Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Is Checking Out Too Big a Price to Pay?

I did some weeding in my library today.  I placed books of interest to adults in the faculty room and books of interest to teens in the library entrance.  I sent an email to staff telling them where to find the books.

I was really surprised by the response.

Teachers immediately started looking at the cart before I had finished rolling it into the faculty room.  Teachers also came out of their way to visit the library in order to view the books I had put aside for teens.

Why?


ESSA: Victory for Libraries!

ESSA:  What you need to know!

ESSA stands for the Every Student Succeeds Act, a new bill signed in last month by President Obama.  ESSA is basically a renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and seeks to fix many of the issues found in NCLB (No Child Left Behind).

In short, ESSA gives the states more power over how to teach our students. Basic changes include:


  •          The number of tests and the grades tested remains the same, but states now have the flexibility in how and when they administer those tests.
  •          Common Core is no longer required by states.
  •          Accountability goals are now almost entirely up to the states.
  •          “Failing” schools have more choices regarding interventions for improvement.
how does this affect libraries?


Lead to the Normal

We need to normalize mistakes and bad hair days. Not knowing the answer to questions even though we are library workers. We need to normal...