Books Galore Introduction
Books Galore Inc. We do it all! How are we different from all the other book vendors?
We are a major distributor that will come to your library to show you samples. AND offer free shipping and processing on orders of 25+ books.
We match all publisher discounts and prizes.
We will match or beat any publishers or distributors prices.
For more information about Books Galore please go to our website at www.booksgaloreinc.com
Sales Representative for UTAH, Oregon, Idaho and Western Wyoming:
Kim Paul
801-603-6570
Grant Links for Libraries
- Blog Spot for Library Grants
- Capstone Publishing Grant Link
- Dollar General Grant
- Enviromental Education Grants
- General Mills Box Tops for Education
- Government Grant Site (check for current grants)
- Grant writing 101 links
- Grant writing tools for non-profit organizations
- Grants to Increase Academic Success Through School/Community Collaborations for Pacific NW
- Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program CFDA 84.364A
- Programming Librarian Grants (Multiple Ongoing Grants)
- Scholastic variety of grants
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Struggling Schools face dire options
Struggling schools face dire options
Education » Struggling campuses offered grants -- and strings that come with the cash.
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/15/2010 10:01:58 PM MDT
Struggling Utah schools might soon have to make dramatic changes.
The U.S. Department of Education is giving Utah $17.4 million to turn around the state's persistently lowest achieving schools, the department announced Thursday. Schools that get the extra money, however, will have to make one of four major changes:
» Replace their principals and half their teachers.
» Convert into charter schools.
» Close their doors.
» Replace the principal and improve the school through curriculum reform, training for educators, extending learning time and other strategies.
Sixty low-performing Utah schools are eligible to apply for the money, called School Improvement Grants. But it's unclear how many Utah districts will apply given the serious set of strings attached. Districts have about a month to decide, said Brenda Hales, state associate superintendent.
"This is one of those things where it's a brand new approach to the program, and we'll see how it works," she said.
The feds are hoping the grants lead to real change for students in struggling schools. School improvement grants have been around for years, but not with the new requirements, and they haven't been available to as many schools as they will be now. Utah is one of six states to get this first round of the money, which will likely be given to all states over time.
"These are aggressive interventions that require tough decisions but ultimately are the right thing for our kids," said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education.
A number of Utah school districts are still undecided.
Ben Horsley, spokesman for the Granite School District, which has 12 eligible schools, called some of the four models for change "draconian." Still, he said, Granite is seriously considering applying.
"Some of goals that we are pursuing and the decisions that we have already made fall in line with concepts that are outlined in these models, specifically the transformation model," Horsley said, referring to the option that involves replacing the principal and improving the school through curriculum reform, training for educators, extending learning time, and other strategies.
The Salt Lake City School District, which has 10 eligible schools, is also considering applying, said McKell Withers, district superintendent. He said the district likely wouldn't consider closing schools but the other options aren't out of the question.
"It gives you a window with some resources to potentially match teachers' skills with student needs across the district," he said.
Withers said some of the more dramatic interventions might work better in other areas of the country.
"There are probably some schools in the United States that need that type of immediate and radical intervention," Withers said. "Then you come to a state like Utah, and does Utah really have any schools performing at that low of a level? Well, compared to the rest of the country, probably not."
Other districts don't want the money.
The Canyons District, which has three eligible schools, has decided not to seek the money -- for now, said Jeff Haney, a district spokesman. He said the four models are dramatic and would be difficult to accomplish in just a year.
"We feel like we have gone about focusing our instruction at some of those schools, and that will give us the desired results for increasing student achievement," Haney said.
And the San Juan District, in southeastern Utah, is still on the fence, but for different reasons. The district has five schools eligible for the dollars.
"Beyond just being dramatic, one of our concerns is all of our schools are in very remote locations and so in each of those potential options, there are a number of issues that would be a real challenge in a rural setting," said Clayton Holt, San Juan business administrator.
Transferring teachers to another school, for example, would likely mean those teachers would have to move or endure extremely long commutes, he said. Closing schools would mean hours a day on buses for students.
"That's just not practical," Holt said. "That's not going to happen."
Hales, the state associate superintendent, said what might work for the eastern part of the country doesn't necessarily work in more rural areas. "You have to be careful when you're trying to make change on a national level that you don't get caught up with one-size-fits-all."
Still, she said the money could mean significant help for Utah schools aiming to improve student achievement.
"It means they would have additional funds for having the training or materials or programs that would help them to quickly raise kids' proficiency in reading and math," Hales said. "It just helps give schools a push in making a change."
Which schools are eligible for money?
In its application to the U.S. Department of Education, Utah identified 60 low performing schools based on academic progress and achievement. Some of the schools listed below will get higher priority than others for the money based on their performance levels:
Carbon
Lighthouse Learning Center
Canyons
Midvale Elementary
East Midvale Elementary
Sandy Elementary
Davis
Doxey Elementary
Vae View Elementary
Granite
Hillsdale Elementary
Oquirrh Hills Elementary
Redwood Elementary
Arcadia Elementary
Thomas W. Bacchus Elementary
Jim Bridger Elementary
Western Hills Elementary
Fox Hills Elementary
Granger High
Kearns High
Matheson Junior HIgh
Granite Park Junior High
Iron
Southwest Education Academy
Jordan
Columbia Elementary
Logan
Logan South Campus
Nebo
Orchard Hills Elementary
Ogden
James Madison Elementary
Gramercy Elementary
Dee Elementary
Odyssey Elementary
T.O. Smith Elementary
Bonneville Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Ogden High
Washington High
Ben Lomond High
Provo
Farrer Elementary
Timpanogos Elementary
Independence High
Salt Lake City
Northwest Middle
Edison Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Franklin Elementary
M. Lynn Bennion Elementary
Parkview Elementary
Rose Park Elementary
Glendale Middle
East High
Highland High
San Juan
Mexican Hat Elementary
Bluff Elementary
Monument Valley High
Navajo Mountain High
Whitehorse High
Tooele
Anna Smith Elementary
Wendover High
Uintah
LaPoint Elementary
Eagle View Elementary
Wasatch
Heber Valley Elementary
Washington
Red Mountain Elementary
Weber
Roy Elementary
Charters
Pinnacle Canyon Academy
Guadalupe School
Dual Immersion Academy
Education » Struggling campuses offered grants -- and strings that come with the cash.
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/15/2010 10:01:58 PM MDT
Struggling Utah schools might soon have to make dramatic changes.
The U.S. Department of Education is giving Utah $17.4 million to turn around the state's persistently lowest achieving schools, the department announced Thursday. Schools that get the extra money, however, will have to make one of four major changes:
» Replace their principals and half their teachers.
» Convert into charter schools.
» Close their doors.
» Replace the principal and improve the school through curriculum reform, training for educators, extending learning time and other strategies.
Sixty low-performing Utah schools are eligible to apply for the money, called School Improvement Grants. But it's unclear how many Utah districts will apply given the serious set of strings attached. Districts have about a month to decide, said Brenda Hales, state associate superintendent.
"This is one of those things where it's a brand new approach to the program, and we'll see how it works," she said.
The feds are hoping the grants lead to real change for students in struggling schools. School improvement grants have been around for years, but not with the new requirements, and they haven't been available to as many schools as they will be now. Utah is one of six states to get this first round of the money, which will likely be given to all states over time.
"These are aggressive interventions that require tough decisions but ultimately are the right thing for our kids," said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education.
A number of Utah school districts are still undecided.
Ben Horsley, spokesman for the Granite School District, which has 12 eligible schools, called some of the four models for change "draconian." Still, he said, Granite is seriously considering applying.
"Some of goals that we are pursuing and the decisions that we have already made fall in line with concepts that are outlined in these models, specifically the transformation model," Horsley said, referring to the option that involves replacing the principal and improving the school through curriculum reform, training for educators, extending learning time, and other strategies.
The Salt Lake City School District, which has 10 eligible schools, is also considering applying, said McKell Withers, district superintendent. He said the district likely wouldn't consider closing schools but the other options aren't out of the question.
"It gives you a window with some resources to potentially match teachers' skills with student needs across the district," he said.
Withers said some of the more dramatic interventions might work better in other areas of the country.
"There are probably some schools in the United States that need that type of immediate and radical intervention," Withers said. "Then you come to a state like Utah, and does Utah really have any schools performing at that low of a level? Well, compared to the rest of the country, probably not."
Other districts don't want the money.
The Canyons District, which has three eligible schools, has decided not to seek the money -- for now, said Jeff Haney, a district spokesman. He said the four models are dramatic and would be difficult to accomplish in just a year.
"We feel like we have gone about focusing our instruction at some of those schools, and that will give us the desired results for increasing student achievement," Haney said.
And the San Juan District, in southeastern Utah, is still on the fence, but for different reasons. The district has five schools eligible for the dollars.
"Beyond just being dramatic, one of our concerns is all of our schools are in very remote locations and so in each of those potential options, there are a number of issues that would be a real challenge in a rural setting," said Clayton Holt, San Juan business administrator.
Transferring teachers to another school, for example, would likely mean those teachers would have to move or endure extremely long commutes, he said. Closing schools would mean hours a day on buses for students.
"That's just not practical," Holt said. "That's not going to happen."
Hales, the state associate superintendent, said what might work for the eastern part of the country doesn't necessarily work in more rural areas. "You have to be careful when you're trying to make change on a national level that you don't get caught up with one-size-fits-all."
Still, she said the money could mean significant help for Utah schools aiming to improve student achievement.
"It means they would have additional funds for having the training or materials or programs that would help them to quickly raise kids' proficiency in reading and math," Hales said. "It just helps give schools a push in making a change."
Which schools are eligible for money?
In its application to the U.S. Department of Education, Utah identified 60 low performing schools based on academic progress and achievement. Some of the schools listed below will get higher priority than others for the money based on their performance levels:
Carbon
Lighthouse Learning Center
Canyons
Midvale Elementary
East Midvale Elementary
Sandy Elementary
Davis
Doxey Elementary
Vae View Elementary
Granite
Hillsdale Elementary
Oquirrh Hills Elementary
Redwood Elementary
Arcadia Elementary
Thomas W. Bacchus Elementary
Jim Bridger Elementary
Western Hills Elementary
Fox Hills Elementary
Granger High
Kearns High
Matheson Junior HIgh
Granite Park Junior High
Iron
Southwest Education Academy
Jordan
Columbia Elementary
Logan
Logan South Campus
Nebo
Orchard Hills Elementary
Ogden
James Madison Elementary
Gramercy Elementary
Dee Elementary
Odyssey Elementary
T.O. Smith Elementary
Bonneville Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Ogden High
Washington High
Ben Lomond High
Provo
Farrer Elementary
Timpanogos Elementary
Independence High
Salt Lake City
Northwest Middle
Edison Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Franklin Elementary
M. Lynn Bennion Elementary
Parkview Elementary
Rose Park Elementary
Glendale Middle
East High
Highland High
San Juan
Mexican Hat Elementary
Bluff Elementary
Monument Valley High
Navajo Mountain High
Whitehorse High
Tooele
Anna Smith Elementary
Wendover High
Uintah
LaPoint Elementary
Eagle View Elementary
Wasatch
Heber Valley Elementary
Washington
Red Mountain Elementary
Weber
Roy Elementary
Charters
Pinnacle Canyon Academy
Guadalupe School
Dual Immersion Academy
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Return Library Books or Else: Borrowers Arrested for Failing to Return Overdue Books, DVDs
Return Library Books or Else: Borrowers Arrested for Failing to Return Overdue Books, DVDs
Frustrated by Loss of Property, Towns Resort to Arresting Negligent Library Patrons
Click on link below for entire story: http://feeds.abcnews.com/abcnews/worldnewsheadlines
Handcuffed and in the back of a police cruiser, Aaron Henson wracked his brain trying to figure out how a simple speeding violation had led to his arrest.
The answer from the Colorado State Patrol stunned him. Henson never returned the DVD he'd checked out of the Littleton library, and there was awarrant out for his arrest.
"I was just shocked," he said. "I was like 'What? I've got a what now?'"
After spending eight hours in a county jail, during which time he was fingerprinted, photographed and booked, Henson's father bailed him out. He had tried calling his mother for help, but she didn't seem to believe him, telling Henson there was no "book police."
But indeed there is. Towns across the county, frustrated with trying to replace wayward materials on a shoestring budget, have turned to issuing citations, court appearances, even reporting the offending library patron to their credit bureaus.
City spokeswoman Kelli Narde said Littleton lost $7,800 in lost library materials in 2009, including Henson's DVD. They issued 81 summonses for failure to return library materials, she said. "And 80 of them were resolved without a problem."
"I understand the city was following its procedure ... but when somebody's not informed of a court date and then they're getting arrested on the side of the road, getting embarrassed, having fear and all that, it just doesn't sit well with me," Henson said.The warrant Henson was brought in on in January was actually for failure to appear. The town claimed it sent numerous bills, notices, a summons and a notice of a court date, but they apparently were all sent to a previous address and Henson saw none of them.
Narde said they don't buy that Henson never knew they were looking for the DVD, noting that they left two cell phone messages and that their notices didn't get returned by the postal service meaning someone had to have picked them up at his old address.
It never entered his mind again until he was pulled over on Interstate 70 during a snowstorm. After the state troopers drove him away, Henson's car was towed and impounded, a note left on it to indicate the driver had been arrested.The offending DVD? "House of the Flying Daggers," a 2004 Chinese film valued at around $31.45 by the Littleton-Bemis Public Library -- just a little higher than the city's $30 threshold for getting the legal system involved. Henson checked it out in 2004, left it with a friend to watch and forgot about it.
"I made the comment, 'This has got to be one of the stupidest arrests you've ever made,'" Henson said.
Narde said the city council met Tuesday and agreed to research a possible revision to the policy on issuing arrest warrants in similar cases.
"In the meantime the court and the police department have been directed not to issue any summons for failure to return library materials," she said.
The city has also refunded the $460 the arrest cost the Hensons and promised to wipe the incident off Henson's record, according to ABC's Denver affiliate KMGH.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Utah suspends school accountability standards -- for now.
State suspends school accountability standards
Saving money » The U-PASS system will be discontinued until 2013.
Updated: 04/09/2010 10:40:56 PM MDT
Utah is ditching its main state accountability measure for schools -- for now.
A bill recently signed into law means the state Office of Education will not be required, at least until 2013, to produce annual reports showing whether each school met state testing, or U-PASS, goals for the previous school year. Students will still take tests, and results of those tests and other measures will still be available, but they won't be used to determine whether Utah schools met certain state achievement goals.
For years, Utah schools have had to answer to two accountability systems: the state U-PASS system and the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Now, schools will no longer have to meet U-PASS achievement goals.
"The only accountability system left in place will be No Child Left Behind," said Judy Park, state associate superintendent.
Park said the state will cease publishing U-PASS reports this year. Barring other changes to state law, the state Office of Education will not resume publishing those reports until the summer of 2013, she said.
The change is a little talked-about effect of a bill, HB166, meant to help the state save money. Though Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill into law last month, some state education leaders and the bill's sponsor, Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, didn't know HB166 would suspend the U-PASS accountability measure until this week.
Dougall said he was aware his bill would suspend a number of different reports. "Do I know the details of every single report? No, nor is it that important," he said.
He said suspending that part of the U-PASS system will be no loss to the state because it wasn't improving education for kids.
"I've yet to be shown that state testing has provided any meaningful accountability," Dougall said. "It simply provides the appearance of accountability."
Several others said they're not sure whether suspending that accountability measure will affect education in Utah.
Terri Roylance, principal at Arcadia Elementary School in Taylorsville, said schools should be held accountable, but that Arcadia relies on many measures to determine its progress.
"I honestly can't see that it would change our goals for the school," Roylance said.
JoDee Sundberg, an Alpine District board member who worked with education groups who originally recommended the changes to lawmakers, said schools will still be held accountable by having to show their results to the public. Plus, she said, the state is moving toward a different type of testing system anyway.
In fact, HB166 also suspends the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test (UBSCT) for two years. Part of the money saved by that will go toward a pilot testing system that some are hoping will eventually go statewide.
Park said she hopes that when No Child Left Behind (NCLB), also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is reauthorized, its accountability system will be good enough to stand on its own.
"It's always been difficult to have two separate accountability systems," Park said. "It would be very, very nice when ESEA is reauthorized we have one really good accountability system that meets state and federal interests."
Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based Center on Education Policy, said it's possible a reauthorized version of NCLB will better satisfy states. He said President Barack Obama's plan is to give more consideration to academic progress over time. The question, however, is whether Congress will get around to reauthorizing the law soon and how much of Obama's plan they'll agree with.
For years, state education leaders have trumpeted the U-PASS system as more fair than NCLB. NCLB requires certain percentages of students in each of a number of ethnic, ability and income groups to score on-grade level in reading and math on state tests. Schools that accept federal Title 1 dollars for serving low-income students, and fail to meet those goals, face sanctions.
Under U-PASS, schools must either hit certain testing targets or show they're making progress. Also, unlike NCLB, U-PASS doesn't require schools to make sure certain percentages of students in each ethnic, ability and income group meet the goals. Instead, those groups are put together and must meet the goals as a whole. And schools don't face sanctions for failing to meet U-PASS goals.
Jennings said a significant minority of states, like Utah, have their own accountability systems. He said having two accountability systems can be confusing to parents, and teachers tend to feel more pressure from NCLB than their state systems, anyway. But he said some state accountability systems have useful features.
"In theory, it's a good thing to have one system," Jennings said, "but in practice, it would be a shame to lose some good features of a current system."
Policy changes
HB166, which was signed into law in March, will do several things, including:
U-Pass » Suspend until 2013 the requirement that the state Office of Education produce U-PASS reports showing whether individual schools met state U-PASS achievement goals.
UBSCT » Suspend the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test (UBSCT) for two years, meaning students now in grades eight through 11 wouldn't have to take it before graduation.
CRTs » Eliminate the state's main achievement test, Criterion Referenced Tests (CRTs), for second-graders.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Publishers & Librarians: Two Cultures, One Goal
By Barbara Fister -- Library Journal, 5/1/2009
For two professions so committed to meeting the needs of readers, publishers and librarians have distinct cultures. Put simply, one culture is all about developing and selling books; the other is about sharing them and fostering a culture of reading. But there's another basic difference, too. Publishers work closely with authors and use sales figures to tell them what readers want, interpreting those figures like tea leaves. Librarians work closely with readers, using them as informants to help them select books that will satisfy the diverse tastes of a community.
to read more go to:http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6652447.html
reBlog from savelibraries.org: Ask your senators to support library funding!
I found this fascinating quote today:
Please call your U.S. senators in Washington, D.C., today and ask them to sign onto a “Dear Appropriator” letter that is circulating around the Senate. This letter will be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee and will be asking the committee to support the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program in its FY2011 budget.savelibraries.org, Ask your senators to support library funding!, Apr 2010
You should read the whole article.
Save Libraries!
SaveLibraries.org, Two Weeks Old and Going Strong
April 6, 2010 - 5:43pm — birdieWant to keep up on what's happening with efforts around the country to help save libraries? There's a great new site for that, appropriately named Save Libraries. Their motto is "When one library is in trouble, ALL libraries are in trouble." This project is being run by Lori Reed and Heather Braum. They can’t do this alone and are looking for additional help creating and maintaining the content on this site.
Save Libraries is a grassroots effort to compile information about libraries in need of our support. Save Libraries will aggregate information about current advocacy efforts, archive advocacy efforts, and provide links to resources for libraries facing cuts. The project began barely two weeks ago, and is already attracting attention.
Please email us at savelibs (at) gmail (dot) com for questions, comments, or concerns. Please tag your Web content with savelibraries to make it easier for us to find and collect it.
Kudos to none other than our own Blake Carver and LISHost.org for donating hosting for this site and getting WordPress up and running within minutes. This site is dedicated to advocacy for libraries–getting the message out about why libraries are important.
We’re looking for advocacy information, testimonials from patrons and staff, photos, videos, anything to help save our libraries. Please pitch in!! Use the tag savelibraries or #savelibraries on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to this site please email savelibs@gmail.com.
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