Rosen Publishing and EveryLibrary Provide Pro-Bono Consulting

Rosen Publishing and EveryLibrary Provide Pro-Bono Consulting to State Level School Library Stakeholders for ESSA Implementation Planning

For Immediate Release
20 July 2016

Rosen Publishing and EveryLibrary Provide Pro-Bono Consulting to State Level School Library Stakeholders for ESSA Implementation Planning

Rosen Publishing and EveryLibrary today announce a joint project to provide pro-bono strategic consulting services to state-level school library stakeholders for ESSA Implementation Planning in their states. EveryLibrary, the first nationwide Political Action Committee for libraries, is working with a dozen school library associations and stakeholder groups across the country to design state specific, effective strategies to lobby and advocate for school libraries in their ESSA Plans. Rosen Publishing, a leading independent educational content provider, is committed to supporting effective school library programs and empowering school librarians in this new Every Student Succeeds Act environment for education.

Rosen Publishing and EveryLibrary have undertaken this time-sensitive project to support school library stakeholders during state-level ESSA Implementation Planning processes in several states. “ESSA has created tremendous new opportunities for states to put effective school library programs to work for their students,” says Roger Rosen, President of Rosen Publishing. “The success that ALA and AASL had in Washington getting school library issues into the bill was a singular achievement. We support them as federal rulemaking continues. But each state’s approach to ESSA Implementation will be local and distinct. EveryLibrary is uniquely positioned to provide tactical advice and support to advance a lobbying and advocacy agenda on a state-by-state basis. We are proud to provide new donor funding to EveryLibrary so they can expand their pro-bono work with the school library community.”

With ESSA, the gap for school library programs and school librarian positions from No Child Left Behind has closed. Effective school library programs have new opportunities for grant funding.  School librarians are now formally recognized in the federal law as “Specialized Instructional Support Personnel”. Each state is required to develop an ESSA Implementation Plan that addresses at least three key action areas: standards and assessment, accountability, and school improvement. The goal of this pro-bono state-level support project is to ensure that each state’s ESSA Implementation Plan has school library stakeholders at the table during development, a robust professional engagement during public comment to support the stakeholder objectives, and that every avenue to expand the role and stature of school librarians in each state is, as authorized under federal law, explored.

“We could not be effective in this project without the policy work that AASL and ALA have done,” says John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary. “Their ‘Unpacking ESSA’ tool kit provides the standards-based and outcomes-based framework that each school library stakeholder group needs to use in their particular policy setting. Rosen Publishing’s commitment to the school library community is well known and long term. They were an early donor to our public library campaigns. EveryLibrary is grateful for their expanded support for our pro-bono work. This new donation allows us to provide tactical and strategic support to these state-level school stakeholders for free.”

A comprehensive calendar of dates and deadlines for the ESSA Implementation Planning Processes in each state is posted on EveryLibrary. The US Department of Education requires all states to submit their ESSA Plan by April 2017 for Implementation in August 2017. Many are on an even more compressed timeline. EveryLibrary and Rosen Publishing invite every state school library association, school sections of state chapters, and school library stakeholders to contact us for a tactical review of ESSA Implementation. For Rosen Publishing, school libraries are at the core of our mission. For EveryLibrary, the success of school librarians is critical to the entire library ecosystem. 

About Rosen Publishing
Rosen Publishing is a privately owned, independent K-12 educational publisher who has been serving school libraries, public libraries, and classrooms with high quality, innovative supplemental materials since 1950. Rosen's books, ebooks, and databases are closely correlated to mandated curriculum topics in all 50 states. Together with its affiliates, Rosen publishes more than 1500 new titles each year. Rosen Publishing's holdings consist of numerous companies, imprints, and programs including: Rosen Publishing, PowerKids Press, Windmill Books, Rosen Classroom, Rosen Digital, Rosen en español, Britannica Educational Publishing, Gareth Stevens Publishing, Cavendish Square Publishing, Jackdaw Publishing, and Enslow Publishing. For more information, visit: www.rosenpublishing.com.

Contact:
Miriam Gilbert
Rosen Publishing
303.818.7187
[email protected]

About EveryLibrary
EveryLibrary is the first national Political Action Committee dedicated to building voter support for libraries. Since its founding in 2013, EveryLibrary has assisted 36 library communities with ballot measures to expand or renew funding for buildings, collections, programs, services and staffing, winning 27 and securing over $100 million in stable tax money. EveryLibrary’s mission is to provide pro-bono campaign consultancy and technical assistance to library communities, and to support libraries and librarians in campaign communications. As a 501c4, we do not campaign for or support any candidate for office at any level of government. Our work is entirely supported by donors, both individuals and vendors. More about our work building voter support for libraries can be found at www.everylibrary.org and action.everylibrary.org.

Contact:
John Chrastka, Executive Director
EveryLibrary
312-574-0316
[email protected]

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