Hello!

It is so incredibly heartwarming to experience the outpouring of support for DCPS school libraries as we continue to build a program to serve our students and school community. Thank you!

Donations of quality children’s and young adult books will increase student access to literature in the classroom and at home. Due to the associated costs and labor to process donated books for inclusion in the library collection, book donations will either be offered to teachers to add to their classroom library or be made available directly for students to take home. Please understand that we may not be able to accept some donated items due to age, condition, or content. Please email dcps.partnerships@dc.gov if you are interested in donating books.

To support and build our school libraries, Chancellor Henderson has budgeted $20 per pupil for the purchase of library resources in school year 2015-16 (this has been in the works for more than a year). You can help support this effort by joining the DC Public Education Fund’s campaign to build the best urban school library program in the country. Please follow this link to donate http://www.dceducationfund.org, click, “Donate Now” and select, “Designate DCPS Libraries.”

Money collected will be distributed to school libraries based on the priority needs of the school library collection. The library media specialist at the school will be able to order books that meet the specific needs of their school which are processed, cataloged, and ready to shelve.

Again, we truly appreciate your support! If you are interested in volunteering in a DCPS school library, please contact me as we can always use some extra hands to help with book circulation!

Jennifer Boudrye
Director, Library Programs
Office of Teaching and Learning
District of Columbia Public Schools
1200 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
O 202.442.4452
E Jennifer.boudrye@dc.gov

Anonymous wrote:sadly, schools like Watkins can afford to throw technology and literary materials in the trash. last summer, there were two rolling totes full of books. the AP, who has been written about on the monstrous thread, "dump the cluster" directed the custodians to throw out books.

What types of books were they? Outdated textbooks?

sadly, schools like Watkins can afford to throw technology and literary materials in the trash. last summer, there were two rolling totes full of books. the AP, who has been written about on the monstrous thread, "dump the cluster" directed the custodians to throw out books.

Anonymous wrote:What this library article and the recent report on at-risk funds and where they were distributed so plainly and painfully point out is the incredible disparity within the DCPS system. It is outrageous. How can the administration allow the rich schools to continue to have it all while schools in lower SES have so much less? If some schools have a librarian, and some do not, then why can't these staff be shared-- giving everyone a part time librarian?
Each school should be given an equal chance.
If Lafayette has 28,000 books, why shouldn't some of those books be redistributed to schools in need?

DCPS is allowing the disparity because they are not providing the basics needed for ANY of its schools. Some schools have decent libraries because Target came in and redid the space. Some schools have decent libraries because parents and communities have donated to support them for decades. And some schools just don't have decent libraries. The inequity is caused because DC isn't paying for any of it. We need to stop berating individual schools for finding a way to provide something decent -- in spite of DCPS -- and start demanding that DCPS provide the basics. We need to consider how DCPS is actually spending money if the city can't fund the basics.

Why isn't Kaya focusing on having all schools have a library? I don't understood how these things get "overlooked".

I think it's understood that dcps didn't buy layfayette's books ( in this example), but these last 2 reports - on libraries and at-risk funds highlight that the system is not working and is not raising all boats. Maybe we need to go back to the idea of a citywide book drive and/or citywide fundraisers.

Anonymous wrote:What this library article and the recent report on at-risk funds and where they were distributed so plainly and painfully point out is the incredible disparity within the DCPS system. It is outrageous. How can the administration allow the rich schools to continue to have it all while schools in lower SES have so much less? If some schools have a librarian, and some do not, then why can't these staff be shared-- giving everyone a part time librarian?
Each school should be given an equal chance.
If Lafayette has 28,000 books, why shouldn't some of those books be redistributed to schools in need?

The system doesn't "allow rich schools to continue to have it all." The have-not schools get significantly more in per-pupil funding. The have schools make it up with fundraising. If Lafayette is anything like my elementary school, DCPS didn't pay for those 28,000 books, the parents did. The only way to eliminate inequality would be to ban fundraising, which would drive a lot of the wealthier families out of the system. It's not a simple problem.

I work at a Title 1 school and although many parents have smartphones, most of the kids don't have reliable internet access nor do many have tablets, kindles, etc. I have not read the Washington Post article yet, but it cannot be assumed that the lack of books problem can be easily solved by a digital format.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Lafayette has 28,000 books, why shouldn't some of those books be redistributed to schools in need?

Exactly -- there's an easy starting point. If the problem isn't too few books but where they are, then let's get a truck and start moving.

This is a DCPS problem. You can try to fault Lafayette but it would be misdirected.

Anonymous wrote:If Lafayette has 28,000 books, why shouldn't some of those books be redistributed to schools in need?

Exactly -- there's an easy starting point. If the problem isn't too few books but where they are, then let's get a truck and start moving.

What this library article and the recent report on at-risk funds and where they were distributed so plainly and painfully point out is the incredible disparity within the DCPS system. It is outrageous. How can the administration allow the rich schools to continue to have it all while schools in lower SES have so much less? If some schools have a librarian, and some do not, then why can't these staff be shared-- giving everyone a part time librarian?
Each school should be given an equal chance.
If Lafayette has 28,000 books, why shouldn't some of those books be redistributed to schools in need?

Anonymous wrote:Maintaining an elementary school for just 168 kids is part of the problem. If they closed these underenrolled schools and had even enrollment numbers across elementary schools, then each school could have a librarian, a stocked library, etc. It is a huge waste of money to have an elementary school with less than 400 students.

I get that there are economic benefits to larger schools, but there are also trade offs. Google Dunbar's number -- in a smaller school, everyone can know everyone else, which creates a more supportive elementary environment, reduces disciplinary issues, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maintaining an elementary school for just 168 kids is part of the problem. If they closed these underenrolled schools and had even enrollment numbers across elementary schools, then each school could have a librarian, a stocked library, etc. It is a huge waste of money to have an elementary school with less than 400 students.

It's more of a problem is you insist that libraries must have books stocked in shelves. Less so if you feel books could be provided via Overdrive and downloaded to Kindels and Nooks. The person who wrote on behalf of her husband and his poorly stocked library, for example, might be able to stretch the funds he's applying for by seeking grants to fund those devices and then help and assist kids and their parents to use DCPL's Overdrive. Dell has been a major donor to schools in DC. They're generous with tables etc. Again, that same person may be able to stretch those resources and his time to leverage getting them wired into classrooms and educating teachers on accessing leveled Overdrive books from DCPL (they're neatly available by Lexile and other common levels). Maybe that librarian could also help develop coaching around whatever reading curriculum is being used at the school. Readers and Writers Workshop for example hinges on those leveled classroom libraries. He could help submit funding applications to get RazKids and educate parents on how to access it on their hand held devices and tablets, which many low SES kids have at home but no space or regard for books. Etc.

(I was also the one who posted on 'outside the box' thinking. So maybe I can absolve the request for some examples with these ideas here.)

ebooks would address the distribution issue, but they're not ideal for young readers, particularly those just learning. The graphic component is less fully realized than it is with chapter books.

I suspect the state of a given school library reflects the presence (or not) of full or part time librarian. It's not just a question of acquisitions.

If you could motivate or coach parents to load overdrive or kindle app on phone, why not just utilize the public library as well for paper books so kids don't have to share on their parents' devices?

Building a school library from scratch can be done, but it's a lot of work. The parents at DD's former school did so. When Borders shut down, some of the dads borrowed a truck and bought bookshelves from the going out of business sale. The principal hired a part-time librarian to start, I believe. The families and community donated the books.

All of that required a wherewithal that a small Title I school may be stretched to muster.

Anonymous wrote:Maintaining an elementary school for just 168 kids is part of the problem. If they closed these underenrolled schools and had even enrollment numbers across elementary schools, then each school could have a librarian, a stocked library, etc. It is a huge waste of money to have an elementary school with less than 400 students.

It's more of a problem is you insist that libraries must have books stocked in shelves. Less so if you feel books could be provided via Overdrive and downloaded to Kindels and Nooks. The person who wrote on behalf of her husband and his poorly stocked library, for example, might be able to stretch the funds he's applying for by seeking grants to fund those devices and then help and assist kids and their parents to use DCPL's Overdrive. Dell has been a major donor to schools in DC. They're generous with tables etc. Again, that same person may be able to stretch those resources and his time to leverage getting them wired into classrooms and educating teachers on accessing leveled Overdrive books from DCPL (they're neatly available by Lexile and other common levels). Maybe that librarian could also help develop coaching around whatever reading curriculum is being used at the school. Readers and Writers Workshop for example hinges on those leveled classroom libraries. He could help submit funding applications to get RazKids and educate parents on how to access it on their hand held devices and tablets, which many low SES kids have at home but no space or regard for books. Etc.

(I was also the one who posted on 'outside the box' thinking. So maybe I can absolve the request for some examples with these ideas here.)