CASL newsletter

CASL ANNUAL REPORT
For the period: July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014
CASL OFFICERS 2013-2014
President: MaryEllen Minichiello
Vice President: Shelley Stedman
Vice President Intern: Jane Martellino
Recording Secretary: Chris Barlow
Treasurer: Joleen Pillar
President’s Message...
Looking Back at CASL’s Work
July1, 2013 - June 30, 2014
I would like all CASL members to know what the organization has been doing throughout the past
year. This way, if there are concerns or recommendations, you will be able to let a board
member know, and we can address them.
Each year, the officers travel to two national conferences to represent CASL in the AASL Affiliate Assembly. In
addition, officers receive conference training at leadership conferences in order for them to take on new
responsibilities as leaders in the organization.
Each year, CASL sponsors a state conference (bi-annually with CECA), spring workshops, scholarships and awards
for Connecticut school librarians, and an awards dinner (Spring Fling). In addition, the CASL board meets the first
Thursday of every month at the Orange Avenue Elementary School in Milford. Meetings are open to any CASL
member. The meetings can also be seen virtually. Visit our wiki page at http://caslboard.wikispaces.com/.
Our CASL website, as well as the CASL NING, helps members to stay up to date on local and national concerns
and events. The CASL list-serve also enhances communication among Connecticut school librarians.
In the pages of this newsletter, you will find more details regarding the highlights of our past year; we hope that
you enjoy reading about them!
If you would like financial information regarding this past fiscal year, please contact Joleen Pillar, CASL Treasurer.
Mary Ellen
CASL is committed to excellence in education by
ensuring that students are active readers and
effective users of ideas and information to
become lifelong learners.
www.ctcasl.com
A Productive Summer - 2013
June 30, 2013 - July 2, 2013
•
To request that more lesson plans be added
to the Standards for the 21st-Century
Learner Lesson Plan Database and that the
database becomes searchable by Common
Core State Standards.
•
To request AASL provide programming and
resources for school libraries serving
homeless and transient students.
Chicago ALA National Conference
In attendance: Mary Ellen Minichiello, Shelley
Stedman, Jane Martellino, David Bilmes (AASL),
Jackie Galante, (AASL) Irene Kwidinski (NESLA)
AASL Affiliate Assembly: CASL is an affiliate of AASL.
CASL sends two delegates and an alternate to
represent our organization on concerns and
commendations from our state for inclusion in the
AASL Action Plan.
Below are the 2013 Concerns that AASL approved:
•
To review and update the Crosswalk of the
Common Core Standards and the Standards
for the 21st-Century Learner.
•
To form a task force to produce products
concerning STEM initiatives.
•
To request the School Library
Implementation Task Force seek support of
state library agencies.
Below is a link for the 2013 Commendations
presented at the 2013 ALA Conference. To use the
link, you will be asked for your ALA login.
http://connect.ala.org/files/
Commendations2013_0.pdf
August 7th 2013 CASL Board Retreat
HIGHLIGHTS
The CASL Board met at Mary Ellen’s home for a breakfast meeting to plan and organize for the upcoming year.
Here are some of the highlights from the retreat:
• Discussion on volunteering for AASL’s National Conference in Hartford this November.
• Discussion on state wide concerns with SCSU’s appeal of the ALA’s lack of accreditation
• Discussion of the Unconference planned for the spring.
o The board decided to have an unconference to meet the needs of our members. The
participants in the conference will be creating the agenda of the day by writing their ideas on
sticky notes that will become sessions in the conference. Bill Derry and his work with Maker
Spaces was our first choice for keynote speaker.
• Discussion on teacher evaluations and the White Papers
o Mary Ellen updated the board on her work with the SEED and PEAC advisory committees, where
the individual representatives of specialists in education created White Papers for their
professions. The White Papers for Library Media Specialists can be found by scrolling down on
the following document: http://www.connecticutseed.org/?page_id=1966
These documents are a tool for administrators to use when evaluating library media specialists
in their buildings.
• The New England School Librarians Association (NESLA) will be hosting a conference at the Eric Carle
Museum in South Hadley, Ma at the end of the month featuring Leonard Marcus, the biographer of
Margaret Wise Brown, as well as sessions on visual literacy.
• NESLA is also planning a pre-conference with the Massachusetts School Librarian Association on
Nonfiction and the Common Core in March on the Cape.
• NESLA also is planning a networking cocktail hour at the upcoming AASL Conference in Hartford.
AASL arrived in Hartford and CASL members displayed Connecticut
hospitality to over 3000 school librarians. Numerous conference attendees were
tweeting that this conference was one of the best ever. We like to think CASL
members had something to do with this favorable evaluation. Special thanks to
Jackie Galante and David Bilmes, Local Arrangements Co-Chairs. Appreciation
to countless numbers of CASL members who volunteered their time hosting this
event. Without all of you, we would not have received such positive feedback.
Kudos to the following school media specialists who showcased their media center
programs by providing tours:
Jill Dailey from Duffy Elementary School, West Hartford
Ms. Bray and Mrs. Siena from Sage Park Middle School, Windsor
Mrs. Metheny and Mrs. Mawhinney-McCool from Glastonbury HIgh School
Tom Cesarz from Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library, Taft School, Watertown
Martha Djang and Kathy McNeiece from Swain Library, Hamden Hall Country Day,
Hamden
CASL is especially proud of several members who presented workshops at this
national conference. Just in case you missed their presentations, here is a listing with
contact information:
CASL President, Mary Ellen
Minichiello welcomes over 3000
school librarians to Hartford, CT.
Cathy Andronik ([email protected]) presented “Heard Any Good Books
Lately - Audio Books for middle and high school.”
Natalie Carrignan, Jennifer Cirino, and Irene Kwidzinksi presented “Shed Your
Invisibility Cloak: The L4L Planning Guide In Action.”
Natalie Carrignan, Aimee Shuhart, Jenn Cirino, and Kelley Auringer“Making the End
of Units New Beginnings for Student Learning.”
Barbara Johnson ([email protected]) and Maureen Schlosser
([email protected]) presented "Integrating the Arts in the Library Media
Program to Meet the CCSS."
Denise Kennedy presented “Collaboration: It’s a Challenge!”
Keynote speaker, Tony Wagner takes
center stage to kickoff the conference with
an inspiring and motivating session.
Michelle Luhtala presented “A Library in Every Pocket: Virtualizing for Mobile
Learning.”
Jenny Lussier presented “CCSS Crusaders: Empowering Educators to Tecah
Research in the Lower Grades.”
Jane Martellino ([email protected]) presented “Extend Student Learning with
Summer Library Camps.”
Stephen Kellogg & Patricia MacLachlan at the
Snowflakes Fall reception for CT librarians AASL.
Who says librarians aren’t fun?
AASL socials are the best!
Visit the conference website to
view a video montage of the
conference as well as to access
70 recorded sessions.
SLJ SUMMIT September 2014
Austin, Texas
Shelley Stedman and Jane Martellino represented CASL
at SLJ’s Annual Summit. It was an incredible opportunity to network with
approximately 100 school media specialists representing various states in the USA
and to hear inspirational speakers. In addition, Barbara Stripling, ALA President
(at that time) provided an opportunity to sign the Declaration for the Right to Libraries and pose with our CASL representatives.
Key points worth sharing:
- A panel of administrators from various districts spoke about how schools need to create a culture in which the educators
understand and embrace a single purpose: better outcomes for students. This single purpose, when acted upon will impact student
learning.
- One of the panelists coined the term “chopportunity” - challenge with opportunity. All educators (including media specialists)
are facing a barrage of challenges. However, if we can view challenges as potential opportunities, we are in a much better position
to positively impact our learning communities and transform the mindset of our colleagues. It begins with one. Be the one who
has the vision and takes the action to foster positive influence. Is your goal to be right or to build something better? Be part of the
change (in yourself or the system). Communication and information sharing is the first step. Who better than the media specialist
to take that first step!
- Another panelist said, “What does leadership look like in action? Having a vision, building capacity, and moving the vision
forward; creating a culture that recognizes the value of every individual in the school.
- One administrator challenged media specialists by calling our attention to our roles as “technology integrators,
content creators, and curators.” Our role in the instructional process is to build movers and shakers! We need to stand firm in our
role as teacher librarians--teach more and librarian less. Those parts of our job that are not connected to student success-should
not be our primary focus. When choosing tech tools, always ask, “Why are you using it and what will it change that you could not
do without the technology?”
- Advocacy has to be based on successes and results. This is an important point to remember.
- The summit ended with this call to action...
Now is the time to broaden the scope of our influence.
WINTER MONTHS... More networking and planning
CASL board members are certainly not hibernating! So much behind-the-scenes work takes place during
the winter months in order to create upcoming spring events along with the annual Fall Conference.
In addition, CASL must be represented at ALA Mid-Winter in order to have our members’ voices heard.
Mid-winter ALA Conference 2014
January, Philadelphia
In attendance: Mary Ellen, Shelley, Jane
•
The Affiliate Assembly discussed the concerns from last year; Gail Dickinson, President
of ALA, spoke to the Affiliate Assembly on the following concerns:
o Stronger support of state school library agencies: AASL forwarded this concern to
ALA
o The Cross-over between Common Core Standards and AASL’s Standards will be
strengthened and more searchable
o AASL is forming a task force to work on STEM.
o A task force is forming to service the homeless and transient population
o The AASL lesson plan database should be more researchable, it needs more
lesson plans, and it needs more publicity.
UNCONFERENCE - Spring 2014
Keynote speaker, Bill Derry, Assistant Director for
Innovation & UX at The Westport Library, set the
tone for the day with by sharing his expertise and
passion for Makerspaces.
CASL Leadership Team
From left: Shelley Stedman, Vice President; Joleen Pillar,
Treasurer; Jane Martellino, Vice President Intern; Mary
Ellen Minichiello, President; Chris Barlow, Secretary
Participants build the Unconference topics at Scholastic
headquarters in Danbury.
CASL understands that when it comes to professional development, we need to look no further than the wealth of
knowledge and expertise found within our membership. Our members present at national and state conferences,
lead PD within their schools and districts, host Edcamps, and are adjunct professors. This knowledge was the
impetus for creating our 1st Unconference which was held on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at Scholastic Library
Publishing. A partnership with Scholastic Library Publishing for advancing the professional growth of our
membership, came out of attending ALA Annual and Mid-Winter Conferences. It is at those conferences that our
CASL representative create time to network with publishers and develop relationships that will meaningfully impact
our members.
Take a peak at the schedule of sessions that resulted from the participants themselves!
One of the benefits of the Unconference format, is the “Smackdown” that occurs at the closing of the event. All
participants gather together and have the opportunity to take the microphone and share one tidbit of new learning
from the day’s event. It is an uplifting way to bring closure to the event, since many participants not only share a
new strategy or tool, they also give a “shout-out” to a colleague who shared with them. Here is a link to the
“smackdown” results.
Participants enjoy a continental breakfast thanks to
Scholastic.
The Power of Collaboration.
The Scholastic Publishing crew who helped make this
unconference run smoothly.
SPRING FLING - May 1, 2014
Special thanks to Nancy Schwartz and Sue McKenna for organizing our awards program.
AASL AFFILIATE
ASSEMBLY
ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
June 27, 2014: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
June 29, 2014: 8:00 – 12:00 a.m.
Business and Commendations
and Concerns
Shelley Stedman and Jane Martellino served as
Delegates from CASL to the AASL Affiliate
Assembly meeting this year. Mary Ellen
Minichiello served as Delegate from NESLA at
Affiliate Assembly.
AASL President Gail Dickinson announced the
new AASL Mission Statement:
The mission of the American Association of
School Librarians is to empower leaders to
transform teaching and learning.
The tagline is “Transforming Learning”
Merlyn Miller announced that the Affiliate
Assembly Executive Committee has changed its
name to Affiliate Assembly Coordinating Team
(AACT).
Anna Bolognani from Vermont was elected
Regional Representative and Shelley Stedman
was elected Alternate. Lori Donovan was elected
as Chair Elect of Affiliate Assembly and Juanita
Johnson was re-elected as recording secretary.
Commendations: A total of six commendations
went forward to ALA from Affiliate Assembly.
The full text will be available as a pdf on our
web site and/or the CASL Ning.
Program or Event to be Commended:
Indiana Pacers (and Foundation), Indianapolis, IN
Hoosier Family of Readers, Indiana Department
of Education, IN
Reading Rocks! Walk-a-thon in Cumberland
County School System, NC
Homeport’s Bright Ideas Book Bank, Columbus,
Ohio
School Librarians’ Day – University of NE
Omaha, NE
College Readiness Dialogues: Together We
Learn!, Blue Valley H.S. & Rockhurst University,
Greater – Metro Kansas City, Kansas and
Missouri
Concerns: A significant proportion of the both
meetings was spent combining and revising the
statements of concern. There were a number of
concerns that were similar from multiple states. In
the end, a total of nine concerns were moved
forward to the AASL Board of Directors.
The full text of the pdf files will be posted in
September on the CASL home page as part of the
official minutes.
Below is each concern and the action requested
of AASL by the Affiliate Assembly.
Concern from Maine: The message of the value of
school library programs staffed by certified school
librarians is not reaching all stakeholders therefore
positions and programs are being eliminated.
Action Requested of AASL:
Create an advocacy portal
· Update content of advocacy too kits
· Rebrand health/wellness toolkit to advocacy
· Add advocacy link on the AASL homepage
· Use delivery methods including social media,
infographics, and branding that reach stakeholders
· Ensure content is mobile device friendly
· Create videos of various lengths (i.e. 30 seconds, 1
minute, 2 minute, 5 minutes) showcasing exemplary
practices and disseminate to local and national media
outlets and permit local personalization
· Create advocacy toolkit for affiliates
Through the affiliation process, state affiliates would
agree to display a link to "Membership in AASL" page.
AASL will generate a list of
expectations for state affiliates to promote involvement
in AASL including the limited use of AASL logos on
affiliates' websites.
Concern from NESLA: School library positions are
going unfilled without dynamic, qualified, certified
candidates for the available positions.
Concern from VAASL: With the advent of the Race to
the Top Grants and waivers from NCLB, states have
been mandated to have teacher evaluations tied to
student progress. Librarians in many school districts are
being evaluated on either a teacher rubric or “other
personnel” rubric. Many states have mandated that a
certain percentage (40-50%) of librarians’ evaluations to
be based on student academic progress or district
determined measures (DDMs). Demonstrating this
progress has been confusing to many librarians across
the country.
Action Requested of AASL:
We would like AASL to develop a media recruitment
campaign to identify and encourage appropriate
candidates. This should include skills, interest inventory
and highlight some exemplary practioners. We would
like a space for this on Essential Links or a web page.
Concern from Pennsylvania: The results of many
concerns addressed by Affiliate Assembly and
supported by board action have not been communicated
adequately or publicly to membership.
Action Requested of AASL:
Within the Statement of Concern database,
communicate the action, status or result of each concern
in the timely manner.
Concern from Missouri: In recent weeks, the topic of
public libraries managing school libraries has been
discussed in various online social media sites. This
evolving practice seems to be increasing in its
occurrence with Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
being states where this is happening. When looking at
the goals of AASL, it does not seem that public libraries
would be able to focus on helping students and schools
meet their educational needs. Whereas school libraries
staffed by certified school librarians who have been
trained in educational theory and practice are able to
work cooperatively with students and staff to meet
achievement goals. School library positions across the
nation are continually being cut and many school
libraries are being closed. This step that some states and
cities seem to be taking is another piece toward eroding
the importance of school libraries that are staffed with
qualified/certified school librarians.
Action Requested of AASL:
Develop a position paper affirming the importance
school and public libraries play in the lives of children.
Yet, within the positive relationships these 2 types of
libraries have, there are inherent aspects of their jobs
that are different. Therefore, we would like the
following
points to be included:
· State the unique differences between school and public
library programs
· Indicate the differences between the mission of school
and public library programs
· List the differing requirement for preparation to
become school or public librarian
· Compliment the respective programs for their positive
influence on students and their developing reading skills
· Emphasize the positive influence school librarians and
their programs have on student achievement
· Discuss the discrepancy patrons have in their ease of
access to resources and services between the two types
of libraries
· Emphasize the higher level of support school
librarians give in regard to educational and curricular
standards
· Discuss the differing levels of knowledge school and
public librarians have concerning the specific needs and
services their patrons require
· Reach out to PLA, YALSA, ALSC, ACRL and other
groups for support
· Disseminate the information to administrative groups
and other stakeholders
Concern from Tennessee: TASL is concerned that,
although much time is spent discussing how ALA/
AASL can assist affiliates and vice-versa, it seems very
little tangible action is taken to strengthen those bonds.
Action Requested of AASL:
Request AASL create a link on AASL home page to an
alphabetized list of state affiliates displaying links to the
affiliates’ membership page.
Action Requested of AASL:
Update the Performance Evaluation of the School
Librarians on the Essential Links page to include links
to state affiliates’ evaluation rubrics, exemplars, position
statements, and other resources.
Concern from California: Affiliate attendance at
Annual and Midwinter meetings from the Western states
is often sparse so it is difficult for regions to
communicate as a whole. Given the technology
available we think it should be possible to have virtual
attendance at Affiliate Assembly meetings, at least
during the times when regions have their time to meet
together.
Action Requested of AASL:
Provide a virtual forum such as Blackboard or other
group virtual meeting space to be used during Affiliate
Assembly and other meeting times. Adjust the Affiliate
handbook to suggest all Affiliate Assembly members be
prepared to meet during Annual and Midwinter
meetings either in person or virtually.
Concern Region IX: We, in AASL, require a more
straightforward method of communication with both
fellow members and other divisions within ALA. At
present, there is no effective means to search the ALA
directory and locate AASL/ALA members in your area,
state, or region. This is duplicated in trying to locate
members of other ALA divisions. The ALA membership
directory needs to be able to be sorted by division, state,
and region; we need access to be able to find who is in
our immediate area, not only within AASL, but also
within ACRL, PLA, etc. We need an effective means of
communication among members.
Action Requested of AASL:
Provide a members only searchable directory. The ALA
membership directory needs to be able to be sorted by
division, state, and region. Members need to be
informed as to how to reach out to cohorts in their own
state, region or nationally.
Concern from Region IX: The Directors and Regional
Representatives of AASL need to be in direct
communication with the members of their regions. The
job descriptions of both positions require access to
members and state listservs. Some states have
information disbursed through their state AASL
organization; some receive it through their state ALA
chapter. This disconnect makes communication
difficult.
Action Requested of AASL:
Contact all state affiliates and ALA in order to provide
Directors and Regional Representatives with
complimentary memberships both in the
various AASL state organizations and in the ALA
chapters within their region for the duration of their
position.
In summary: as you can see, our concerns in
Connecticut are reflected in the concerns of our
colleagues across the nation. The state delegates to
Affiliate Assembly have worked together to request that
AASL provide materials to assist our member
organizations as we continue our important work of
“Transforming Learning.”
-Report submited by Shelley Stedman
CECA CASL CONFERENCE
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For the first time ever….CECA and CASL are collaborating on a FREE pre-conference event.
We are planning a Tech Toolbox event to be held “speed-dating” style.
Educanon has graciously agreed to participate and other participants will soon be identified.
In addition, due to our successful UnConference and the efforts of President Mary Ellen
Minichiello, and VP Intern Jane Martellino, SCHOLASTIC has agreed to sponsor this event.
This is the FIRST time that Scholastic has sponsored an event at our conference. They will also
be a Silver Sponsor of the main conference. Please make sure to thank them when you visit
their booth or speak with their Sales Representatives.
As a result of the sponsorship, a social will be held after the Tech Toolbox. We are anticipating
a yummy selection of hors d’oeuvres and a CASH BAR.
Please seriously consider an overnight stay at Mohegan Sun and avoid the morning RUSH.
With the rebate, the room is an excellent bargain and you can attend the 7:30 session without
waking up in the middle of the NIGHT!
FREE PRE-CONFERENCE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2014
JOIN US FROM 3PM- 6PM WITH REFRESHMENTS
Tech Toolbox! Tools for 21st CenturyEducators
An energy packed 3 hours of tech tools presented speed dating style!
Click here to secure your special room rate.
Y!
OTEL ROOM TODA
RESERVE YOUR HBIRD RATE $99
SPECIAL EARLY
MS AVAIL.ABLE
LIMITED # OF ROO
2014 CECA/CASL
CONFERENCE
Update by: Shelley Stedman, CASL VP and Conference Co-Chair
Conference preparations are occurring at a steady pace. Several
committees (presenter, pre-conference, keynote) as well as the
exhibits coordinator and the registrar have been busy over the
past three months organizing an informative and we hope,
energizing event for CECA and CASL members. The information is
available on our websites and is updated regularly. I hope you
took advantage of the early bird offer and are already registered.
The Keynote Speakers, Scot Osterweil and Jack Andrade are both
booked. Read more about them on the conference site.
Scot Osterweil
Jack Andrade
CASL FEATURED PRESENTERS
Our CASL featured presenters have also accepted our proposals. When CASL VP Shelley Stedman attended
AASL in Hartford, she attended a workshop by Debbie Abilock and began corresponding with her about
returning to Connecticut to present at our conference. Due to this relationship, we are fortunate to be able to
host Debbie Abilock and Kristin Fontichiarro for a minimal, less than usual honorarium. Both Ms. Abilock and
Ms. Fontichiarro have presented regularly at ALA, AASL, TLA and other events this year and have graciously
accepted our request. We will have limited number of copies of Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional
Developers by Debbie Abilock, Kristin Fontichiaro and Violet Harada, Editors. Visit the CASL table to purchase
your copy and then you can get it autographed by Debbie and Kristin!
Kristin Fontichiaro
DEBBIE ABILOCK
Kristin Fontichiaro is clinical assistant
professor at the University of Michigan
School of Information and a lecturer in
educational technology at the UM School
of Education. Her research focuses on
maximizing depth and creativity in
instructional design. She writes a series
of books on digital literacy for Cherry
Lake Publishing and has written several
books for educators on impactful
instructional design, including
Podcasting at School and Navigating the
Information Tsunami: Engaging
Research Projects That Meet the
Common Core State Standards, K-5.
Debbie Abilock lectures and consults
internationally, based on her experience as
a school administrator, curriculum
coordinator and director of a library/IT
department. She co-founded NoodleTools,
Inc., a student research environment that
enables real-time team collaboration on
academic research. In her workshops
participants can expect to encounter "rules
of thumb," "messing around and clumping"
and "points of friction" as they learn handson, minds-on strategies for teaching and
learning. Debbie has been honored as an
"Mover and Shaker," received the CSLA
President's Award for curricular leadership,
and won the Grand Prize for innovative
online curriculum from Time Magazine.
Kristin Fontichiaro
Debbie Abilock
Workshop Sessions: All of the presenter applications were read and rated by multiple people on both boards
using a rubric. The proposals were scored without presenter names listed.
The presenter committee met in June to review the scores and select the sessions. All of the selected presenters
were contacted via e-mail on June 26th and once the presenters were confirmed, the session information was
posted on the conference web site. Thank you to all of the CASL members who took the time to submit
proposals and those of you who are giving up your conference to present for us!
A draft schedule was created during the meeting and I believe that have an excellent array of sessions to offer
our attendees. Again, once the information is finalized, the schedule is posted on the conference site.
Exhibits: The exhibits coordinator reported great news (as of July 27th) that the smallest size table in the
exhibits area is now sold out and we are close to capacity for exhibitors. If you know of exhibitors that have not
committed, please let them know that they should register immediately to ensure a spot. If you haven’t looked
lately, check out the extensive list of exhibitors available on the conference web site.
SNEAK PEAK...
PLANNING FOR THE 2014 - 2015 MEMBERSHIP YEAR
CASL OFFICERS 2014-2015
President: MaryEllen Minichiello
Vice President: Shelley Stedman
Vice President Intern: Jane Martellino
Recording Secretary: Chris Barlow
Treasurer: Joleen Pillar
In August, the CASL board met for a board retreat and discussed the following topics:
The CECA/CASL Conference at Mohegan Sun on October 20th with the pre-conference on
Sunday, October 19th
1. We will need many volunteers to help run a smooth pre-conference and conference.
2. CECA and CASL will help defray the cost of hotel accommodations for those who
register for the conference and the hotel early.
3. The CASL website has links and information that is updated weekly on the conference.
Membership News
1. We discussed ideas to promote membership in the state school districts.
2. We need mentors for new LMS.
3. We will be discussing giving complimentary one year membership to new LMS, once
they graduate.
4. Mary Ellen worked on state evidence papers with other school librarians this summer;
they will be available in late fall for administrators to use, when they are evaluating
school librarians.
5. There is a possibility that the state board of education will be appointing individuals to
represent school librarians in Hartford.
Calendar for Upcoming Year
1. First meeting was September 11th in Milford. Jane officiated, since Mary Ellen was away,
and Shelley had open house at her school.
2. Board meetings will be face to face, as well as virtual, with the emphasis on being face
to face, if possible. Meetings are work meetings.
3. In addition to the CECA/CASL Conference, there is a possibility of CLC/CASL
Conference, CLA Conference participation, Unconference at Scholastic, Spring Fling.
4. New Ideas for CASL this year: state-wide book mark contest, similar to Massachusetts’.
Also a video competition added to our other recognitions at Spring Fling. Perhaps a
joint venture with CECA?
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER.
How can you strengthen our profession?
Invite your colleagues to join CASL.
Participate in the CASL listserve.
Attend CASL events.
Join the CASL board.
Contact Mary Ellen Minichiello, CASL President for additional information.
[email protected]