Massachusetts School Library Association
MEMBER PORTAL:                 
​Join or Renew     Member Directory
  • Home
  • About MSLA
    • Spotlight Archive
    • Executive Board Meetings
    • MSLA Leadership 2018-19 >
      • Meet the MSLA eBoard
    • Joint Statements: MLA, MassCUE
    • Professional Affiliations
    • Strategic Plan 2016-22
    • MSLA Constitution
  • Membership
    • Member Portal
    • Join or Renew Your Membership
    • Members Map
    • Email List
    • Regions >
      • Northeast
      • Boston
      • Metrowest
      • Southeast
      • Central
      • West
    • Volunteer
  • Professional Learning
    • Annual Conference
    • MSLA and PDPs
    • Twitter Chat
    • Member Blogs
    • Unconference
  • Resources
    • DESE Rubric: School Librarians
    • Certification & Licensure
    • Program Standards & Rubrics
    • Job Description: School Librarian
    • Job Listings
    • Literature Resources
    • ELL for School Librarians
    • Independent Schools
    • Vocational Technical Schools
    • MLS Strategic Planning
    • Intellectual Freedom
  • Forum Newsletter
    • 2018 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2018
      • May 2018
      • October 2018
    • 2017 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2017
      • May 2017
      • September 2017
      • October 2017
    • 2016 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2016
      • May 2016
      • October 2016
    • 2015 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • April 2015
      • November 2015
    • MSLA Forum 2002-2013
  • Advocacy
    • MA School Library Study
    • MA School Library Study Research Project
    • MSLA Advocacy Priorities
    • Current Legislation
    • Library Legislative Day
    • Library Legislative Breakfasts
    • ESSA
    • Exemplary Programs
  • Bookmark Contest
    • 2018 Winners
    • 2016-17 Winners
    • 2012-15 Winners
    • 2009-11 Winners
    • 2004-08 Winners
    • Bookmark Judges
  • Awards
    • Archive: History of Awardees
    • 2018 Awards Pics
    • 2017 Awards Pics
    • 2016 Awards Pics
    • 2015 Awards Pics

Final Thoughts - Anita Cellucci

5/10/2017

0 Comments

 
As the MSLA president for the past 2 years, I have learned a lot about other librarians, the challenges that we face as a profession and ways to impact those issues in a positive light.  I have enjoyed meeting many of you and working together on larger issue that affect education.  

For my final post, I'd like to share more about one way that we can focus on student voice to impact the growth of our students and bring to light the issues that they care about in a way that offers them support. 

As librarians we talk a lot about “safe space” - equity  for all students and their individual needs.  Providing opportunities for student voice has always been an important mission in my library.  This year it manifested in a group slam poem - I coach the slam team an English teacher. The team competes in the Louder than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival sponsored by MassLEAP.  MassLEAP has the following description on their website: 


The Massachusetts Literary Education and Performance Collective (MassLEAP) is dedicated to building and supporting spaces for youth to experience the transformative power of their own voices in community with one another. We exist as a platform for young people, artist-educators and organizers to foster positive youth development through spoken word poetry forums. We facilitate arts learning spaces and build relationships among communities throughout Massachusetts. We are a Boston Based collection of writer-educators who are united in our passion for social justice and youth voice.
​
 I’d like to share the poem, Puppet Show,  with you.  

 
These students met weekly in the library conference room with us,  their poetry coaches.  We “held space for them”.  What does it mean to hold space? In the therapeutic sense - “It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control.” To me this perfectly describes the social emotional aspects of our profession.

Our theme this year was “Beyond the Binding” and I believe that what we saw presented throughout the conference show many of the ways that so many of our colleagues are redefining what it means to be a school librarian.

In closing, I'd like to say that I know that I am leaving you in good hands with Carrie Tucker as your incoming MSLA President. Carrie has a lot of knowledge about MSLA and brings great ideas with her. Please welcome Carrie as your new president. 

Thank you for your support over the last 2 years, I will be on the board as past president for the upcoming school year. 




0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    ​Carrie Tucker

    E.Bridgewater Jr/Sr High 
    MSLA president

    Carrie Tucker

    Archives

    May 2017
    November 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

The Massachusetts School Library Association  works to ensure every school has a school library program that is fully integrated at all grade levels across the curriculum and has a significant and measurable impact on student achievement….Read more…..and Learn more about MSLA

Contact MSLA:
Executive Director Kathy Lowe
Massachusetts School Library Association
P.O Box 658 Lunenburg, MA 01462
klowe@maschoolibraries.org

Copyright ® 2018-2019 Massachusetts School Library Association       All Rights Reserved.