In this issue…
SAYL News in Brief
Tudor Elementary Wins Follett Challenge [Follett. Resource]
“Tudor Elementary, with an enrollment of 346 students, won the 2018 Follett Challenge Grand-Prize for its “Young Global Citizens” entry, which showcases what it means for their students to be global citizens, how it impacts their learning, their perspectives on the world and the impacts they can have on it.”
Haines Students to Display Puppets, Sets at First Friday [KHNS. Resource]
“About 20 students participated in the project after school. Librarian Leigh Horner helped spearhead the student-centered learning project.”
Reading Aloud to Young Children Has Benefits for Behavior and Attention [New York Times. 4 min.]
“The parent-child-book moment even has the potential to help curb problem behaviors like aggression, hyperactivity and difficulty with attention, a new study has found.”
In Defense of Battle of the Books… [Knowledge Quest. 3 min.]
10 Traits of Successful School Librarians [Blue Skunk Blog. 2 min.]
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Scholarships, Grants and Awards Opportunities
Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program Applications Due May 18
- Only High Need LEAs (“Local Education Agency”, generally these are school districts) can apply. The LEA must apply, not schools.
- Estimated Average Award to LEAs and LEA consortia: $500,000. Estimated Number of Awards [nationally]: 30.
Eligible districts in Alaska:
Alaska Gateway
Aleutian Region
Bering Strait
Chatham
Chugach
Craig
Dillingham
Hoonah
Hydaburg
Iditarod Area
Kake
Kashunamiut
Klawock
Kuspuk
Lake and Peninsula Borough
Lower Kuskokwim
Lower Yukon
Northwest Arctic Borough
Pelican
Southwest Region
St. Marys
Yakutat
Yukon Flats
Yukon-Koyukuk
Yupiit
Closes May 11th. 2018 Banned Books Week Grants Offered through Freedom to Read Foundation’s Krug Fund. $1,000 and/or $2,500 in support of activities celebrating Banned Books Week.
Closes May 21st, 2018. SLJ School Librarian of the Year. $2,500 cash award, plus $2,500 worth of print and digital materials from Scholastic Library Publishing.
Closes May 31st. Best Buy Community Grants. $5,000-10,000 to schools within 25 miles of a Best Buy store for”out-of-school time programs that create hands-on access to technology education and tools that teens will need to be successful in their future schooling and careers.”
Closes June 1st. NEA Learning & Leadership Grants. $2,000 (individual) or $5000 (group) for professional development for NEA members.
Closes June 1st. NEA Student Achievement Grants. $2,000 (individual) or $5000 (group) for classroom resources for NEA members.
For the complete record of scholarships, grants, and other award opportunities posted in SAYL Mail, visit the SGA Archives.
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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.
Tuesday, May 15th, 10 am – Must-Have Middle Grade [Booklist]
Tuesday, May 15th, 1 pm – Wonderful Ideas To Ignite Collaboration, Creativity and Computational Thinking [edWeb]
Wednesday, May 16th, 8am – Assistive Technology: What it is and How to Use it [Center on Technology and Disability]
Thursday, May 17th, 11am – Book-Based Making: Projects to Inspire Young Readers [School LIbrary Journal]
Monday, May 21st, noon – Using Digital Literacy to Build Unstoppable Reading Grit [edWeb]
Tuesday, May 22nd, 11am – Developing Digital Citizens – Resources and Strategies [Texas State Library and Archives]
Tuesday, May 22nd, noon – Summer Fun with Digital Citizenship [edWeb]
Tuesday, May 22nd, 1pm – Designing a Programming Language for Early Learners [edWeb]
Tuesday, May 22nd, 1:45pm – YALSA May 2018 Webinar: Learning Environments [edWeb]
Additional and up-to-date opportunities at the School Library Development Training and Continuing Education Calendar
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Employment Opportunities
K-6 Librarian, Kincaid Elementary, Anchorage School District, 1.0 FTE
K-6 Librarian, Birchwood ABC Elementary, Anchorage School District, 1.0 FTE
K-6 Librarian, Ptarmigan Elementary, Anchorage School District, 1.0 FTE
K-8 Librarian, Girdwood School, Anchorage School District, .5 FTE
9-12 Librarian, North Pole High, Fairbanks North Star School District, 1.0 FTE
Additional and up-to-date information at Alaska Teacher Placement
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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 social media is filtered. Only timely questions, announcements, and links to non-social media resources are listed here.
4/26 – School library month is almost over, but there’s still time to bring attention to it for the public. Check out Ann Ewbank’s article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Ann is on the ALA Policy Corps) and consider writing your own letter to the editor in celebration of school libraries. If it gets published, share it here!
4/27 – Great article in SLJ featuring Homer Public’s Claudia Haines
4/27 – Congratulations Tudor Elementary!!!
4/30 – Great stuff going on in the Haines school library. Way to go, Leigh Corkum Horner!
5/8 – “Children are the future. Young people have rights recognized by countries around the world… Six of those rights are shared here along with children’s books that tell stories of how important they are in the lives of children around the world. Reading together and talking about these rights lets all of us see how we can help each other make the world a better, safer and kinder place.”
5/9 – Today I went to Capital Hill with three other Alaska librarians (read the full text below!). Now it’s your turn. You don’t have to visit DC to connect with your Representative or Senator and you don’t have to wait for National Library Legislative Day to connect either; just share the great things that happen in your library every day! Send them a photo of students in action. Did you get a grant from the state library? Share the news! Don’t wait for the “right” moment. Any moment is a great moment to share all the amazing things school libraries do for Alaska’s students.
Patience Frederiksen, Katie Baxter, Mary Jo Joiner, and I visited capital hill today for National Library Legislative Day #NLLD18. We met with Eleanor-Gray Mullen at Representative Don Young’s office this morning; and then in the afternoon we met with Senator Lisa Murkowski and her staff Karen McCarthy and Anna Dietderich, as well as Senator Dan Sullivan and his staff Joseph Hopp and Amanda Coyne. It was a great opportunity to thank the Congressman and Senators on their support of IMLS, LSTA, and IAL funding and ask for their continued support of the valuable services our libraries provide with this funding. We also discussed e-rate and asked for their support of the Tribal Connect Act which would make tribal libraries eligible for e-rate funding. And of course we invited them to visit our libraries next time they are back home in Alaska. It was a great day meeting and connecting with our federal legislators in support of libraries!
Check It Out Next Time!
The next issue will be May 22nd. 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]