Creating a Districtwide Advocacy Plan, Part 1: Vision and Voice

School librarians certanily recognize the need and value of promoting their program. Yet, while they understand the importance of how and why an advocacy plan should be in place, as one librarian recently remarked, “It sounds overwhelming and I have no idea where to even begin.” A systematic plan for creating a districtwide school library advocacy plan begins with this month’s article and will conclude in next month’s article.

WHY NOW?

There has never been a more critical time for all advocates of the school library community to work together toward one common goal: the preservation, advancement, and strengthening of the school library program. Rationales for creating a districtwide advocacy plan vary according to individual district’s needs, but there are several key universal rationales for creating a proactive plan, particularly in today’s political climate.

• FINANCIAL- In recent years, nearly every state budget has entered some level of financial crisis. When a budget crunch comes, school programs are often pitted against each other. Programs that have been proactive—that have an action plan in place—are in a better position to retain their solvency.
• PREPARATION- A districtwide advocacy plan, like all program development, is like good teaching: the more prepared you are, the better you teach. So it is with advocacy: the more prepared librarians and their supporters are to articulate, promote, and advance the program, the greater the likelihood for continued district support.
• STRENGTH IN NUMBERS- Every member of the school library community must adopt the same understanding of the importance of communicating to key decision makers in order to preserve school library programs.
• STRENGTH IN MEMBERSHIP- Good leaders understand the importance of unified vision, and they recognize a strong program when it is articulated and communicated well. When the district’s library advocates share their vision—district- and communitywide—they raise decision makers’ awareness of the value of the program overall and advocates increase in number.
• HINDSIGHT HURTS- Once a program has been cut, it is nearly impossible to advocate for reinstatement. Frequently, financial decisions to cut smaller programs like the school library program are made “off-season,” that is, during the month of July or quickly during busy or holiday times when faculty are out of town, on vacation, or otherwise unavailable and organizing action is more difficult.

When school librarians take the lead with advocacy, ensuring that key decision makers are informed of both the importance of school library funding and the value added in terms of student success, it impacts program preservation.

THE DISTRICTWIDE ADVOCACY PLAN: VISION, VOICE, VISIBILITY, AND VIGILANCE

Four key components are necessary for creating the Districtwide Advocacy Plan. The first two critical steps are creating a vision for the school library program, and the strategic and articulate promotion of the district’s school library program through an advocacy voice.

▶THE VISION

It may sound like an assignment from an education course or a requirement mandated by a new superintendent. But in fact, a districtwide advocacy plan is most successful if it begins with a shared vision. All members of the school library community must first develop a polished, articulated, district-specific vision statement for the school library program.

In developing this vision statement, the following points should be considered:

• Student achievement: The vision statement must hold student achievement at its core. Despite the fact that across the district, libraries may have some unique, creative, and interesting programs, when cuts are considered, student achievement is the primary concern to decision makers. And rightly so.
• District-embedded: Whatever new educational focus or central need the district is currently projecting should be part of the vision statement. This shows libraries are embedded in districtwide planning and included when determining important district decisions.
• Unique: A vision statement should be composed that is unique and very specific to the district. Drawing on the strengths within the school community models collaboration, ensures support, and encourages consistency.
• Avoid clichés: Even some of the best school library websites still cite “ensure students are effective users and producers of information and ideas” as their motto, but this line is so often quoted, it has become a cliché and lost its effectiveness. Rather, the district’s unique programs and some of the strengths offered, particularly specific to its library program, should be highlighted. Then a vision statement should be created focusing on those strengths.
• Strategic: An important part of advocacy planning is being strategic, and this includes the vision statement as well. What will spark the interest of school board members, the superintendent, or the district’s strong political activists?
• Language with Pizazz: Include in the advocacy vision statement at least one contemporary or catchy library phrase, (e.g., “information architects,” “literary Café,” “a virtual safe haven,” “literary legacies”). Alliterations are memorable and more often quoted. This is more critical for the school library than other program so that the stereotypes that 21st-century libraries can be overcome.
• Brevity: The advocacy vision statement should either be relatively short or have an abbreviated version that can be easily tagged and quoted.
• Outside Voice: For a fresh perspective, input from members of the school community outside of immediate district librarians should be gathered.

Creating this vision statement should not take long. Prior to a districtwide library meeting, school librarians can announce to interested advocates the need to create a vision statement for the district library program and ask for everyone’s input and support. Advocates’ ideas can be brought together, and the group’s best writer can compile and write a draft version. This draft can be disseminated; in perhaps half an hour at a district library meeting, participants can then collaborate on the final version.

This vision should be included on all correspondence and communication, such as reports to administrators and boards. It can also be posted on the school library’s website.

▶THE VOICE

Adopting a vision can spearhead momentum toward a higher profile for the library program districtwide. Once there is a sound, unified vision, it can be used as a springboard for promoting the district’s school library program so that all decision makers understand what a strong 21st-century library program provides, particularly in the way of academic success for students.

How the program is promoted is critical and must be strategically planned as well. The advocate voice should include how as well as who, what, where, and when the message is shared.

Voice: What

An up-to-date articulated and comprehensive school district library curriculum and program design should have the most current, strategic, and district-specific key components. These components can be formatted into a one- or two-page bulleted list to use in promoting the library program. It is important to keep information updated and current. Librarians should not wait until the program has been overhauled to create an advocacy plan.

A powerful and strategic advocacy decision for librarians is to adopt areas of the district curriculum and assume responsibility for these areas within the library program. For example, part of the advocacy message should include specific examples of how librarians teach the management of information in the information age. Employers note that the most important skills they seek in future employees are the ability to conduct online research and swiftly and effectively manage information. Including specific language to address this employment need may prove to be a powerful stratagem.

The message should highlight the program’s strengths as succinctly as possible. It isn’t necessary to reinvent the message. Nor is it necessary to review, rewrite, or even update the entire district program profile in order to emphasize the message.

Voice: Where and When?

Once a districtwide advocacy plan has a vision and message, talking points need to be presented both formally and informally to the school board and administrators. Strategies for getting on the agenda include promoting particular curriculum content, a board member or administrator’s pet project, or an event in local news that can be tied to components of the message.

In determining when to first present the message, librarians can plan an advocacy push around important annual calendar times such as two to three months before fiscal or budget decisions are made.

Within some communities, outside organizations impact district decisions as well. In addition to advocating internally, librarians can also consider addressing local community and business organizations.

Voice: How

Tone: How the message is disseminated speaks to the heart of librarians’ dispositions. It is productive to remember that administrators share the same goal as librarians: student success. All presentations should have a positive tone and begin with a message of appreciation for the work administrators and board members have done. In today’s difficult fiscal times, district decision makers find it remarkably refreshing to hear presentations presented positively.

Pace: The advocate voice speaks with energy and forward momentum.

Volume: The message should be constructive, productive, convincing, yet ambitious. The message’s volume should be consistent and ongoing, but not urgent or “loud.”

Voice: Who

Developing a comprehensive advocacy plan includes determining how to select spokespersons as advocates. All those who share the vision of the library program should be involved in advocating for the program as well. Librarians should make strategic decisions when planning who will address school boards and other community forums. Since student achievement and success are at the heart of the school library program, whenever possible, students as spokespersons should be included.

In June 2011, five individuals in the North Thurston School District in Lacey, Washington, presented a comprehensive action plan for the district’s school library program to their school board. In a strategic advocacy move, the committee chose to have only one librarian presenter. The other presenters included a student, a parent, a principal, and a classroom teacher, all of whom had served on the committee to articulate the district’s school library program. Hearing from all factions of the district, not just librarians, sent a powerful message to the board concerning district and community support for, and collaboration with, the district’s school library program.

Librarians should begin with a vision and strategically gather advocate voices to set in motion the first steps for promoting, strengthening, and preserving the school library program.