CSLA Southern Region Scholarship Opportunities

Are you in school, or do you know someone in school, to earn a Teacher-Librarian credential or Paraprofessional School Library Technician certificate? Could you use some money to help pay for that?? Then keep reading...

The California School Library Association makes every effort to support all persons working in a school library, or working toward such a job. We understand the importance of making sure that every school in California has a Teacher-Librarian and a Paraprofessional, or at least one of those if not both. Therefore, CSLA wants to make it easier for people to gain the education needed to fill those positions.

The Southern Region of CSLA is offering 3 scholarships at this time. We are offering two (2) $1,000 scholarships to assist those persons working toward a degree or credential which will qualify them to work as a professional Teacher-Librarian. We are also offering one (1) $500 scholarship to assist a school library paraprofessional in completing a school library technician or paraprofessional certificate program, or obtaining a teaching credential with the ultimate goal of pursuing a Teacher-Librarian credential.

There is an application process for these scholarships, and persons must live in the Southern Region of California. The applications and information are available at http://cslass.wikispaces.com/Scholarships, our CSLA Southern Region wiki. The applications and letters of recommendation are due by January 10, 2014. Questions?? Email Sondra Keckley, CSLA Southern Region President-Elect, at sondra_keckley@kernhigh.org .

CSLA Members, 

Please plan to attend our Virtual Membership meeting next Saturday, November 9 at 10 AM. (Please check the October 31 email from info@csla.net with the subject line "Nov. 9 Virtual Membership Meeting Information & Satellite Locations" for details about the meeting.

In anticipation of the meeting, please review the draft minutes from November 17, 2012 annual membership meeting, which have been posted in our membership portal. Here is a direct link to the November 17 minutes. We will be voting to approve these minutes next Saturday.

We look forward to seeing you online on Saturday.

Sincerely,

Your CSLA Board

Back-to-School with Common Core

As we unpack, decode, and analyze the Common Core, one thing is certain. This year will be a transitional one for most schools in California.  Uncertainty reigns.  Even state assessments for this spring are currently undecided. *  While the students may not see any major changes this year, the teaching staff is feeling anxious.  Some of my teachers have told me how excited they are about the new standards which encourage complexity over quantity, delving deeper into subjects.  But many of my teachers are nervous about the lack of clarity.  Materials are in flux with indecision about which textbook to use, the old one or the new untested one.  

This time of change is a great opportunity for school librarians to lead.  I see this transition as fertile ground to plant seeds for stronger collaboration between teacher librarians and classroom teachers.  At schools across the country, new curriculum is moving into place.  Teacher librarians can embed ourselves into that new curriculum.  The first step is to become better informed about the changes so we can help guide the transition in our schools.

School Library Journal has published a series of articles about the Common Core through the lens of the school library.  Those articles are archived here.   http://www.slj.com/category/opinion/on-common-core/

In the Northern Region, all the CSLA workshops for the upcoming year will examine the Common Core and school libraries.  The focus of each workshop may be slightly different, but the theme will be the same.  The first workshop will be in San Francisco in early December. Details will be posted here. The 2014 CSLA conference in San Diego will be another learning opportunity.

This is our chance to embrace the mantle of lifelong learners as we explore what this change means for school libraries, our curriculum, our teachers, and our students.  Let us support each other as we take on this new challenge.

2014 Conference Exhibitor Update

Planning for the CSLA 2014 State Conference, Journey to eXpertise, is underway! 

In mid-July, 400 prospective exhibitors received an Exhibitor Prospectus outlining available exhibit spaces and opportunities at our upcoming San Diego conference. We’ve had excellent response to our call for exhibitors. To date, 48% of available exhibit space has already claimed, and 8 Exhibitor Learning Sessions scheduled. We are also pleased to announce sponsorships from Perma-Bound and Follett School Solutions. Perma-Bound will be sponsoring attendee conference bags, and Follett School Solutions is sponsoring author conference expenses.

If your organization is interested in exhibit space, or scheduling a Learning Session during the conference, please visit http://csla.net/2014-conference-vendor-information to view our prospectus or reserve your exhibit space online. Discount pricing is still available for remaining exhibit spaces, but pricing increases and our publication deadline for the preliminary program are fast approaching!

We hope your journey will bring you to San Diego in February 2014.

ALA 2013 Highlights

Please see my account of takeaways from the ALA 2013 conference in my TL Back in the Library blog and my write up of the AASL Awards Luncheon in the AASL Blog for some highlights from the ALA 2013 conference. Please consider sharing your own highlights here!

CSLAsr Section 5 Spring Social and Movie Event Sunday May 26th!

 

Join us at 2pm on Sunday, May 26th 

for networking and viewing

The Hollywood Librarian!

13137 Poway Rd, Poway, CA 92064

Poway Library Directions

CSLA Southern Region Workshop Saturday April 27th! Register NOW!

http://cslasrspringworkshop2013.weebly.com/

Register now for the 2013 CSLA Southern Region Spring Workshop!

All the info you need is at:

http://cslasrspringworkshop2013.weebly.com/

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Register before

April 20^th, 2013: 

$60 CSLA Member

$75 Non-Member

At the door:

$70 CSLA Member

$85 Non-Member

Raffle!

Free WiFi!  = Upgrade to a faster speed for $2.99

Free Parking!

Continental Breakfast – Lunch – Mid-Afternoon Snack 

Knott's Berry's Famous Chicken Lunch with Boysenberry Pie! 

(Vegetarian pasta available)