Advocacy @ SLJ Summit October 9, 2009
Posted by jfreeman in : Advocacy, Spokane Moms , 1 comment so farLisa Layera Brunkan, one of the “Spokane Moms,” recently gave the keynote speech at the SLJ Summit. Here is a 4-minute YouTube video showing Lisa talking about advocacy and showcasing our students and library programs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ZyUDqbZf8
Victory in Washington for School Libraries April 21, 2009
Posted by jfreeman in : Advocacy, Spokane Moms , add a commentSchool Library Journal posted an article today about the inclusion of language including media specialists and library materials as an official part of Washington State’s definition of basic education for “prototypical” schools, as passed by the state legislature yesterday.
This unprecedented recognition of school libraries as essential to basic education is the result of difficult, time-consuming work by the Spokane Moms, Lisa Layera Brunkan, Denette Hill and Susan McBurney, as well as the efforts of Washington teacher-librarians to lobby the state legislature for this language.
Read more at School Library Journal online:
Washington Makes School Library History
Teacher-librarians = Core teachers January 24, 2009
Posted by jfreeman in : Advocacy, Hot Topics, Spokane Moms , 1 comment so farWhen you have a dedicated group of parents, librarians and legislators, good things happen. Last fall Washington State school libraries were the recipients of a $4 million grant from the state, due to the efforts of school library advocates, including the “Spokane Moms,” librarians, library supporters, and legislators across the state.
Now, another piece of good news out of Washington: the inclusion of school librarians as part of the “Core Instructional Program” of Basic Education in the recommendations prepared by the Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance. The Joint Task Force (JTF) has been working for a year and a half to review the definition and funding for basic education in Washington State. Teacher-librarians and their advocates worked hard to have librarians moved from the category of “Educational Staff Associates” (including nurses and counselors) to “Core Teachers” and in the JTF final recommendations, librarians are now part of the Core Instructional Program.
Other recommendations include:
- Allocation of $155 per student for “Textbook, Library Books, and Other Materials”
- Allocation of $200 per student for student technology
- Function of teacher-librarian be redefined as including information literacy, technology, and media
- That a full-time teacher-librarian is necessary with the allocation based upon the number of students to be served (400-600 depending on the type of school)
These recommendations have resulted in two bills being introduced this past week in the Washington State legislature, HB 1410 and SB 5444, incorporating these recommendations, among many others from the JTF. The future is still uncertain, with a newly elected State Superintendent and the economic forecast, but unwavering advocacy has resulted in heightened awareness of teacher-librarians and their important role in students’ education.
For more information:
- Fund Our Future Washington website: http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org
- Joint Task Force Report: http://www.leg.wa.gov/documents/joint/bef/FinalReport.pdf
Libraries: essential to basic education June 13, 2008
Posted by jfreeman in : Spokane Moms , add a commentWashington State’s Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance is examining public education funding, an issue not addressed satisfactorily in over 30 years. The essential but difficult question: “What should be included in the state funding of basic education?”
The latest advocacy effort of the Spokane Moms, Fund Our Future Washington, and our teacher-librarians is to inform the Task Force about the need for adequate and sustained funding in the funding formula for school libraries and certified teacher-librarians.
A draft proposal presented this past week at a public meeting of the Task Force by Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, includes these elements:
- Libraries provide critical support for the state’s academic learning goals by improving student access to information to solve problems and use technology applications to improve their learning.
- State funding should include
- a teacher-librarian allocation of 1:500 students
- a library aide allocation of 1:500 elementary students, 1:750 middle school students, 1:1,000 high school students
- $25 per student for library collections and equipment
- Libraries should not always be a way to provide teachers with planning time. This proposal will encourage more frequent interaction between the teacher, librarian, and students, ensuring that libraries are an extension of classroom learning and linked to learning standards.
Support from the Superintendent is very important, but there are other groups hoping to get funding and this process is far from over. They are still collecting information to make a decision by early 2009. We are encouraged that libraries are part of the discussion, thanks to the tireless advocacy of the Spokane Moms.
If you are coming to ALA in Anaheim, consider attending the Advocacy Institute on Friday, June 27th, featuring the Spokane Moms:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issues/advocacyinstitute.cfm
Success for school library funding in Washington State March 12, 2008
Posted by jfreeman in : Hot Topics, Spokane Moms , 2commentsGrassroots efforts can make a difference in a short period of time! The Washington State legislature listened to their constituents’ concerns about school library funding, today releasing a supplemental budget with $4 million allocated to public school library programs, averaging just over $4.00 per student. While it is not the original $12 million found in the Senate’s version of the budget, it is a huge victory to be a newly funded item in a supplemental budget year when financial prospects are bleak.
Lisa Layera Brunkan, Denette Hill, and Susan McBurney, the “Spokane Moms,” and their grassroots organization, Fund Our Future Washington, called upon the Washington Library Media Association’s members and anyone else they could find to write letters, walk the halls of the capitol buildings, call the legislative hotline, and flood elected officials with stories and information about school libraries. Over 5500 people signed a petition supporting school libraries, communicating local support and understanding of the importance of school libraries to the legislators. Sara Kelly Johns and Loriene Roy supported the Washington State efforts and came to Olympia, Washington, to the School Library Summit in January. Nationally and locally, this issue is capturing the attention of librarians, parents, school boards, and now, legislators.
This commitment from the Washington State legislature is the first step to permanent funding for school libraries, as next year is another budget cycle and a reevaluation of the state’s Basic Education Act. A goal for the next legislative session is for school libraries to be considered essential to basic education. It seems possible in light of the legislature’s heightened awareness of the role that school libraries have in the education of our children.
To read the Spokane Moms’ first-hand account of the past few months, see their blog: http://librariesfordemocracy.org/fundfuture/.
The Power of Parents March 3, 2008
Posted by jfreeman in : Spokane Moms , add a commentAfter years of trying to bring the erosion of school libraries to the attention of our state legislature, Washington State teacher-librarians now stand in awe of the power of the parents to get something done and get it done fast.
Within just a few months, three Spokane mothers (the “Spokane moms”), appalled that their children’s teacher-librarians were cut back to help meet a district budget shortfall, have changed our world and given us hope. The tireless efforts of Lisa Layera Brunkan, Susan McBurney and Denette Hill and their grassroots group Fund Our Future Washington are inspiring. Legislators are now aware of the difficult budgetary decisions school districts make that often result in fewer qualified librarians and lack of up-to-date materials. Many legislators support a line item in the budget for school libraries, though the outcome is still unknown at this time.
It is often difficult to get someone to hear you when you are trying to save your program, even though you are fighting because you know you make a difference to children. To have someone else think that what you do is important enough for them to leave their families, travel hours across the state numerous times, and meet with powerful state legislators while learning about the legislative process, is heartening, to say the least. We have hope in Washington State because when someone else gives you hope, you begin to believe amazing things might happen.
Every school has parents who believe their libraries and librarians are important. They may not know about the Illinois study or how much a small budget affects a library’s effectiveness. What they do know is that their child started out reading “Captain Underpants” and now is reading “Eragon” and loving it. They see that their child comes home excited about a research project because they know how to find information effectively. Millions of these stories are happening every day across our country in libraries staffed by qualified librarians.
We know that parents can make a difference because they are doing so in Washington State. It is a reminder to think about how we are reaching out to parents so that they know what we do for every child in the school. How are we communicating the information about well-funded school libraries and test scores to our parents? Our principals and school boards hear it from us constantly, but we must not forget the power of the parents to make miraculous things happen. Fund Our Future Oregon has already begun their efforts for Oregon’s school libraries. Which state’s parents will be the next to join the fight?
