Common Core Discussion: Krashen and Van Roekel

Here is a summary about the Common Core Standards and an argument from Dr. Stephen Krashen about why it would be much better to control for poverty, to invest in addressing key ways to reduce impact of poverty on student achievement: access to better nutrition, health care, and school libraries. 
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TePVSNXTUvA

Two Teachers and a Microphone -- Protests against LAUSD Pink Slips

Angry Teacher Rap about Getting Fired - two rap videos by Two Teachers and a Microphone productions.  What is happening in Los Angeles is happening across California.  It is a total meltdown.  Tons of teachers, including hundreds of Teacher Librarians and Library Assistants, are getting eliminated.  


What is wrong with this picture??? California needs to CREATE JOBS, INCREASE LITERACY, BUILD STRONG STUDENTS. 

Campaign for Strong School Libraries

We support strong school libraries and the new Model School Library Standards.  Join us!  

What is a strong school library?

What are the Model School Library Standards? 

The California School Library Association rolled out the first phase of its Campaign for Strong School Libraries. Here is the graphic -- get one for your websites or blogs.  Next, CSLA will introduce a PUBLIC campaign site and begin outreach to individuals and institutions.  Stay tuned!

 

Access to Books -- New Research

Research continues to point to the overwhelming importance of access to books (in the home, in school, in libraries). It is hard for most Americans to even imagine a home without books, but it doesn't take much to understand that a home with just enough money to pay for food or shelter probably does not have stacks of books by the bedside!

Below is a summary of important new research, posted to the California School Library Association CALIBK12 listserv by Stephen Krashen:

MORE EVIDENCE for the power of access to books

The difference between having no books in the home and having 500 books in the home has an enormous impact on schooling: Evans, Kelley, Sikora and Treiman (2010) did a study of about 70,000 15 year olds in 27 countries, interviewed. Their major result: Controlling for parental education, fathers' occupation, and social class, young people in homes with 500 books stay in school three years longer than children in bookless homes.

The effect of books in the home was about the same as the effect of parental education: Controlling for all other factors, those from homes in which parents had a college education stayed in school three years longer than those from homes in which parents had three years of education.

The effect of books was twice as strong as the effect of fathers' occupation. Children from homes in which fathers were professionals stayed in school about a year and a half longer than children from homes in which the father was a laborer, all other factors equal.

The effect of books was stronger than the effect of GDP (gross domestic product); children in the country with the highest GDP (United States) stay in school two years longer than children in the country with a much lower GDP (China).

In other words: Access to books is as strong as or stronger than economic factors, once again suggesting that access to books can mitigate the effects of poverty (see below).

Another important result was the finding that the effects of books in the home are more powerful for children whose parents have little or no schooling. The results of the study predict that children of parents with little or no schooling who have 25 books in the home will have two more years of education than a similar family with no books in the home. Also, 500 books in the home predicts an additional two years of education.

Here is another way of looking at this result: 40% of children of parents with little or no education in bookless homes finish grade 9. In book-filled homes (500 or more books), 88% do.

The results of this study are very similar to those of Schubert and Bccker (2010).

Tragically missing from this informative study, however is this: What about access to books from sources outside the home? What about libraries? Two current studies suggest that access to books in school libraries can also mitigate the effects of low SES (Achtermann, 2008; Krashen, Lee and McQuillen, 2010). Evans et. al. is of course very consistent with the results of these studies.

• Achterman, D. 2008. Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement in California. PhD dissertation, University of North Texas. http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-9800:1

• Evans, Kelley, Sikora, and Treiman (2010) Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, in press.
• Krashen, S., Lee, SY, and McQuillan, J. 2010. An analysis of the PIRLS (2006) data: Can the school library reduce the effect of poverty on reading achievement? CSLA Journal, in press. California School Library Association.
• Schubert, F. and Becker, R. 2010. Social inequality of reading literacy: A longitudinal analysis with cross-sectional data of PIRLS 2001and PISA 2000 utilizing the pair wise matching procedure. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 29:109-133.

See also: http://www.edresearch.info/access.asp

Call for California Model School Library Standards

California School Library Association President and LAUSD Teacher Librarian Rosemarie Bernier has alerted members that the California Model School Library Standards are not on the State Board of Education May Agenda and the meeting is May 5 – just around the corner! She has called members to action.

• The Model School Library Standards for Students delineate what students should know and be able to do at each grade level or grade span to enable students to succeed in school, higher education, and the workforce.
• Model School Library Program Standards describe base-level staffing, resources, and infrastructure, including technology, required for effective school library programs for students to meet the Model School Library Standards for Students.

The Standards are an essential tool for school districts, administrators, and teacher librarians to use when developing school library programs that meet the needs of 21st century learners.

Watch the video clip of CSLA Past President Connie Williams testifying before the State Board of Education in March. President Mitchell clearly states that the Standards will be on the May Agenda. You must tell State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell (and other Board members) the importance of the Standards to students.

CALL TO ACTION: Call President Ted Mitchell first at (916) 319-0827, then call two (2) other Board members. Click on the SBE link below for the list of Board members and their respective biographies. http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ms/mm/

What would you add to my response to a reporter who asks: "We have two schools labeled "persistently underperforming" in our local school district. I'm interested in editorializing on how such schools can be turned around. Everything from charters to longer school hours, uniforms, new leadership? What are the prototypes for dramatic change - and sharp improvement."

Response:
Research shows that strong school library programs increase student achievement, regardless of a school community's poverty level. State school library standards are important, yet do not exist in all states. Here are some California and national material that supports the case for strong school libraries as a key element in student success. Sadly, library programs are often cut because they are not seen as "classrooms", when in fact they are classrooms.

Research:

1. Primary Sources: America's Teachers on America's Schools (2010)
2. "Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement" (2009)
3. School Libraries Work (compendium of state studies, charts, graphs)
   

School Library Standards:

1. California DRAFT Model School Library Standards (2010)
2. National AASL "Standards for the 21st Century Learner" (2009)
   

Definition of a "strong school library" (most parents and policymakers don't know...this is why school library standards are important):

• "Best Seller" Campaign for Strong School Libraries.
• CA Assemblyman Jerry Hill's letter to all California legislators on importance of Model School Library Standards.
  

Literacy-related videos

1. The Silent Crisis (low literacy)
2. Gotta Keep Reading - Music Video (school wide student participation)
   

There is no one solution to improving schools for our students, but one of the best investments a district can make is to invest in a strong school library program.