Whole Child Education

Post submitted on behalf of whole child partner American Association of School Librarians by Patty Saidenberg, librarian, George Jackson Academy, New York, N.Y.

I work as a librarian at George Jackson Academy (GJA) in New York, N.Y. Founded in 2002, GJA is an independent, nonsectarian upper elementary and middle school for academically capable boys from low-income and underserved families. Classes are small, teachers are passionate, and money is tight. That said, our graduates have attended some of the best high schools and private day schools in the nation. GJA graduates attend Columbia University, Princeton, NYU, and Wesleyan.

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Recently, I dropped off more than 100 certificates for our principal, Mat McRae, to sign for winners in our high school's March Into Reading challenge. For the contest, students could draw or paint a new cover for their favorite book; create a book out of metal, wood, clay, or the medium of their choice; or create a graphic design that promotes reading. When all the entries were in, we had nearly 300 projects to judge, out of a school of 650 students. Our principal's response to the overwhelming participation in our school was, "It's all about the leadership."

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School libraries are critical to every child's education and career—with nearly 31 million elementary, middle, and high school students relying on school library services each week. This April, join whole child partner American Association of School Librarians for School Library Month. The month-long celebration will showcase the vital role and resources school libraries provide to students to support their education and career endeavors. This year's theme, "communities matter @ your library," shows how libraries can help students, individuals, and families discover new and exciting things through library collections, digital resources, and more.

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Post submitted on behalf of whole child partner American Association of School Librarians by Jami L. Jones, associate professor, Department of Library Science, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

The quintessential role of educators is to provide safe environments for children to flourish emotionally, academically, and physically. As we discuss safety, it is important to consider care—a magic bullet in this conversation.

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Post submitted on behalf of whole child partner American Association of School Librarians by Marcia A. Mardis, assistant professor with the School of Library and Information Science and associate director of the Partnerships Advancing Library Media Center at the iSchool at Florida State University.

"It takes a whole village to raise a child," goes the African proverb in the focus of Jane Cowen-Fletcher's 1994 children's book¹. I'd like to build on this wisdom to propose that it takes a whole school to educate the whole child. All of us, policymakers; communities; families; administrators; staff; teachers; and, importantly, school librarians, must work in concert to ensure that children are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. School librarians have a special contribution to creating an environment that welcomes all forms of expression; creativity; and active, interdisciplinary learning.

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Post submitted by Paige Jaeger, coordinator for school library services with the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (N.Y.) Board of Cooperative Educational Services, and Sue Kowalski, president of New York State Library Association's Section of School Librarians, on behalf of whole child partner American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Connect with school library professionals on Twitter @AASL and the AASL Blog.

As school librarians, we love the Common Core State Standards. Its focus on rigor and relevance are commendable and necessary to educate the Millennial generation and help the United States become competitive in a global society. Across the United States, simultaneous with the launching of the Common Core standards is the requirement to have annual professional performance reviews (APPRs) defined for classroom teachers in order to meet Race to the Top (RTTT) criteria. It's RTTT that is this year's thorn in the flesh.

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