WA Secretary of State Blogs

Active Shooter Resources

Friday, December 11th, 2015 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Public Services | Comments Off on Active Shooter Resources


childsafety-pixabay-publicdomain

From the desk of Rand Simmons

December 2015

Because of recent events in the media there is national concern over active shooting and keeping family and friends safe. Here is one list of resources, many of which focus on children.*

Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990. The helpline is also available in Spanish, by text and by TTY. http://www.disasterdistress.samhsa.gov/

Talking to Children about the Shooting http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/talking_to_children_about_the_shooting.pdf

How to talk to your child about the news. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/news.html

Tips for Parents on explaining media coverage to children http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/tips_for_parents_media_final.pdf

Restoring a Sense of Safety in the Aftermath of a Mass Shooting: Tips for Parents and Professionals http://www.cstsonline.org/resources/resource-master-list/restoring-a-sense-of-safety-in-the-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-tips-for-parents-and-professionals

Psychological First Aid for Schools Field Operations Guide http://www.nctsn.org/content/psychological-first-aid-schoolspfa

Coping with Crisis – Helping Children with Special Needs http://ubhc.rutgers.edu/tlc/guidelines/educators/CopingwithCrisisHelpingChildrenSpecialNeeds.html

Facing Fear: Helping Young People Deal with Terrorism and Tragic Events – for ages 5 to 7.
http://www.redcross.ca/crc/documents/3-7-2_Tools-for-Teachers_Facing-Fear-Module-1-(ages-5-7).pdf

Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/cope_with_crisis_book/Pages/index.aspx

After a Crisis: Helping Young Children Heal – checklist http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/helping_young_children_heal_crisis.pdf

Parent Tips for Helping Preschool-Age Children after Disasters http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/appendix_tips_for_parents_with_preschool_children.pdf

Coping with Disasters, National Library of Medicine
English:   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/copingwithdisasters.html
Spanish: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/copingwithdisasters.html

Original list compiled by Andrew R. Roszak, JD, MPA, Senior Director, Emergency Preparedness, Child Care Aware® of America as posted to the ARSL Membership, December 10, 2015, posted by Susan Hanks, California State Library

*These resources are not vetted or endorsed by the Washington State Library / Office of the Secretary of State.

Supporting Teacher-Librarians

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public | Comments Off on Supporting Teacher-Librarians


Upon recommendation of Washington State Librarian Rand Simmons, the Office of the Secretary of State supported Senate Bill No. (SB) 6105 at a recent hearing. The bill addresses teacher-librarians and the provision of resources and materials for the operation of school library information and technology programs. It changes the name of “school-library media programs” to the “school library information and technology programs” thus updating the criteria for school library programs bringing them into Craig Seasholes, Teacher Librarianthe 21st Century!

Katie Blinn, Deputy Policy Director for the Office of the Secretary of State, said, “The bill reinforces the idea of libraries providing technology, not just books.” Certainly school libraries have been battered by the budget woes of the past few years. “Too often, it seems, cutting the school library is an easy budget reduction,” said State Librarian Rand Simmons. “But, I believe that teacher-librarians are integral to the education of students and this bill clarifies their role.”

The bill is a request of the Washington Library Media Association (WLMA). Sharyn Merrigan, the teacher-librarian at Marshall Middle School in Olympia and President-Elect of WLMA noted in her testimony before Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

“Teacher-librarians play a central role in their schools and in the education of students. At WLMA, we have identified the three main responsibilities of the 21st century teacher-librarian. Those responsibilities are:
• Support for information and technology literacy instruction
• Reading advocacy for lifelong learning and enrichment
• Equitable access to information resources and services
As an organization, we have adopted a framework for these three responsibilities, which can be summed up as Library, Information, and Technology, or LIT . . .”

WLMA’s legislative liaison, Sara Glass, teacher-librarian at Tumwater’s Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School supported the new language in SB 6105, by stating, “teacher-librarian in the school library information and technology program … describes how we provide both the vision and the leadership for emerging technologies that can transform student learning and the classroom curriculum.”

By the way, have you noticed the term “school librarian” hasn’t been mentioned? For at least a decade school librarians have adopted the term teacher-librarian because it both clarifies they are certified professional teachers and points to their focus on teaching.

The bill is supported by the Washington Education Association (WEA). Chief Lobbyist Lucinda Young says WEA will introduce a bill that “. . . would provide the funding for school districts to hire enough teacher-librarians for all our schools and return para-educators to full employment.”

SB 6105 was heard in committee of January 22, voted out of committee on January 24, and passed to Rules Committee on January 27. The next step will be a vote of the Senate. WLMA leaders are optimistic that the bill will receive favorable treatment in the House.

Public librarians and teacher-librarians met with legislators on Friday, January 24. The buzz over the reception of legislators to SB 6105 was both electrifying and gratifying.

Washington Librarian Goes to Washington

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News | Comments Off on Washington Librarian Goes to Washington


The “other” Washington, that is, Washington D.C. Mark Ray, Washington’s 2011 Teacher of the Year, and a librarian and media specialist from Skyview High School, Vancouver, WA, is currently in the nation’s capitol where he, along with the teachers of the year from the other states, got to visit the White House, and shake the president’s hand. While in town he also plans to meet with Washington’s senators, and others to advocate for school libraries. In this picture, Mark is in the back row, far right. The full story is printed in today’s Columbian. We previously saluted librarian Ray when he won his award, back in October, 2011.

President Barack Obama congratulates Rebecca Mieliwocki, the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Tuesday  at the White House. Skyview High School's Mark Ray, Washington's Teacher of the Year, is in the back row far right.

Teacher of the Year (a Librarian) Fights Truthiness

Friday, October 28th, 2011 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News | Comments Off on Teacher of the Year (a Librarian) Fights Truthiness


Kudos go to Mark Ray, Teacher and Librarian/Media Specialist at Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA who was recently named Washington’s Teacher of the Year. The award was announced by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, during a ceremony in Seattle, Oct. 3, 2011.

An article in the Vancouver Columbian is filled with encomiums of well-deserved praise for librarian Ray.

Then, what should appear in the Seattle Times today? Nothing less than a guest column by Ray, in which he attacks the evils of “truthiness” in American society, explaining and defending the role of libraries and librarians in 21st century schools.

“Truthiness,” according to Ray, quoting Wikipedia, is a term coined by comedian Stephen Colbert, and is defined as “truth” that a person feels intuitively “from the gut” or that “feels right” without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, let alone the facts!

“Librarians fight truthiness,” asserts Ray, “And truthiness is bad for America.” Further,

That makes libraries and librarians good for America. As a teacher librarian, my job is to ensure that students are effective users and producers of information and ideas.

And,

Truthiness is a pox on our society. Trading conjecture for the confirmed and sound bites for the hard work of research, scholarship and attribution, truthiness is a laziness of the mind. And like childhood obesity, it will cost our country far more than we realize.

He concludes, “Truthiness is bad for America. And I have the facts to back that up.”

Hooray for teacher librarians like Mark Ray! Kudos to you on being named Teacher of the Year! And thank you for using your well-deserved fame to highlight the important role that you, and all of the other teacher librarians still serving our schools, play in the lives of students and teachers every day.

Mark Ray, we salute you!

Here are the links:

WSL Updates for December 30, 2010

Thursday, December 30th, 2010 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for December 30, 2010


Volume 6, December 30, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WSL GOES SOCIAL

2) GRANTS FOR THE BIG READ

3) TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY FOR SECONDARY EDUCATORS

4) AFTER-SCHOOL ARTS PROGRAMS RECOGNIZED

5) OPEN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »

Lynne Greene Award and Profile

Friday, June 18th, 2010 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News | Comments Off on Lynne Greene Award and Profile


06/04/10 lynne greene

Lynne Greene, who recently won the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, has been director of the Davis High School Library for 27 years. Greene traveled to the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia in April to receive the award.

And she’s up for another honor this summer. Her two staffers are nominating her for the Washington Library Media Association’s 2010 Librarian of the Year.

The Yakima-Herald Republic has a detailed profile of Greene in its June 3, 2010 online issue. The announcement from the Washington Commission for National and Community Services is available here.

Congratulations, Lynne! We salute you!