AASL joins alliance to support literacy education

CHICAGO – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) joins 20 other stakeholder groups representing educational and school and community leaders in support of the new National Center for Literacy Education (NCLE).  NCLE, a project of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Ball Foundation, provides a clearinghouse for educator teams and schools engaged in innovative literacy education practices to share and learn from one another.  More information about the initiative can be found at www.ncte.org/ncle.

Through its free Literacy in Learning Exchange website, NCLE will provide examples of participating schools’ innovative literacy education efforts.  The website will also provide commentary from experts, research and helpful insights on how those visionary practices can be adapted in other schools. 

Schools or school systems leading a community of practice through the NCLE website will be eligible to apply for recognition and support as Literacy in Every Classroom Sites. NCLE will draw from data and practices shared by these sites to sponsor collaborative research projects and share findings across school teams and with policy leaders.  NCLE stakeholder organizations will make available what is learned from participating schools through peer-reviewed publications, seminars and discussions.

“AASL is proud to be a stakeholder in NCLE,” said Carl Harvey, AASL president.  “As stated in our learning standards, AASL recognizes how complex the definition of information literacy has become with the expansion of information and technology.  A clearinghouse of innovative teaching practices will be an extremely valuable resource for educators looking to engage and empower students.”

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.

A project of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Ball Foundation in alliance with over 20 stakeholder groups representing educators and school/community leaders, the National Center for Literacy Education is a project to celebrate the work of successful school teams across the country that are achieving remarkable results in advancing literacy learning.