Students, parents, teachers, and administrators have embraced the reopening of schools in Pen Argyl Area School District with both anticipation and a tremendous sense of responsibility—to advance academic progress and student well-being, to deepen engagement with all members of the learning community, and to ensure that inequities exacerbated by the rapid shutdown of schools last spring are addressed once and for all.
Pen Argyl’s librarians are at work supporting those efforts, and the district now has an opportunity to expand that work to the benefit of students and communities.
That sepia-toned image of school libraries as repositories of books was shattered during the early days of the pandemic. With reading and literacy as the very foundation of learning, school librarians did get books—in a variety of formats—into the hands of readers. They also distributed laptops, mobile hotspots, and other devices; prepared teachers to work with high quality digital resources; co-taught classes and led research across content areas and grade levels; implemented online clubs and learning opportunities to keep students connected to their learning communities and to each other; and partnered with community organizations to engage and support families.
The empirical evidence is supported by more than 60 library and education studies from across the nation that highlight how effective school library programs transform teaching and learning and boost student success, not just in the classroom but in future educational pursuits, in the workplace, and in society. School librarians have the unique privilege to support academic growth over a period of years and empower learners to thrive and contribute to their communities locally and globally.
There remains much to be done and one thing is certain: there is no “going back” to the way things were before. The need to ensure that students develop a continuum of literacies as well as strong digital citizenship skills is undeniable, yet there is new urgency for Pen Argyl Area School District to confront the challenges of today and to prepare students for the opportunities of the future.
Please support efforts to properly fund and staff our school district's libraries. An allocation from The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 can help restore our programming and add additional resources and programming to address the learning loss associated with the pandemic. The future of Pen Argyl Area School District's children is the future of our communities. School libraries are undeniably at the center of education and facilitate the movement forward.
