In this issue…
SAYL News in Brief
News in Brief includes the average reading time with the source information.
Bridging the Gaps AkLA Conference (AkASL)
The Bridging the Gaps AkLA conference has encouraged members of AkASL to make a bridge to our parter library associations: AKLA, AASL, and ALA.
AASL President Steve Yates, Assistant Professor & Coordinator for the School
Library Media Certification Program at the University of Alabama, and ALA President Elect Loida A. Garcia-Febo , President – Information New Wave (NY) were part of the conference and offered advocacy support to AkASL.
We encourage you to join AkASL as well as our affiliates to reap the full benefits for your libraries, your patrons, and your professional self.
April is School Library Month [AASL. Resource]
“School Library Month is the American Association of School Librarians’ celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in transforming learning.”
Governor Signs Law that Allows Florida School Librarians to be Armed [School Library Journal. 2 min.]
Students Find Their Voice—Online and Off—During National Walkouts [EdSurge. 4 min.]
Teenagers and Community Engagement: The Developmental Picture [AASL Knowledge Quest. 2 min.]
Districts Turn to Social Media, But Parents Prefer Emails, Calls, and Texts [Education Week: Digital Education. 2 min.]
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Scholarships, Grants and Awards Opportunities
Closing March 21st. The Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes. Attend a week-long professional development program in the practice of teaching with primary sources, K-12.
Closing March 31st. Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant. Up to $500 “to provide creative, innovative programs that support or extend the Common Core Standards in education”
Closing April 12. NEA Challenge America Grant (part 1). $10,000 (minimum $10,000 match required) for programs that “extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.”
Closing April 15. Penguin Random House Foundation Library Awards for Innovation. $1,000 – $10,000 plus $1000 in PRH books to public libraries (or school libraries serving the capacity of public libraries) “creating innovative community-based programs, which encourage citizens to participate and support reading initiatives that connect libraries with their community.”
Closing April 20th. Snapdragon Book Foundation Grant. $500 – $20,000 to improve school libraries for disadvantaged children (primarily project-based collection development).
Closes May 1st. Girls Who Code Club Fund. $300 for existing Girls Who Code clubs for experiences encouraging girls to get excited about learning computer science.
Closes May 4th. Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming. $5000 to a “school library that has conducted an exemplary program or program series in the humanities during the prior school year.”
For the complete record of scholarships, grants, and other award opportunities posted in SAYL Mail, visit the SGA Archives.
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Employment Opportunities
Librarian, North Pole High School, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
Additional and up-to-date information at Alaska Teacher Placement
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Training and Continuing Education Opportunities
The following webinars are no cost and run approximately one hour unless otherwise noted. Opportunities not fitting your schedule? Many of these webinars will later be available as archives.
Monday, March 19th, 11:30 – noon – Shopping for Titles in Marketplace (K-12) [OverDrive]
Tuesday, March 20th, 3pm – Your State Association Supporting AASL Standards for Your Local Context [AASL]
Wednesday, March 21st, 7am – NCompass Live: Reading Diversely [Nebraska Library Commission]
Wednesday, March 21st, 10am – LGBTQAI+ Books to Share, Conversations to Have [Association for Library Services to Children]
Wednesday, March 21st, 1pm – Makerspace Successes, Makerspace Challenges [edWeb]
Thursday, March 22nd, 10am – The Newest Graphic Novels: What’s Hot for Spring [School Library Journal]
Thursday, March 22nd, 1:30pm – In Depth With the New AASL Standards, Part III [AASL]
Monday, March 26th, noon – Securing Grant Funding for Your STEAM and Coding Programs [edWEb]
Tuesday, March 27th, 10am – Boosting STEM Engagement Through Play [Booklist]
Tuesday, March 27th, 11am – Contests, Campaigns & Incentives: Ideas to Engage Students with Reading [School Library Journal]
Wednesday, March 28th, 11am – Robotics, Maker Spaces, and Mixed Reality, Oh, My! [School Library Journal]
Wednesday, March 28th, noon – Integrating Digital Literacy into Core Subject Areas [edWeb]
Save the Date!
As Seen on Alaska School Librarians Facebook
A roundup of resources shared and questions asked on the Alaska School Librarians Facebook group. This is intended to give readers the chance to access resources at work if Facebook is filtered. Only timely questions, announcements, and links to non-Facebook resources are listed here.
3/3 – Check out my newest post on the Knowledge Quest blog about writing to your future self.
3/4 – I did this last year on my own but I’d love to do it again with students. Everyone should do this at least once.
3/4 – My latest AkASL Smore report – highlights of the ALA Youth Media Awards press conference. Take a peek and let me know what you think!
3/5 – Hello folks, I am continuing to investigate teacher-led schools. This link shows “areas of teacher autonomy”. I would be interested to find out which schools in our district may have some degree of teacher autonomy in the areas defined. I hope that if your school demonstrates any of these areas of autonomy that you will consider registering your school on the Teacherpowered website. Please keep me [Neva Arlene Reece] posted as well. Thank you!
3/6 – Anchorage librarians & union members! Forming a new committee on teacher-led schools! Message me [Neva Arlene Reece] or Comment below if interested!
3/10 – Anchorage librarians: I have been reading several posts on another page about the benefits of Follett book fairs and how they stack up to Scholastic. Everyone who has posted has great things to say about convenience of Follett setup and product quality.
3/11 – Excellent [Jason Reynolds Calls School Libraries “Places of Recognition for Young People” in New PSA]
3/13 – Please consider applying for the high school librarian position in North Pole, so share it with anyone you know who might be interested.
Check It Out Next Time!
The next issue will be March 29th. To share news, success stories, resources, and opportunities, please contact Jared Shucha. To get SAYL Mail updates sent to your inbox, request a subscription to the AkASL listserv and ask a colleague to do the same!
[su_frame]Jared Shucha
School Library Coordinator
jared.shucha@alaska.gov
(907) 465-8187[/su_frame]