Brochures for Growing WI Readers - Out-of-Date

Jeni Schomber shares this important information for all WI public libraries.

Good Morning All,

I recently received an email from a public library asking about the Growing Wisconsin Readers 2013-2016 initiative and brochures. In that conversation it was discovered that the QR Code on the brochure now leads to a psychic website. The brochure also has out of date information on the front listing Tony Evers as State Superintendent and the Growing Wisconsin Readers website is no longer operational.

 

While the literacy content is still both valid and valuable, in order to avoid misinformation and confusion, DPI recommends that you recycle/dispose of all Growing Wisconsin Reader brochures and other printed materials.

 

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Jeni Schomber 

Public Library Consultant 

Library Services Team 

Division for Libraries and Technology 

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 

608-266-2749 

jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov 

Screen Time and Growing Wisconsin Readers

Perhaps you saw yesterday's post on the Growing Wisconsin Readers blog about the new bookmark available with tips for using technology together and screen time for children. If you didn't, take a look.

The bookmark has been designed to be used as a standalone piece or as an insert in the Growing Wisconsin Readers brochure. Available to public libraries and community partners, you can download a pdf version or request them through a regional library system.

2016 Early Literacy Calendars Available

The 2016 Early Literacy Calendar is now available! This project is brought to you by YSS, and awesome librarians from all over WI contributed to it. The calendar offers caregivers 365 days of tips on how to raise a reader. It is a wonderful resource to provide to patrons at your library and to offer as a handout at outreach visits! 

 

NEW for 2016: Your choice of 8.5x11 or 11x17 pages!*

*The 11x17 pdf is not posted to the WLA website yet, but will be available soon.

Growing Readers Early Literacy Event at Pewaukee Public Library

Brought to you by Jenny Wegener at Pewaukee Public Library

On February 6, the Pewaukee Public Library hosted a new event designed to provide early literacy training, library awareness, and encouragement to child care professionals. This program was made possible by an Early Literacy grant from the Waukesha County Federated Library System with some help from the Pewaukee Kiwanis Club. A total of thirteen people, plus several library staff members attended.

I promoted this event with letters sent to area day cares, emails, and personal invitations to child care providers who attend our programs. We also had information posted in the library and on our web site and Facebook page.

We began the evening with a delicious pizza and salad dinner delivered by our local Rosati’s. The dinner was free for participants and was very generously paid for by our local Kiwanis group. The library also provided beverages as well as Rice Krispy Squares (homemade) and chocolate for dessert. Most participants were attending right after work and really appreciated the meal.

After introductions, I gave a short talk that highlighted the six early literacy skills and five practices from Every Child Ready to Read 1 and 2. I also emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences in setting the stage for future learning and the special place that day care professionals have in ensuring a child’s academic success. I did have some of my favorite books on display and modeled dialogic reading for the group. While I spoke, the participants enjoyed the meal.

The highlight of the evening was a presentation by Stuart Stotts. Stuart, who has done multiple keynote addresses at Early Childhood conferences, was absolutely marvelous! He gave a terrific presentation that had participants singing, laughing, sharing and learning together. Stuart shared information about brain development, the importance of singing with children, and the critical nature of quality care in the early years. We all learned some great songs to use in our work with children, and, best of all, came away eager to implement the ideas.

All the participants seemed to enjoy and appreciate the evening and I did have several ask if we planned to do it again next year. I would like to if the funding is available and I am hopeful that this year’s participants will “spread the word” to their coworkers. All children need quality early literacy experiences, not just those lucky enough to visit the library’s story times and I hope this event will make a difference.

Growing Wisconsin Readers Sprouted a New Blog

The Growing Wisconsin Readers (GWR) initiative has officially rolled out across the state. Public libraries have begun sharing brochures, hanging posters, and utilizing the Growing Wisconsin Readers mobile-friendly website. If you're a public librarian, you might be curious about how other librarians are getting the word out. The GWR blog will show and tell about what other communities are doing. In addition sharing great ideas, the blog will also highlight helpful resources and research about early literacy.

Growing Wisconsin Readers is all about helping caregivers read effectively with babies, toddlers, and young children. At the same time, the initiative aims to support and showcase how Wisconsin public libraries foster reading relationships. Consider this blog a conversation about cultivating your Growing Wisconsin Readers garden!

Be sure to "Follow by Email" to get Growing Wisconsin Reader blog posts directly in your inbox.

--Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Public Library Development Team

Photo source:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetwebwork/265229897/in/set-72157594313059704/

Youth Services Webinar Series

How Youth Services Improve Our Libraries and Communities: A Webinar Series from DPI

Find out how annual report data, early literacy efforts, and summer library programs influence your library’s capacity to build a more literate community.  Library directors and youth services librarians are encouraged to attend three upcoming webinars coordinated by the Public Library Development Team at the Department of Public Instruction.

1.       Growing Wisconsin Readers
An abbreviated recap of the new statewide early literacy initiative launched in fall 2013
Friday, November 22, 12pm-1:15pm
Hosted by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

2.       Youth Services by the Numbers: Data and Advocacy
A focused look at the annual report—how is youth services data generated and what does it show?
Tuesday, December 3, 12pm-1pm
Hosted by Jamie McCanless, Public Library Data and Finance Coordinator and Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Youth and Special Services Consultant

3.       Re-Thinking Summer Library Programs
Does SLP feel more like an 8 week long birthday party than a reading program? Discover how your literacy efforts can be more sustainable and effective after hearing inventive ideas from around the state.
Wednesday, January 22, 12pm-1pm
Hosted by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Youth and Special Services Consultant and a panel of Wisconsin youth services librarians

Instructions

All three webinars will be recorded and posted online under “Professional Development” on the DPI Youth Services page: http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_ys-sn#prof-dev

No registration is required; simply join the Blackboard Collaborate session.  Note--Internet Explorer is the preferred browser for this platform (Java required).  The same link will be used for all three webinars: http://tinyurl.com/pqn7svo

• Attendees who need telephone audio (versus VoIP) should use the conference number:
   1-877-820-7831 and enter participant passcode:  697156.
• Test your system beforehand 
• Blackboard Collaborate overview video
• Blackboard Collaborate online support or phone (877) 382-2293

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt
Public Library Youth and Special Services Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Growing Wisconsin Readers!

Our guest blogger today is Linda Schuster head of Youth Services at T.B. Scott Free Library in Merrill!

What vision! What foresight! What hard work! Plus, what a great title for this amazing initiative! I feel special and validated to “shout out” that my important role in promoting early literacy now has a name. Not academic sounding, but clear as can be: “Growing Wisconsin Readers.”

I was privileged to be in the roomful of WAPL attendees in May for the preview of “Growing Wisconsin Readers.” If you missed it, don’t worry, because now through the workshops and website, we all have access to the newly developed, attractive brochures, posters, and that delightful logo.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you are already finding out for yourself the relevant and user-friendly tools (print, web, and mobile) designed to make our jobs easier and more meaningful.

Congratulations to Tessa Michaelson Schmidt and her team for having the vision and the foresight and the stick-to-itiveness to launch “Growing Wisconsin Readers.”

Growing Wisconsin Readers

By now you have likely heard a bit about the new statewide early literacy initiative called Growing Wisconsin Readers.  It was formally announced at a 2013 WAPL conference session as reported by YSS member Sharon Grover here.  This summer, forty mini-grants were available to Wisconsin public libraries for specific early literacy projects (more on that later this month).  Beginning in September, regional workshops will be held around the state for youth services librarians to learn more about the initiative.

In the meantime, check out the Growing Wisconsin Readers website the online extension of this exciting endeavor.  The “Librarians” tab has content just for you, including promotion ideas and early literacy research.  Bookmark this site or simply memorize the easy URL—you will use it often starting this fall!

For more information about Growing Wisconsin Readers in your area, contact the youth services liaison for your library system.

 

Early Literacy Mini-Grants

Want to start a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program or create an early literacy play area in your library?  Consider these mini-grants your fertilizer kit to get your dreams growing!

The Public Library Development Team at the Department of Public Instruction will award 40 mini-grants in the amount of $250 to Wisconsin public libraries to support early literacy efforts.  This project is part of the larger Growing Wisconsin Readers early literacy initiative.  Libraries may apply for grants to establish or enhance either an early literacy activity area or a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.  Priority will be given to libraries that serve a total municipal population of less than 10,000 and who serve children birth through age six with potentially limited exposure to early literacy experiences.  Ideally, the grants will be awarded to libraries throughout the state’s 17 regional library systems.

The application process opens on Monday, June 17, 2013 at 9:00 am and closes on Friday, July 12, 2013 at 4:00pm.  For more information about the mini-grants, view http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/files/pld/pdf/2013_GWR_Mini-grant_info.pdf.  The information sheet and other documents related to Growing Wisconsin Readers are available at http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_ys-sn under “Initiatives.”

Questions?  Contact Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Youth and Special Services Consultant at the Department of Public Instruction. 

Seeds of Change for Wisconsin Public Libraries

The first week in May, I was lucky enough to spend two days in beautiful, rainy Lake Geneva at the annual WAPL (Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries) Conference. I met new colleagues (can't wait to collaborate and borrow your great ideas), caught up with colleagues I haven't seen in a while, and attended sessions that provided food for thought and inspired me to try new things back in my own shop.

One of those sessions was led by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Youth and Special Services Consultant for the Public Library Development Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Tessa unveiled a new, statewide early literacy initiative called Growing Wisconsin Readers that is "all about public libraries supporting language- and literacy-rich experiences for young children." The goal of this exciting new project is to inform care givers, service providers, and community stakeholders that Wisconsin public libraries are their resource for growing readers.

To that end, DPI will be providing a host of materials to help us spread the word in our communities. There's an eye-catching brochure and poster offering accessible information on ways that parents and other care givers can equip young children with the literacy skills that prepare them for school success. A QR code on the brochure leads to more information on an interactive website. Also on the website, librarians will find a toolkit that includes customized PDFs of the brochure and poster.

Librarians will be able to participate online as well as in-person multi-system workshops. Smaller libraries will have access to mini-grants of $250 to create early learning spaces, and there will be 2014 LSTA funds earmarked for early literacy grants.

All of this adds up to some pretty exciting opportunities for public libraries to plant the seeds of change, promoting early literacy and Growing Wisconsin Readers. I can't wait to get started in this garden!

Sharon Grover

Head of Youth Services

Hedberg Public Library