Why Care About School Libraries?
School libraries are critical for student achievement. Research has shown that students in schools with strong school libraries, learn more and get better grades and score higher on standardized tests than their peers in schools without libraries.

Sign the online petition and send a message about the importance of school libraries and Teacher Librarians and student achievement: http://www.change.org/petitions/los-angeles-board-of-education-rescind-all-layoff-notices-for-lausd-teacher-librarians

Learn more about how you can advocate and make a difference for students in LAUSD at http://www.lasla.blogspot.com

Access the Taft High School Amazon.com wish list to assist us in supporting the curriculum and recreational reading needs. Thank you in advance for your consideration and continued support!

FollettShelf eBook Demo: Are you interested in reading e-Books during the winter holidays? Try the e-Books demo for Taft High School and help evaluate the experience. You will need the following username and password.
  • Username:         ksheppard
  • Password:          ksheppard

Today's school libraries increase student achievement

Today's school libraries are available with both print and digital resources 24/7. I work closely with our students and teachers to integrating both the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st Century, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) NETS for students and the newly adopted California Standards for School Libraries-introducing Taft students to a wide range of search tools, databases and resources, coaching them through the research process, and integrating new Web 2.0 tools for ethically collaborating and knowledge construction.

School Libraries Count research covering decades of studies in 19 states and Canada for districts that wish to boost student achievement. READ the research. Numerous studies overwhelmingly link student achievement and strong school libraries.

Common Core Standards outlining the crucial role of Teacher Librarians in implementing the standards where research projects begin in kindergarten and increase in complexity in each grade.

Model School Library Standards adopted by the California Department of Education in Sept. 2010 that provide what library programs should look like and how their libraries should be staffed. According to these standards, information literacy instruction begins in kindergarten. Read the summary on pp. 4-5 and the staffing, access and Teacher Librarian standards on pp. 41-44.

The research shows a strong correlation between school libraries and student achievement. California public schools with strong school library programs tend to out perform those without such programs on the state's STAR tests! AND that hold true regardless of the school community's parent education and poverty levels, ethnicity, and percentage of English language learners.

Visit The California Campaign for Strong School Libraries site to learn more about the importance of your student's access to a strong school library!

NEW HOURS:

The library media center will now be open after school ONLY until 3:45pm daily. Watch for updates to extend hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 4:30pm. The exception is Tuesday, staff development when the library will close at 2:00pm.

CSLA Strong School Libraries
“California public schools with strong school library programs outperform those without such programs on the state’s STAR tests” [Achterman 08]. Research confirms that school librarians and school libraries support students in academic achievement, lifelong learning and reading.