by Susan Verdicchio

This letter was sent to Michele Norman, Director of the Executive Office of Education by Susan Verdicchio, a Winchester parent and active member of the MSLA Friends of School Libraries.

Dear Michele,

I just wanted to follow up on your talk at our recent Stand for Children forum. It was very encouraging to hear from a state policy-maker the idea that we need to move beyond thinking of technology as a separate subject. It is really not enough for a class of sixth graders to go to a computer lab and have a teacher walk them through making a pie chart of their family pets using Excel (to use an actual project my son brought home earlier this year). We really need to be teaching students how they can use technology to learn.

A number of Winchester parents, after being involved as volunteers in the elementary libraries, have perceived that integrating technology skills and fostering inquiry-based, resource-based, and other 21st century learning experiences happens effectively at schools that have a 21st century library media program, staffed by a full-time library media specialist teacher. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills' white paper discusses the importance of Information Literacy, a core component of what school library media specialists are trained to teach. By doing research projects in the library media center, using print and online sources, children can grow up learning how to ask useful questions and then locate, evaluate and communicate information effectively. This is a skill set they need not only for college, but also to become lifelong learners. 

There are many studies showing that students who have a professionally staffed, full-time school library score higher on standardized reading tests. The most recent study, by Ruth Small at Syracuse University, looked at over 1,600 urban, suburban and small-town schools across New York. Results showed not only higher test scores, but also greater student motivation in school, when students had access to quality library media centers. Preliminary report available at http://www.nyla.org/content/user_1/Preliminary_Report_Small.pdf

School librarians play a fundamental role in helping students become lifelong readers. Reading is the most basic of all information processing skills.

Many states set standards for school libraries, their professional staffing, and for information literacy curricula. Six of the states in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills have such state-level policies. For example, North Carolina has an Information Skills Standard Course of Study for K-12, available at  http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/information/scos/   Library and/or Information Literacy standards for West Virginia, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, and South Dakota are at the URLs shown in the enclosed list.

Here in Massachusetts, unfortunately, there are no state standards for school library media programs, nor is there any individual at the DESE charged with overseeing school libraries. The MSLA estimates that half of the Commonwealth's schools are without full-time library staff.  May I urge you to please look into developing policy in Massachusetts to support school libraries? For a start, the DESE should assess, monitor and plan for library media programs in schools across the Commonwealth. The DESE is authorized to do this by statute (M.G.L. Ch. 15, Sec. 1R)

It just seems counter-productive to allow funding for school library media programs to be at risk in local school budgets during this economic crisis, just at a time when students need the 21st century skills library media programs so effectively teach. Massachusetts should follow the lead of the other members of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and support school library media programs where students can learn to read, read to learn, and learn to learn.

Thank you for speaking at our forum, and for all you do for education.

Best regards,
Susan Verdicchio

Included in Susan Verdicchio’s letter to Michele Norman was this listing of links:

Library and/or Information Literacy State Standards

North Carolina: Standard Course of Study, Information Skills
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/information/scos/

West Virginia: Content Standards and Objectives Policy 2520.17 
http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/csos.html

Iowa: Code of Iowa 256.11(9) and Iowa Administrative Code Rule 281
School Library Program Guidelines and Sample Information Literacy Curriculum Framework
http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&ltemid=999999999&gid=651

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Statute 121.02(1)(h) and Administrative Rule PI 8.01(2)(h) Model Academic Standards for Information & Technology Literacy
http://dpi.wi.gov/imt/itlstfst.html
(WI Dept. of Public Instruction, Instructional Media & Technology)

Kansas: Kansas State Dept. of Education Library Media & Technology Model Standards
http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=146

South Dakota: South Dakota Board of Education School Library Standards
http://doe.sd.gov/contentstandards/

Proposed Information Literacy Standards for Massachusetts:
Massachusetts School Library Association  http://www.maschoolibraries.org/

Susan Verdicchio is a Winchester parent and is active in the MSLA Friends of School Libraries.