[LM_NET] GEN: "Fund our Future Washington" rally and summit--inspiration and encouragement

[Sara Kelly Johns <sarakellyjohns@YAHOO.COM>]

Cross-posted from AASLForum:

t was absolutely inspiring to represent AASL at the Fund our Future rally and 
summit in Olympia Washington. The three Spokane Moms--Lisa, Susan and Denette--are 
patient, persistent, polite and passionate about the crucial role school libraries 
and school librarians  have in the future of the students in Washington State. When 
Spokane schools did not agree to restore cuts to positions, someone suggested that 
they take their cause to the capital in Olympia, so they did! They took the advice 
of the staffers of important legislators about how to get support and a bill 
introduced that will put a school librarian in every school and provide funding for 
resources. 

The rally was wet, windy, cold and uplifting as speaker after speaker spoke about 
the importance of school libraries and support for the proposed bills...and people 
dressed in black and white (it's a black and white issue, after all) yelled their 
approval. Many more people would have arrived from the western part of the state 
but a huge snow fall closed the pass through the mountains. But there were kids, 
librarians, teachers, parents...including a mother named Susie (I think) from 
Oregon who drove down from Portland to announce that there was now going to be a 
Fund our Future Oregon....will Arizona be next?  Hope so! And it was so exciting 
when it was reported that House Bill 2773 moved out of committee while we were 
there!

Mike Eisenberg and WLMA (Washington Library Media Association) leaders worked very 
hard to put together a meaningful and thought-provoking summit...Mike produced 
agenda after agenda right up until the day before; it included Jamie McKenzie, Gary 
Hartzell,  ALA President Loriene Roy,  AASL Executive Director Julie Walker, me, 
President of Antioch University Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Washington State 
Librarian Jan Walsh, the Director of the Seattle Public Library, and four 
administrators, all concentrating on what it is that school librarians and school 
library programs do in their schools which leads to excellence. Past AASL President 
and NCLB Task Force Chair Linda Williams came to show her support. The Spokane Moms 
are fun, smart and savvy. They presented very special, personalized READ posters to 
several key legislators among other recognitions. 

It's grassroots advocacy at its best...librarians were there--as they need to 
be--but the power of passionate parents is a HUGE piece of the advocacy puzzle.  
AASL and ALA will be following the progress of the Spokane Moms and Fund our Future 
Washington <http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org/> and will be supporting them 
and others as they work for students' educational experiences.

All the best, Sara 



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sara Kelly Johns
AASL 2007-08 President
Associate Editor for AASL Community, Knowledge Quest
Lake Placid Middle/High School LMC
34 School Street
Lake Placid, NY 12946
518-523-2474, ext. 4132
FAX: 518-523-4861
johns@northnet.org
SaraKJohns@aol.com
<http://fromtheinsideout.blogspace.com>

"Information is the currency of democracy." -- Thomas Jefferson

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