[OYAN] Please Participate in Oregon Rising Survey about K-12 Education by June 10th

[Katie Anderson]

Posted on behalf of Stephanie Lind.

Hello,
According to their website<http://www.oregon-rising.org/About-the-Project>, Oregon Rising (http://www.oregon-rising.org/) is "a public outreach effort about what Oregonians want for their children and their schools. At the heart of our work is the prompt to dream big. In the first phase, we ask that you describe [via a survey] the education Oregon students would receive, if it were up to you." The project is sponsored by the "Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (superintendents and principals), Oregon Education Association (educators and teachers) and Oregon School Boards Association (board members of districts, education service districts, community colleges and charter schools)." Survey results will be shared widely.
Last week I learned about Oregon Rising at a community event hosted by the Forest Grove School District. They explained the project, showed some videos, had us team up to exchange thoughts and gave us time to complete the survey. Upon taking the survey, it occurred to me that this is a great opportunity to advocate for strong school library programs.
I urge you to fill out the survey to document what you value in K-12 education. If that includes strong school library programs, here are some talking points you might share, although you are encouraged to add your own voice to the message.
There are several opportunities to add open-ended input. For example, at the end of question 8 about priorities, one can include in the "Other" section something similar to "strong school library programs that include a licensed teacher-librarian." Or, this could be addressed directly in questions 6 or 12, or in later questions. No questions are mandatory. That enables you to click through the entire survey to preview the questions before answering them.
*         Strong school library programs correlate with increased student achievement in reading and on standardized tests. This is supported by impact studies conducted in numerous states, including Oregon.
*         The presence of a quality school library program that includes instruction from a licensed teacher-librarian, assistance from support staff, access to a current and plentiful collection, and access to the Internet and technology has the most impact on students, especially those in poverty.
*         Teacher-librarians teach to national standards and the Oregon School Library Standards, which include instruction in information literacy (how to do research and make your own learning from information), reading engagement (encourage lifelong reading), social responsibility (ethical behavior), and technology integration (using technology to support learning and creating). In the end, this fosters the development of critical thinking skills in students.
*         Teacher-librarians come into contact with students across several years. For that reason, there is an extra opportunity for connection with students, defining and fostering their interests in reading and other areas and facilitating growth in information literacy (how to do research) and other skills. Also, the library can be a key place for after school programs and activities that extend the school day.

*         Common Core calls for short and sustained research projects. Teacher-librarians help teachers update research projects to make them more meaningful to students and help students develop questions, assess the reliability of information, synthesize information from multiple sources to form arguments, understand when and how to credit information, and more. These are lifelong skills necessary for success in college and valued by employers.
*         In Oregon, the number of full-time equivalent teacher-librarians employed in K-12 public schools dropped from 818 during the 1980-81 school year to 130 in 2014-15. Despite Oregon Administrative Rule 581-022-1520 that calls for a "coordinated media program" that "includes instruction" in several areas, library media instruction is often not happening.
Filling out the survey should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes, and it closes on Friday, June 10th.

Please share this information with others, including your non-library colleagues and friends.
Stephanie Lind

Stephanie Lind | Program Supervisor for Outreach & Youth Service
Washington County, Oregon | Washington County Cooperative Library Services
phone 503-681-5090 | http://www.wccls.org<http://www.wccls.org/>
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