BookSpring Participates in Austin’s Promise Neighborhood Meeting

The Promise Neighborhood meeting held today at the Carver Museum was inspirational!  We are delighted to see what the future holds for this opportunity, and with the substantial amount of community support displayed by today’s large turnout, we have no doubt that whatever comes from this gathering of the minds will be wonderful!  The planning committees are working on all kinds of details which include: which neighborhood in Austin will be highlighted in the grant application, strategic planning, and accounting for and responding to stakeholder interest.   Promise Neighborhood will follow the model set by The Harlem Children’s Zone and has many similarities with BookSpring’s Neighborhood of Readers.  Representative Stroma noted that this is a large-scale “cradle to college,” community wide comprehensive pipeline to stop inter-generational poverty.  Several things were highlighted as important parts of what a promise neighborhood would need to include: accountability, continued community input, real-time data and response, early childhood intervention, continued and comprehensive programming, and a small area to initiate this work with.  There were representatives present from: COA, Southwest Key, University of Texas, Texas House of Representatives, AISD Trustees, St. John Community School Alliance, Child Inc, APIE, United Way, Sylvan Learning, Foundation Communities, LifeWorks, as well as many other movers and shakers in the greater Austin area.

Let Your Voice Be Heard: Support AISD Library Spending

On behalf of our library partners in AISD schools, BookSpring would like to support library funding in future AISD budget decisions. Please read the letter below and visit www. austinisd.org, click on Strategic Plan,   make comments  like “yes for funding library resources”   They are counting/tabulating responses.

Library Friends,

Now is the time to let the district know what our wants/needs are.  The superintendent spoke last night on the state of the district at LBJ HS.

She’s going to do some amazing things in our district and make sweeping changes! She must do this to bring AISD up to par in the nation.

She is obviously very intrigued and interested in dual language acquisition for all students.   She mention these 3 key agenda items that cover lots of territory:   Budget, facilities, and technology.    She talked about redrawing district lines, possible consolidation of low enrollment schools, more multiple pathways for students to attend high school instead of traditional venues, and many other ideas.   Where does library funding fit into all of this?   WE BETTER SPEAK UP NOW AND HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE OUR SUPPORTERS DO THE SAME.  Just send  this e-mail to your volunteers, PTA presidents and anyone interested.   There is also another budget meeting discussion with the community at Travis HS on Dec. 3, 6:00 p.m.  I know you all are tired and busy in the afternoon, but these meetings are key to what will happen in the next five-ten years.  Go if you can and say we must fund libraries to nurture young readers and prepare students for college.  Another way to voice your feelings:

1.  austinisd.org   website, click on Strategic Plan,   make comments  like “yes for funding library resources”   They are counting/tabulating responses.
2.  e-mail Nicole Conley-Abram, our new CFO  at budget@austinisd.org   or call 414-2323 voicing support for library resource funding as stated in the Strategic Plan.

Please, please stand up and be counted for restoring funding to our school libraries, friends! Take five minutes to e-mail or call.  Dr. Carstarphen asked the audience to do so.  

Sincerely,

 

Jill Stimson, retired AISD librarian