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June 5 - July 11, 2021
leadership is about influence and creating conditions for success. It’s about recognizing the opportunities that abound in school libraries and making the most of them to bring about changes that will empower and support your students as learners.
Leadership doesn’t have a destination; it’s always shifting.
Leadership is about creating conditions to move forward in our work and to unlock the potential of librarians to partner with and support teaching and learning in schools.
There is no one “right way” to advance leadership through library programs. Rather, advancing leadership requires a multilayered approach that involves strategic thinking and intentional decision making. It’s an ongoing process that asks us to consider the big picture and long-term goals as opposed to immediate gains and low-impact activities.
leadership is not a destination and neither is your library program. There will always be room for improvement and change.
Teachers, parents, administrators, and students are looking for guidance on how to navigate this ever-changing technological landscape.
being a leader means that you look for—and seize—those opportunities that will have the most impact on your community while meeting the needs of your students.
You must be flexible, recognize patterns and trends in tools and content, and look at the broader picture of education, information, and libraries.
position yourself as a partner and a leader in your school community.
ISTE Standards for Students
change the focus from what we want students to do to who we want them to be.
Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.
how you think about your time and your influence in the communities (school and beyond) that you serve.
Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders.
Being a digital mentor isn’t simply about mentoring students; it’s also about fostering a shared vision in the community.
Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content, and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.
Through partnerships, librarians push teachers and administrators to level the playing field for students and remove some of the barriers that inhibit learning and help to prepare them for their lives outside of our schools
Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation, and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning.
tools and resources that are key to learning, and how teachers use them to design authentic learning experiences for students.
An intentional approach can go a long way toward adoption of any digital tool. Knowing the right time and place to introduce something is critical, and it is a reflection of how well you understand the culture of your school community.
the leader standard is critical to transformative strides in improving the educational experience of students, especially when we consider the librarian as a digital age mentor.
create relationships that foster partnerships both in and out of school.
One of the keys to a successful library and literacy program has always been knowing one’s students as readers.
The relationships we build with students are unique in that we can offer a safe place where they can explore and discover who they are through books.
libraries are often seen as the hubs. They are the spaces where we get help, find information, and explore topics that we find interesting.
In school libraries, we cater to students and form our relationships based on them.
Our school communities include a combination of learners, and everyone should be seen as a potential learner.
being born in the digital age and having access to technology does not mean they have a deep understanding of how technology works or impacts them, and they are often limited in their usage by adults.
They need someone (maybe a librarian) to share their digital lives and discuss the decisions they make regarding technology and digital tools.
engage our students in discussions about usage, responsibility and decision making.
We are all responsible for curriculum, behavior, after school activities, and overall school climate and culture. Librarians support these elements of schools and can have a dramatic impact on their communities,
identifying digital tools and practices that will engage their students in meaningful usage of technology.
Every decision that is made for a library program should be strategic, in support of students and the teachers and staff who work with them. As you build these relationships, more opportunities for collaboration will naturally present themselves.
support learners regardless of adult interactions.
first year of their work should focus on building relationships.
seek opportunities to bring excitement to reading and provide parents with the tools and strategies to help their kids learn to read.
media and information literacy, critical thinking, and research.
In the digital age, we must also provide guidance for parents and encourage them to be intentional with technology use.
parents want help because they are raising kids in an era that is dramatically different from the one in which they grew up.
This is a prime opportunity for librarians to build those relationships.
willing and able to provide resources, stay current on trends that students care about, and most importantly, you’re willing to engage in conversations with parents and support them as well as your students.
the unique demands of their positions make administrators prime candidates for partnering with librarians.
They need you to lead in ways that align with the school goals, and they need you to use your influence to create authentic, meaningful learning experiences for students.
This means that we must strike a balance between our local community and our extended community. Both communities have something to offer, and it’s incumbent upon us to form relationships and leverage those to benefit our students in addition to giving back to those communities.
The relationships we create with our patrons and global communities only serve to reinforce the good we can do in the world.
Digital age mentorship isn’t always about the digital.
Collaboration is one of the skills required for literacy in today’s world, and librarians are master collaborators.
central to library programs around the world.
It’s not about how many students you reach by teaching an individual lesson, it’s about the influence you have on your school community and how many students you can reach by reaching your teachers.
The conversation quickly shifted to how we can best serve the needs of our students as opposed to keeping information sacred.
