Our lives are full of beginnings and endings.  Our chosen careers have a natural cycle each year with the beginning of the school year in September, and the ending in June.  We celebrate the New Year every January 1. The Mad Men season ended two months ago and I have to wait until next July for it to start again! So goes the MAME Presidential cycle - although MAME past-presidents will joke that the past-presidential year never seems to end...  Yet here I am, at the end of my year as MAME president, and I am feeling a little reflective about the happenings of 2010.

We know that it started with a thud, with uncertainty of school funding, of looming cuts to school library positions and programs, and a black cloud of "what can possibly happen next?"  However, we rallied with a soothing bowl of "Chicken Soup for the Media Specialist's Soul," our Leadership workshop at the University of Michigan's campus.  We continued to provide you with tools you can use at the Summer Institute, where Teri Terry led participants through developing a standards based information literacy curriculum.  Finally, Rachel Markel and her conference committee put together a fantastic program for the 37^th annual fall conference, Dare to Dream, held in Dearborn.  Other highlights from 2010 included the release of School Library 21 (SL21):21 Measurement Criteria for Michigan School Libraries for 21st Century Schools from the Library of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Education, as well as the Ask Why? public service announcement featuring Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49ers and fellow Michigander.

Those are just a few of the things that MAME has done for you this year.  Now, let me tell you what you have done for me.  You have made me laugh. You have uplifted me with your fierce spirit.  You have inspired me with your never-ending supply of ideas and creativity.  You have made me feel welcome and part of a greater good.  I will always be grateful for this experience and this organization.  It has been my honor and my privilege to serve as your president.  Thank you.

I now pass the torch to your incoming president, Rachel Markel, and president-elect, Sue Lay.  Brightly may it burn!

Best to you,

Lynn Gordon

Dr. Nancy Everhart and the AASL Vision Tour Arrive at Portage Northern High School!!

By Jeanna Walker

The Big Day was quickly approaching. The American Association of School Librarians Vision Tour was coming to Michigan's Portage Northern High School Learning Commons. Many weeks of planning to make Michigan proud were being finalized. Dr. Nancy Everhart, President of AASL and the visionary behind the Vision Tour, promised to visit an outstanding school library program in each state during her tenure and we were thrilled to have been chosen to represent Michigan.

What would we do to celebrate the success of our school library media program? I decided that I wanted Dr. Everhart to see a "day in the life" of our Learning Commons, hence I kept our class schedule as normal as possible during the celebration ceremony. English, Social Studies and Forensics Science classes were scheduled that day, including the "Deadly Delight Restaurant", a re-enactment of a crime scene for our Forensics Science classes. Welcome signs and posters greeted Dr. Everhart as she arrived on our campus. The Student Senate and I greeted Dr. Everhart as she walked in the front doors of the school. The Student Senate is such an inspiring group - they were very excited to join in the celebration. They gave Dr. Everhart and all of our honored guests tours of our newly renovated school.

I had hoped that we would have 30 guests - imagine my surprise when over 120 people joined us for the Open House and Ceremony in the Learning Commons! We were so fortunate to be joined by our library media colleagues from across the state. Our newly elected state senator and state representative, as well as Portage City Council members were in attendance. Many of our School Board members took time off from work to attend. Dr. Thomas Rienzo and Dr. Michael Tarn, professors at the Western Michigan University School of Business, were there to speak about our collaborative projects. Sheryl Mase, from the Library of Michigan presented our library media program with an Exemplary Status, the result of having piloted the new School Library 21 Evaluation tool. Tim Staal, Executive director of MAME and Tom Stream, VP of Regions and SIGS, and Ric Wiltse, Executive Director of MACUL were there to share in our excitement.

I chose to have our Ceremony revolve around those people who knew us best - our principal, teachers, parents, and students. We were so amazed at the "Glee" version of the Vision Tour song that was arranged and performed by our PNHS Senior Singers. Our students also made a video to welcome Dr. Everhart and the AASL Vision Tour - it really captured the essence of our library media program. Each person spoke to the crowd on the enduring impact of a strong, active teaching library media program on their lives. The student speakers were chosen by the Student Senate. I have known both students from my days at Angling Road Elementary - we have "grown up" together in the Portage Public Schools system. Their heartfelt words and memories brought me to tears. Their testimonials were all the proof anyone in the audience needed to hear on the lasting impact of a strong teaching library media program in our schools.   Portage Northern High School Learning Commons - according to Dr. Everhart, we are now members of an Elite Club of the top 35 library media programs in the nation. We are empowering every student with the skills to be a learner for life in the 21^st Century!    

http://www.outstandingschoollibraries.org/Oustanding_School_Libraries/Blog/Blog.html

MAME 17 had a great turn out for their event:

Red, White, and Blue: Standards for You! which was held at Anderson Middle School Media Center in Berkeley.  Laura Schiller, Literacy Education Consultant for Oakland Schools, did an excellent presentation on the Common Core Standards and how School Librarians can support the new standards.  The Common Core Standards have been adopted by 40 states including Michigan and thus far include standards for Mathematics and standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

The reading and research requirements are more rigorous in the new English Language Arts Standards. All school librarians should take a look at these new standards.  They are available at:

http://www.corestandards.org/.