Eckstein MS: Support Eckstein’s Library –Donate to the Eckstein Annual Campaign!

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Today is Saturday, November 21, 2009

Support Eckstein’s Library –Donate to the Eckstein Annual Campaign!

Why is Eckstein‘s school library important to all students? Good libraries help kids succeed in school! Just ask our job-sharing librarians, Rebecca Wynkoop and Julie Pierce, who serve our 1200 plus students at Eckstein. They site studies that show how students benefit from quality library services: Schools with well staffed, well stocked and well funded library programs generally have higher academic achievement scores than schools that do not, according to a recent study by Scholastic Library Publishing. Another study by Colorado‘s Library Research Service found that state achievement test scores averaged 18 percent higher in middle schools with well-developed library programs.
How important is Eckstein Annual Campaign financial support to the school‘s library? EAC funding is critical to Eckstein‘s library program, because all library funding this year will come from the Eckstein Annual Campaign – there is no district money budgeted for the library, other than funding one salaried librarian position. That means books, supplies and a part-time library assistant are all funded by EAC, not the district. Your EAC contribution is crucial to provide basic support to our library!

How, specifically, will your contribution to the EAC be used in the library?
Your contribution to the EAC will support the library in many important ways, including the following:
- EAC funding will help to update the non-fiction and reference materials that students use for research across the school‘s curriculum.
- EAC will fund the purchase of new books to build the library‘s very popular and widely used fiction section. Many of the current books date to the early 1980‘s, well before any of the school‘s students were even born!
- EAC funding will provide a library assistant, enabling the librarian to spend time collaborating with teachers. Collaboration between librarians and teachers is important to our students-- the Colorado study mentioned above found that state achievement test scores averaged 18 to 21 percent higher in middle schools when library specialists collaborated with classroom teachers.

The Eckstein library‘s mission is to create “a sophisticated 21st century learning environment that offers a full range of print and electronic resources that provide equal learning opportunities to all students…..the library is a place of opportunity that offers students access to a collection of classic and contemporary print resources, as well as the chance to explore technology that they can integrate into their learning,” says Rebecca. “It‘s important for the library to be a contemporary 21st century learning environment that is real and relevant to all students.”
We need your help to make this happen! By donating to EAC, you can ensure support of the library and all the students who use it. If you have not already done so, please consider sending in your donation today (check payable to Alliance for Education—Eckstein) to the Eckstein Annual Campaign, Eckstein Middle School, 3003 N. E. 75th St., Seattle, WA 98115. Your generosity is needed and appreciated!