[Libs-Or] FW: [ALA Connect] AASL Responds to Situation in Los Angeles

[Jennifer Maurer]

Some of you may have heard about the recent situation in the Los Angeles Unified School District when school librarians were interrogated by school district attorneys.  An Op-Ed piece by the LA Times’ Hector Tobar summarized the situation this way: “If state education cuts are drastic, the librarians' only chance of keeping a paycheck is to prove they're qualified to be switched to classroom teaching. So LAUSD attorneys grill them.”
In response to the proposed cuts to the school library program, AASL President Nancy Everhart and ALA President Roberta Stevens released an open letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District.  See the announcement below for a link to the letter and articles about the situation.

Or, read the letter here: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/open-letter-los-angeles-unified-school-district-defunding-school-librarians.
FYI,
Jen
Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Library Development
Oregon State Library
250 Winter Street NE
Salem, OR  97301-3950
503-378-5011
jennifer.maurer at state.or.us<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>

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From: ALA Connect [mailto:connect at ala.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:23 AM
To: Jennifer Maurer
Subject: [ALA Connect] AASL Responds to Situation in LA (new) - AASL (The American Association of School Librarians)


Greetings Jennifer Maurer,
From AASL (The American Association of School Librarians)
New Post: "AASL Responds to Situation in LA"
By Jennifer Habley (staff)
------

Since late last week, AASL has been working with their colleagues in California to respond to the situation school librarians in the Los Angeles Unified School District face due to budget cuts.

 Together, AASL President Nancy Everhart and ALA President Roberta Stevens, have released an Open Letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District<http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/open-letter-los-angeles-unified-school-district-defunding-school-librarians> on the defunding of school librarians.  Citing the need for a school librarian in every school, the letter urges LAUSD to reconsider their options:

 “Can Los Angeles afford to leave its students behind? The elimination of these positions will have a devastating effect on the educational prospects and success of the District’s students. A good school library is not an option – it is essential to a good education.”

 AASL and ALA will continue to monitor events in LA as they unfold and will continue to advocate for the indispensible role of the school librarian as an educator who empowers students to be learners for life.

For more information, please see:

 “The disgraceful interrogation of L.A. school librarians<http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0513-tobar-20110513,0,3002882.column>,” an article from the LA Times by Hector Tobar.

 “L.A. Unified's librarians on trial<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-murphy-school-layoffs-20110518,0,7856326.story>,” an op-ed piece from the LA Times by Nora Murphy.

 “LAUSD Doubts that Seasoned Teacher-Librarians Can Teach<http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/05182011/lausd-doubts-seasoned-teacher-librarians-can-teach>,” an article from American Libraries senior editor, Beverly Goldberg.

 “Settle In. It’s a Long One<http://mizzmurphy.blogspot.com/2011/05/settle-in-its-long-one.html>,” a blog post from a school librarian with a firsthand account of the proceedings.

 “Teacher: ‘My employer has become my enemy,’<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teacher-my-employer-has-become-my-enemy/2011/05/17/AFF9TB6G_blog.html>” From the Washington Post.

  What does a Teacher Librarian really do? Ask a TL!<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPF12jD6F-s> An informational video created by the LAUSD school librarians in 2010.

To view this Post in Connect, go to http://connect.ala.org/node/140984.

This is an automatic message from ALA Connect.

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