2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

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BEST PRACTICES 2012
that degree of personal discomfort in order to break out of my comfort zone and discover
more about the education world.
So I did a whole lot of listening, soaking up information, meeting amazing and dedicated
educators, and becoming aware of ideas common to the field. During those three days, I
took part in keynotes, panels, interactive workshops, carousels (we went from table to
table hearing about different programs), and visited an alternative school. Highlights
included a session on Project Ki’L, a Title VII Indian Education program located in
Anchorage, AK, serving over 500 Alaska Native and American Indian boys in 12 schools
where Alaska natives are in the minority. During the carousel sessions, I was extremely
impressed by three enthusiastic principals from the Winfree Academy, a Texas charter
school group that practiced what one speaker called “excuse prevention,” meaning that
they worked around whatever problem could stop a kid from graduating (pregnancy,
addictions, money woes, and more).
Topping it all was a site visit to a stand-alone alternative school, part of the Communities
In Schools (CIS) organization. Greeted by everyone in this small school, student escorts
proudly showed us around a new, clean facility. We heard about GED preparation, career
readiness, pregnancy planning, and literacy consultants. We viewed instruction using a
self-paced computer program, as well as a science lab, a gym class, and a social studies
class. The kids were raw and honest when they spoke to us during a lunch prepared by a
culinary program in another CIS school.
At NDPC, I discovered how closely the dropout issue relates to other educational problems
and to real world issues that are often glossed over in reports about school failures.
Bullying, poverty, peer pressure, learning disabilities, family disorder, and feeling trapped
at school all contribute to failing grades, non-attendance and dropping out. At the final
keynote, along with moving testimonies from teens who had dropped out and found their
way back to school, I heard the Mayor of Philadelphia and his wife speak about
Philadelphia’s dedication to keeping kids in school through the city's Re-Engagement
Center.
As the only librarian in the room, I was a witness to great work. As an adult at a
conference to absorb information about a new field, I was the model of a lifelong learner.
Now whenever people tell me that schools are failing and no one is trying to help kids, I
can look them in the eye and tell them that’s not really the case. There are many reasons
kids aren’t doing well, but there are also thousands of educators around this country who
are working hard to help them succeed. I think of all these educators as I do my research
at the National Library of Education. In fact, I’ve brought their motivation and
commitment back to my work as a research librarian.
Stacie Marinelli is a Research Librarian at the National Library of Education in the U.S.
Department of Education and a contractor with Progressive Technology Federal Systems,
Inc. (PTFS).