Two months ago, some school librarians started a petition on the White House We the People website. The threshold for getting the President to view and respond to a petition is 25,000 signatures. We barely got 10,000 last time. I think our failure was a combination of general apathy about school libraries combined with the frequent outages on the We the People website. Most people I know who tried to sign the petition said that they couldn't get in the first few times they tried; some never got in.
It looks like the site has improved, and school librarians have once again posted a petition to demonstrate to the President that the nation does indeed value school libraries. We seem to be getting a better response this time, we're up to 20,000 signatures with a week to go. Still need about 5,000.
I'm retired from working in the schools, but I'm still in touch with many of the other librarians from my school system. Last year, the school board cut the position of school librarian in the elementary and middle school libraries to less than half time. The librarians that remain employed now divide their days amongst two or three schools. That means that most of the elementary school libraries are only open one or two days a week. Let me emphasize, there are no paraprofessionals holding down the fort on the days that they are at their other schools.
This coming year, the high school positions will be cut to half. That means that high school students will only be able to access their school libraries 2.5 days a week.
At the high school I worked at, students came to the library in the morning and during lunch to get what they needed to complete their assignments. A lot of my students didn't have parents who could drive them to a public library. A lot of my students didn't have computers at home. Starting next year, these students are going to be struggling to get access to the resources that they need.
My former school system is not an isolated case. On LM_net, an email discussion group with 12,000 school librarians, the same type position cutting is occurring all over the United States.
Once again, I'm asking Daily Kos to help bring this petition to President Obama's attention. We only need 5,000 more signatures.
WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.
Every child in America deserves access to an effective school library program. We ask that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide dedicated funding to help support effective school library programs. Such action will ensure more students have access to the resources and tools that constitute a 21st century learning environment. Reductions in school library programs are creating an ‘access gap’ between schools in wealthier communities versus those where there are high levels of poverty. All students should have an equal opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to learn, to participate, and to compete in today’s world.
Signatures are needed by February 4th.
http://tinyurl.com/...
Tue Jan 31, 2012 at 4:18 PM PT: Woo hoo! We've reached our goal. 25,866 signatures! Thanks to everyone who helped.