Research into Practice. Using The AASL Standards Framework as a Bridge to Collaboration and Advocacy

The "new" AASL National School Library Standards were rolled out in 2017. The standards provide an excellent starting point for initiating collaboration across the curriculum. Accompanying frameworks and crosswalks have been developed since the standards' release and are useful tools to demonstrate the universality of developing student academic skills. Establishing a common language around academic achievement enables librarians to demonstrate the value of the school library program. To support transparency as to how the school library directly impacts student learning and build more effective collaborations, consider the following three steps:

1. Examine the four domains of Think, Create, Share, and Grow. As the school librarian, you are uniquely situated to enhance the instruction of classroom teachers and offer your expertise in promoting a broad range of 21st-century skills across the academic content areas. According to Kathy Cromartie and Elizabeth Burns, "School librarians must engage the skills of both educator and information professional, wearing two identities like a pair of skis as they navigate the slopes of information use and instruction. Having a set of foundational behaviors or dispositions helps guide school librarians and keep them anchored throughout this professional adventure" (2019).

2. Read and share the content area and professional learning crosswalks, including these:

• Future Ready Librarians Framework (https://futureready.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Library_flyer_download.pdf)
• ISTE Standards for Students (https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students) and Educators (https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators)
• Next Generation Science Standards (https://www.nextgenscience.org/)
• Google CS First Curriculum (https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/s/en/home )

These crosswalks illuminate connections between the school library and the skills needed in academic content areas, and in the case of the Future Ready Librarian Framework, innovative professional practices aimed at student-centered learning. The varied crosswalks demonstrate how the standards align, providing a common language to initiate collaboration, as "aligning practice to the Competencies, a school librarian frequently and voluntarily gathers, contributes, connects, creates, and encourages creation, guides, and defends" (Cromartie and Burns 2019).

Initiating and enhancing collaboration begins with communication. Best practices include reaching out to classroom teachers, academic teams, or grade level teams. Be prepared to share with teachers materials and ideas for engaging students in meaningful and measurable ways. Benefits to collaboration include engaged students and teachers who feel valued, supported, and successful in their practice. During the collaboration, document the process and products of collaboration. Share the successes of the collaborative endeavor with others. The standards include the Share domain where one demonstrates what has been learned.

3. Strive for consistent communication with stakeholders. Communicating the results of successful collaboration may inspire further collaboration with others and provide opportunities to advocate the value of the school library program through co-teachers' successes. Author Iris Eichenlaub states, "advocacy is something that we should share, something we can each carry a small part of, collectively." Eichenlaub suggests small acts of advocacy done regularly, not just as a last-ditch effort (2017). Communication is the heart of advocacy. Implement both print and virtual communication through staff meetings, school newsletters, social media, and school websites.

An email, tweet, or column in your school newsletter informs and educates stakeholders about the value of and successes in the media center. Using the standards as an impetus to initiate collaborative units provides the key messages of advocacy. Two strategies for sharing your advocacy message are using social media and providing professional development. Using social media prompts a broader audience to learn about the essential need for libraries and librarians by showing what students are doing in the library and beyond. It's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, so include anecdotal evidence of student successes. Provide professional development in your building and seek opportunities to become involved in district-level initiatives. The school library connects to all content areas and the librarian ensures this connection is transparent to all stakeholders. According to Maureen Schlosser, "advocating for your library program takes work, but it's important work. Advocating for your library program informs the community of the great return on investment they are getting with their tax dollars. Library advocacy will also keep your stakeholders from believing that volunteer parents can successfully run your program." In fact, parents can be some of your best advocates, once they understand the value of the certified school librarian teaching their children.

Still uncertain where to begin? You might find inspiration in a 2019 article in Publishers Weekly, featuring library program manager Suzanna Panter and her leadership in Tacoma Public Schools' libraries. She identified learning happening in school libraries that aligned with each of the standards shared foundations and facilitated the creation of a series of six videos shared on the district webpage. With this tool for advocacy, communication, and professional learning, Suzanna demonstrated that the standards support and advance the work of school librarians within the school community (Maughan 2019).

Works Cited

Cromartie, Kathy and Elizabeth Burns. "Navigating the Library Slopes: Dispositional Shifts in the 'National School Library Standards.'" Knowledge Quest, 47, no. 5 (January 2019): 78–83.

Eichenlaub, Iris. "Advocacy - Something for Everyone!" Knowledge Quest Blog. November 7, 2019. http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/advocacy-something-for-everyone Accessed January 10, 2020.

Maughan, Shannon. "School Library Advocacy Close-Up." Publishers Weekly 266, no. 33 (August 2019): 36–40. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/80951-school-library-spotlight-fall-2019-school-library-advocacy-close-up.html

Schlosser, Maureen. "Grab the Attention of Stakeholders and Avoid School Library Cuts." Knowledge Quest Blog. (January 10, 2020). https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/grab-attention-stakeholders-avoid-school-library-cuts/ Accessed February 8, 2020.