AGENDA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION - real facts omsd

Public Comments: Rules Governing Educator Licensure – July - September 2012 (Second Public Comment Period)
September 5, 2012
Renée Wall, ALA;
AASL; AAIM
September 5, 2012
Teresa Gordon
working with children and knowing the concerns teachers have about their students from a first-hand basis
before becoming a library media specialist, legislators would not be not putting children first. NEVER is it
a smart idea to lower standards. Please do not lower the standards that are presently required of teachers to
gain licensure in library media. Arkansas should be proud of its library media specialists. We have some
of the best librarians in the country. Let us keep it that way.
Please reconsider changing the rules that school librarians must have a teaching degree! It is very
important to have a teaching license in addition to a library degree. Don't shortchange our students!
I understand that there is currently a proposal to change the licensure requirements for School Library
Media Specialists (SLMS) to eliminate the teaching experience requirement and the requirement that a
SLMS be a certified teacher. I strongly urge you to reconsider this change. SLMS are an integral
component of the school program because of their teaching experience and certification. The SLMS
collaborates with the classroom teacher to develop lessons that integrat literacy, technology, and research
skills that reach the highest levels of critical thinking. With the onset of the Common Core curriculum and
technology-based testing, these skills are critical. The SLMS, because of their teaching experience, is
well-versed in foundational curricular areas, as well as developmental stages both of which impact student
learning. The SLMS can use that experience, together with their SLMS training, to work collaboratively
with the classroom te acher to ensure that students are prepared to excel in this new testing environment
while mastering the standards of Common Core. SLMS are critical components of this learning
environment, and it is due, in large part, to the teaching requirement. There is abundant research that show
that SLMS have a tremendous impact on the learning environment. This is because of the stringent
requirements that states like Arkansas have in place.
I believe that not requiring librarians to have a teaching certificate will be a good thing. It will allow more
September 5, 2012
Bryan Brown
qualified people to get the jobs that they want.
September 5, 2012 I think allowing school librarians to teach without a certificate would be a great way to open up the market
Sonja Smith, Gravette for highly qualified people with a master's degree to work in a library. School librarians these days need to
School District
be on the cutting edge of research and technology to keep up with the changing standards and curriculum.
I think the qualifications of having your master's degree in library science would be sufficient, especially
with the great knowledge of literature that these people have obtained. I am a classroom elementary
teacher and I am reliant on our school librarian to help our children with expanding their technology
background and giving them resources and education on how to research and use technology for learning
and expanding one's knowledge and I believe someone with a Master's degree would be able to do this.
September 5, 2012 I am a school librarian at a private school in AR. I graduated from NSU (Broken Arrow, OK) with my
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