ADVOCACY PLAN

Advocacy Plan

Chadalee L. Ritonya

University of Nebraska at Kearney

TE-875

Judy Henning

20 September 2022
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Advocacy Plan

Educators, including school librarians, are in need of support now more than ever. Many

school’s curriculum and school libraries have come under fire for housing and teaching books

that some deem as inappropriate. Not only that, but parents do not quite understand the need for

the library when they think all the librarians do is provide books that might be inappropriate for

their child. The library does much more for the students than offer them books on many subjects,

and that is one thing that the parents do not see. School librarians and educators need an

advocacy plan for parents to be on the same page as everyone involved in a school.

Target Audience

Parents in the Community

Many parents like to be a crucial part of their child’s education and learning process.

These are the parents who are hands on with what their child is learning and how they are

learning it. They are likely to come into the school for parent-teacher conferences to see how

their child is doing in each class. They are also likely to use the tools that the school district

provides them with such as Schoology, a learning management system; Google Drive, where

most of the assignments are linked to; and PowerSchool, the website where parents can check on

their child’s progress.

Not only are they involved in their child’s educational career, but they are the taxpayers

for the school and the programs the schools have. “Parents are the tax-payers that support

schools. They can have strong influence over administrators and school boards” (Harvey, 2007,

p. 25).
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They are very involved, but do not come in to see what the library has to offer. According

to Kari Schroeder, the Library Media Specialist for Bellevue West High School, “I haven’t seen

many parents come into the school library to see what their children are reading or doing. They

have come in for other programs that the library has, or they have come in for other reasons, but

they haven’t asked what the library does for them. They also haven’t come in during school

hours when the learning is taking place” (K. Schroeder, personal communication, September 26,

2022).

The need for parental involvement in school libraries and the advocacy for school

libraries is important. When advocated for, by all parts of the community and school district, the

school library might not be cut. In an article, Tough Mothers, three community members got the

Spokane School Board to throw out the idea of cutting a library specialist. They worked together

to prove that it was a necessity for their children. Lisa Layera Brunkan understood the value of

having a school library and a librarian specialist because she knew that it taught her child many

different skills. “‘I am here representing concerned citizens of Spokane who oppose any further

cuts to librarians," she told them. "We cannot afford to cut our information specialist’" (Whelan,

2008, p. 38).

Goals of the Advocacy Plan

Because advocacy is important between parents and the school library, there needs to be

goals that will help build that advocacy. The three most important goals to help build the

advocacy are communication, data updates, and participation activities.

Goal Number One: Communication between the school library and all parents.

Communication is, has always been, and will always be the central part of human nature.

Thus, providing communication lines between educators and parents is hugely important. To
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help parents advocate for the school library and librarians, communication is what holds the key.

“Parents will respond to information about school libraries if it speaks to their needs and

concerns” (McGarry, 2009, p. 47).

Goal Number Two: Parents will be provided with data that shows how important it is to

have a school library program.

“Tell parents about the difference school libraries make in their children’s academic

achievement and help them see that school libraries contribute in an ongoing effort to create a

climate of learning that begins at home and is reinforced by the teacher-librarians” (Mardis,

2008, p. 35). By showing them data, many parents may feel more inclined and comfortable to

have their children use the school library more often. This will in turn help with the advocacy

that school libraries need from the community.

Goal Number Three: Parents will help support the library by participating in different

activities the library provides.

School libraries host a variety of activities during and after school hours that parents can

absolutely participate in. Many parents do not know some of the programs and benefits that the

school library has to offer, but librarians can help advertise some of the programs to the parents.

“Parents can provide volunteer service to the library in a myriad of ways. Some may contribute

by answering the telephone or checking in magazines, whereas others may spearhead major

fundraising campaigns or network the whole library. Some may work at the front desk” (Farmer,

2001, p. 53).

Activities for Advocacy

Each of the goals above are just goals. Each of the goals above need a plan of action and

activities that will roll out and execute the goals. This partnership between parents and the school
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libraries needs to have many people involved including parents, school librarians, and the school

administration. Getting them to be in support of the school library will help establish that

partnership needed for advocacy.

Activity 1: Provide a monthly newsletter of what is happening in the library that month.

From the start of the school year, school librarians will start sending out a monthly

newsletter home to parents. In this newsletter, especially the first month of school, the school

librarian will provide information about the library and the librarian and librarian paras. By

providing information about themselves right away, the parents will be able to make a

connection to hopefully be in support of the school librarian and the role the school library plays.

The lines of communication will be seen as open for each end of the spectrum and parents will

know they have an additional place to turn when their students need something.

The newsletter will reach all parents and will include other information such as library

hours, programs that the students use or have access to, and other activities that the library

provides such as book clubs for the students and teachers in the building. The newsletter will be

both digital and traditional. The digital newsletter will also include hyperlinks to some of the

programs that the students have access to including Sora, an application that students can use to

check out audiobooks. Another hyperlink will include the school library website and catalog so

parents and students can see what is available anytime. The last important hyperlink will be to

the databases that the students are both required to use and access such as ProQuest, E-Library,

Nebraska Access, and Pop Culture Universe.

The Instructional Coach will have her own little section on the newsletter with

information on how to connect to databases that are used on a daily basis. She will provide a

video on the digital newsletter to show parents exactly how to access any of the databases and
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how to use them when students may be struggling at home with a research assignment that they

are required to complete.

This newsletter will be a big project for the school librarian, but the results should be a

positive influence on the parents and the students. The parents will know that the library is a

place for students to receive help, provide programs for students and parents to use, and be a

place where learning can take place. The positivity that is showcased through this newsletter will

help make the parents advocate for a school library and the programs that come with it. This will

show the rest of the community, including other stakeholders and taxpayers, that school libraries

are another support system of communication that they may need.

Activity 2: Provide parents with adequate data to get them to support the school library

and librarians and raise awareness for other parents in the community.

Another section on the newsletter will provide information with statistics of the school

library. This will include just how important a school library is to the school and the community.

Statistics report that students do better academically when there is a functioning library in the

school. Many parents know that there is a school library, but they do not know the effects that it

may have on their children’s achievement.

By providing statistics on the newsletter, parents will be able to raise awareness of why

school libraries are needed. They will be able to suggest to their child that the school library is a

place where they can learn, get help, and study to raise their grades. The statistics will be from

the school that this newsletter program is taking place in and from data elsewhere that has school

libraries and positive achievements. The statistics from the school will be taken from the current

year because this is a new program. Once the academic achievements increase, the parents will

see firsthand that it is a positive influence.

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Once the positive statistics are put on the newsletter, the parents will be able to advocate

for the school library and the programs that are provided. More students will use the library,

more parents will advocate, and more people in the community will want to help with the

advocacy of keeping the library functioning properly. Parents will also want to help the library

because they will be able to see the benefits and want to be a part of the library’s role.

Activity 3: Encourage the parents of the community to help with a school wide book fair

and other events in the library.

The last piece of advocacy for the library is the participation of parents. First the parents

and then the community as a whole. On the newsletter, there will be participation opportunities

or events that may need the participation of parents and community members. A school wide

book fair is one thing that would be after school hours that parents can come participate in. With

the positive statistics that the parents have been reading about in the newsletter, they might feel

more inclined to participate in a book fair that would help with keeping those statistics positive.

If the parents do not want to participate in a book fair that is after school hours, they may

find other ways to help in the library. Because the school library usually does not have many

parent volunteers, this would get the word out that school libraries are in need of volunteers.

Because of the volunteers and the participation, this will increase the use of school libraries.

Because of the use of school libraries, this will increase the overall student academic

achievements. This will help to increase the advocacy for building a strong program within the

school. This will promote positivity within the school community, school board, and therefore

help determine that the school library is something that needs to stay.
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Marketing

For each activity that the school does, it needs marketing. The marketing will include

both in-house and outreach marketing ideas.

Marketing Idea #1: Communication - Monthly Newsletter

In-House Marketing

● Collaboration with school administration and the school librarian.

● Collaboration with the instructional coach within the school and the school librarian.

● Send out the newsletter to all staff, students, and administrators in the building.

● Invite students and parents to tour the library during school events such as conferences

and curriculum night.

Outreach Marketing

● Send out the newsletter to all parents via mail and digital copy.

Marketing Idea #2: Data Support

In-House Marketing

● Work with teachers and admin to collect data of student achievement within the building.

● Collect data of student achievement from schools with school libraries.

● Put together reports to put on the newsletter for statistics.

Outreach Marketing

● Send out the newsletter to all parents via mail and digital copy.

● Collect data from other schools that have school libraries to put on the newsletter.

Marketing Idea #3: Participation - Volunteering

In-House Marketing

● Collaborate with administration and teachers to put together a book fair.

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● Collaborate with administration to put together events in the school library for parents to

participate and attend.

Outreach Marketing

● The school librarian will include the activities section on the newsletter sent home to

parents.

● The school librarian will provide events and information for the parents to participate in.
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References

Farmer, L. S. J. (2001). Teaming with technology: providing library services to parents. School

Libraries Worldwide, 7(2), 49–56.

HARVEY, C. A., II. Connecting the Library Media Center and Parents. School Library Monthly,

[s. l.], v. 23, n. 6, p. 25–27, 2007. Disponível em:

https://search-ebscohost-com.unk.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=502

907868&site=ehost-live. Acesso em: 30 set. 2022.

Mardis, M. A. (2008). What Can Teacher-Librarians Do to Promote Their Work and the School

Library Media Program? It’s a Matter of Hearts and Minds. Teacher Librarian, 36(2),

35–36.

McGarry, M. (2009). The School Library Is the Link to Connecting with Parents. School Library

Monthly, 26(3), 45–47.

Whelan, D. L. (2008). Tough Mothers. School Library Journal, 54(9), 36–41.