-up. Among other things we talked about our work, families, politics, traffic, and libraries. One cool thing was that Erin brought her new "Kindle" from Amazon. Although I've seen the ads on the Amazon site, I hadn't thought much about the device. It's pretty cool and I see it as something that will have implications in the library world. It was compact, readable, and can hold up to 200 books. You could make notes and even highlight. I think it may just attract the new generation of readers.

Registered for ALA Conference - Anaheim

Beating the early registration deadline of March 7, I registered for the ALA Annual Conference. The conference will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. This will be the 3rd ALA convention I've attended. I signed up for the Caldecott/Newbery Banquet as I've done in past years and the One Nation - Many Voices event. I also made hotel reservations, but because last year ALA reserved rooms were reserved, I made my own reservation. I found a nearby "suite" type hotel, so I'll have a kitchen and perhaps I can save a little money on food. I look forward to seeing some of the people I worked with on ALA Emerging Leaders in 2007, attending some exciting and thought provoking workshops, representing WLMA at AASL Rep. Assembly, and the incredibly huge exhibit hall.

Superintendent's Visit @ BRE

This morning our school had a visit from the Edmonds School District superintendent. He attended our morning staff meeting and visited the classrooms, students, and staff throughout the building. At the meeting he updated us on construction and property projects, as well as, answered questions from the staff. He stopped by the library to ask how things were going. In addition to talking about the library program, I informed him about the legislative efforts for school libraries and asked for his support. He explained how the table (money) was only so big and when one group gets a mandate, it affects the other uses of the money.

2nd Annual Parade of Words

This was the 2nd year Brier has held a parade of words. We got our idea from the book "Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster" by Debra Frasier. Students and staff dressed up as a vocabulary word, then we paraded through the classrooms sharing our words with the rest of the school. The parade took about 30 minutes and included everyone! I chose "masthead" (right) as my word this year and dressed up in a newspaper motif. Others chose words like, tattletale, glitz (left), molecule, static cling, exoskeleton, and many more. Each outfit had to contain the word and a definition. It was a great literacy event for the entire building.

Edmonds District Librarian Meeting @ OHE

The librarians met at Oak Heights Elementary in the northern part of our district. We received an update on our new library automation system for next year. It will be nice to move to something newer with the ability to integrate databases into the OPAC search. We also started a discussion of using the upcoming Vancouver Olympics to promote reading. We learned about teachingbooks.net, a cool author/literature website. As always, the meeting went by fast and was filled with useful information.

District WASL Test-Coordinator Meeting

In the Edmonds Sch. District, most librarians (at the elementary level) are the building test-coordinators. This has been an annual event for test-coordinators. Today we heard from Assessment Director, Nancy Katims and her assistant, Kieran Edmunson about the procedures and policies regarding the upcoming WASL tests. We'll take all of the information back to our buildings to begin to build testing schedules, conduct test administrator training, and prepare for the onslaught of materials. At least this year we had a small stipend negotiated into the contract to cover the additional work we do to coordinate the tests.

Social Studies CBA/TTT Meeting

This afternoon, I was able to attend a meeting at the district office between the K-6 Social Studies District Lead, Teach the Teachers program leaders, and the Instructional Media Dept. (IMD). I felt honored to be asked to attend. The district is working on rolling out the civics CBA for 5th grade next year. The idea was to integrate the CBA with school librarian (and teacher-libraries) and technology. I learned about the Teach the Teacher's program, the district's plan for meeting with 5th grade teachers, and the inclusion of librarians. We shared what we knew about the CBAs and I shared the WLMA web-page for CBAs. I like how one of the technology folks said that the librarians are coaches for research. I'm excited about the prospect of teacher-librarians (we call ourselves LMS in Edmonds) taking an important role in the CBA effort.

Elementary Staff Inservice

The Edmonds District held a meeting of the entire elementary staff at the Lynnwood Convention Center. The event was to review where our district had been in the past, what is going on now, and what the future might bring. It was held at the Convention Center thanks to the Public Education Foundation (PEF). Superintendent, Nick Brossoit welcomed everyone; Ellen Kahan & Sue Venable, Asst. Superintendents (photo) set the stage for the mornings activities. We watched the "Did You Know" video and then began to discuss several questions in our table groups. The discussion at my table was pretty rich. A lot of the talk really focused around the "whole" child and how they will be effective in the 21st century. It seems that most were concerned that students don't get enough authentic problem solving opportunities and chances to become more sociable. I think from a library perspective we can offer both of those things in working with classroom teachers. I'm not sure exactly where the discussions of the morning may lead, but I like the fact that we're thinking about these things.

CLP District Librarian's Study Group @ CLS

The Collaborative Literacy Project is a big initiative in the elementary schools in the Edmonds School District. This Monday a group of librarians met at the Chase Lake Community School Library to discuss chapters 7&8 of "Strategies That Work, 2nd ed.". Patti, teacher-librarian at Chase Lake, was our host. I really enjoyed the time to share ideas, ask questions, and talk about books. Maggie, district literacy coach from the Teaching & Learning Dept. was present to guide our thinking and help answer questions. Paul shared a questioning grid he had found. We related it to our discussion of thick and thin questions.

Book Pick-up At All For Kids

This afternoon I picked up several copies of "Recess at 20 Below" by Cindy Aillaud. She is going to be our school's visiting author in March. I wanted to make sure that I had multiple copies so teachers could share her book with students before her visit. I used All For Kids as a vendor because I like to support the independent book sellers in the state. The customer service was great. I called them last week and while they didn't have more than 1 copy, they offered to order them for me and I had them in record time!

Fund our Future Washington Rally

During the lunch hour of the Washington Library Summit, we went to the steps of the Capitol in Olympia for a rally to support "Fund our Future Washington" and the pending legislation. There was a pretty good crowd, about 200 people. Some people brought their children and many took leave from work to attend. Although it was rainy, we listened to several legislators speak about the need for school libraries. I noticed that some told us (in a round about way) that we may not get everything in the SB6380, but it would be a beginning. I do agree that we are laying some strong groundwork with the legislature. The "Spokane moms" also spoke, as did a person from Portland announcing the creation of Fund our Future Oregon. I'm glad I was able to attend and see the committment of library supporters.

Washington School Library Summit

Meeting in the Washington Room of the Pritchard Building on the Washington State Capitol Campus, library leaders from around the state and nation met to discuss the current legislative push to require librarians in all Washington public schools and give the libraries money for resources. The day was truly inspirational. We heard from some great speakers: Jamie McKenzie, Gary Hartzell, Julie Walker (AASL Exec. Dir.), Mike Eisenberg, Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet (Antioch U. Pres.), Lorraine Roy (ALA Pres.), and Sara Kelly Johns (AASL Pres.). We also got to see the "Spokane moms" in person (top photo)! They are truly an inspiration. We discussed the importance libraries have on student learning in the 21st century. I really identified with Gary Hartzell's (lower photo) comment that librarians need to reshape their image - seize control - "don't let others define you."

Peggy Sharp Workshop

A group of the librarians from Edmonds School District took a trip to Portland, Oregon for our district inservice day. We attended "What's New in Children's Literature and How to Use it in Your Program" sponsored by Bureau of Education & Research (BER) and presented by Dr. Peggy Sharp. We spend the day learning about some of the best books published in 2007. It was great for me because I am currently working on ordering new books for the school. The day was fast paced and Dr. Sharp has a finely tuned sense of timing that makes the day fly by.

I was happy to sit next to my WCCPBA co-chair, Karen! I didn't know she was attending, so it was great to touch base.

After the workshop, we took a "field trip" to Portland's Powells City of Books. We had a lot of fun looking through the aisles of children's literature. I found a few books on sale that I bought for my library. It was a fulfilling day.

Scholastic Bookfair Luncheon

I attended a luncheon at Sherwood Elementary in Edmonds sponsored by Scholastic Bookfairs. We learned about different promotions and opportunities to raise money through the book fairs. Peggy Marsalus described this year's fair theme on "road trip" (photo). Laurie Manning, our regional rep. also shared information about how Scholastic puts the carts together for the bookfair. It was a fun and informative lunch.

Edmonds District Librarian Meeting @ MDE

This month the teacher-libarians in the Edmonds District met at Meadowdale Elementary School library in the north part of the district. We learned about podcasting. Some of the librarians shared tips and tricks. It is definitely something I'd like to try this year. I think I'll start with the 6th graders. We also learned about an online resource, teachingbooks.net . We also got updates on Title V money and our new automation system for next year.

Searching for Children's Choice Books

This evening I spent some time at the Secret Garden Bookshop in Ballard (how cool - WCCPBA promoted at the bookstore - photo). I was on a quest to find some books to go on our WCCPBA suggestion list.

Here's how it works: WLMA members from around the state suggest books, as do WCCPBA committee members. The long list is sent off to the committee members who spend the next 2 months reading and using the books with students. I also let my primary teachers read the books to their classes so I can get their thoughts about the titles. At our March meeting the committee whittles the list down to the 20 books that become WCCPBA nominees.

The books I added to the suggestion list as a result of my visit to Secret Garden are listed below. They are not in any order and I'm not personally committed to any one of them, that comes later. If you have any thoughts about these titles, let me know! All are 2007 copyright books.

"Hound from the Pound" by Jessica Swaim; "Nini Here and There" by Anita Lobel; "17 Things I'm not Allowed to do Anymore" by Jenny Offill; "Dogku" by Andrew Clements; "Righty and Lefty: A Tale of Two Feet" by Rachel Vail; "A Fishing Surprise" by Rae A. McDonald; "Not a Stick" by Antionette Portis; "The Cheese" by Margie Palatini; "Henry's Freedom Box" by Ellen Levine.

Legislative Hotline

I did it! I'm not sure why I was nervous or hesitant to call the Washington Legislative Hotline, but I was. So today I called (using my cell phone, in my car, before work hours). The lady who answered was very polite. She asked for my address (and phone number/email) so the legislators could contact me. She asked for my comment, which I read from the WSCLIT bookmark "I would like funding for school library programs to be included in the supplemental budget." She said the message would be sent to my district legislators and asked if I'd like to send it to the governor too, "of course," I said.

The process was so easy, I'm sure I will do this again as the library program issue gets into the muck of the legislature and for other issues I care about. One co-worker told me how they used the hotline's email feature to send the message to their legislator, I might try that sometime too.

Oz Region - Cookies, Tea, & Books

This afternoon I attended a meeting of WLMA's Oz Region. The gathering was held at Chris Gustafson's home (photo). The group was mostly middle school librarians. They shared books, tips for collaboration, and advice. I represented the WLMA Executive Board and shared information about the advocacy efforts and asked what kinds of things they'd like from WLMA. It was a fun, casual time that went by too quickly.

PSC January Meeting

Attended the January meeting of the Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Literature at the UW-Bothell campus this morning (photo- PSC officers deal with paperwork). I learned about some great books and chose a few more to review. During announcement time I let people know about the upcoming WCCPBA deadline and I shared information about the upcoming advocacy effort to require a certificated librarian at every school in the state. This started a lively discussion about what people have done and what they plan to do. One member shared her experience with calling the legislative hotline.

Visiting the Public Library

Stopped by Brier Public Library afterwork. I have some 2008 WCCPBA books on reserve because I'm beginning a picture book battle with my intermediate students and I needed extra copies. I was able to see Bryan, children's liason, and we were able to work out details about him visiting our kindergarten classes later this month. He also introduced me to the new branch manager, Marlene. It's always fun to stop by and say "hi." I also get to see which students stop by the public library after school.

WLMA Executive Board Meeting

The board met at Curtis JHS in University Place. The meeting was dominated by 2 issues: the WLMA budget and attempt at state legislation to require teacher-librarians at all public schools.

The board reviewed budget proposals and made adjustments. The amounts budgeted were pretty conservative, board members asked "is that realistic?" Since there were many new folks on the board, including the treasurer, there was a great deal of clarification. One of the big changes in the budget involved reorganizing public relations and legislative advocacy in to one broad category of "advocacy" with many sub-headings.

Jenn Maydole spoke at length about all of the movement that is happening regarding the push for legislation to require, with funding, a certificated librarian at every public school and resources. The effort has started w/ parents in Spokane and has been gathering steam. They have a petition and have been talking with legislators. There's going to be a summit in Olympia on February 1st. WLMA Exec. Board folks and Regional leaders are planning to attend. We'll get a chance to form a common message and talk to legislators. It's exciting. There was some lament expressed that more of the WLMA membership haven't participated in this effort, it seems many people are holding back. The petition is easy to complete. I've started to collect home emails from co-workers so I can send them the link to the petition without using district emails.

Also discussed: Executive board members visiting regional meetings to ask how WLMA can better serve the membership (I'm going to the Oz Region Meeting on Jan. 13); Location of the Full Board meeting in March (Kennewick); Report on Fall Conference '07 Finances.