June 1, 2010

Dear MCMESA Members,

This has been a busy year for the entire MCEMSA board, as we sponsored six events for our professional development. We began with a very informative and thought-provoking presentation by Mitali Perkins. At Tech-niques, we learned about Audacity and took away some powerful PowerPoint 2007 tips from Margie Gaudino. Our Winter Tea was chance to network and relax with colleagues. Our Book Expo was not snowed out, so at the end of Feburary we got to put our hands on great new books. At Book Bites, we got a chance to hear about “grown-up” books we might like reading over the summer. And we had a wonderful turn out at our Spring Banquet, as we said good-bye to our retirees and honored the Nancy Walker Award winner, Dr. Albert DuPont.

This year also saw many challenges, as 40 media assistant positions were on the list of non-recommended budget cuts. I spoke in front of the Board of Education and encouraged all of you to write to the Board members about the impact that library media staff has on student achievement. While we did not see 40 media assistant positions cut in the latest budget proposals, staffing ratios were adjusted and more schools lost assistant hours. In addition, we unexpectedly lost 4 high school media specialist positions. And many of us were extremely disheartened when one of the Montgomery County Council Members made the statement that media specialists do not have anything to do with classroom instruction. I wrote a response to all Council Members explaining the essential role we play in preparing our students for the 21st century. We have some educating to do!

As the year comes to a close, I want to encourage everyone to think about what we can do individually and as a group to inform others about the critical role with play in our schools. Our students need the expertise of certified library media specialists to help them navigate our information-rich world. We must remain positive and vigorously advocate on behalf of the students we serve through our programs. Montgomery County Public Schools prides itself on being an award-winning school system and library media specialists are essential to that success.

I hope you can relax and rejuvenate over the summer and I look forward to working with the newly elected MCEMSA Executive Board next year.

Respectfully,
Daria Taylor