The power of media specialists to improve academic achievement and strengthen at-risk students

Harness the power of the library to reach students! Find out how you can influence students' academic success and close the achievement gap. Help school culture recognize the role of the media specialist in developing essential academic skills. Learn research-based methods to address the needs of at-risk students in the library media center. Help improve test scores and decrease drop out rates by being part of the team who builds skills in struggling students. This resource also focuses on the librarian's role as leader in promoting resiliency in adolescents by highlighting the research on resiliency and its impact on student achievement.

• Table of Figures p. vii
• Introduction p. ix
• Section 1 The Significance of the Problem p. 1
• Introduction p. 1
• Chapter 1 How Significant is the Achievement Gap? p. 3
• Graduation May Not Be Enough p. 6
• High School Graduation and College Readiness Are Not the Same p. 7
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 8
• Chapter 2 Who is At Risk of Failing? p. 9
• Socioeconomic Status p. 10
• Race and Ethnicity p. 12
• Immigration p. 14
• Limited English Proficiency (LEP) p. 16
• Special Education p. 18
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 21
• Chapter 3 Legislation and Effective Schools p. 23
• Education Laws and At-Risk Students p. 24
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind p. 24
• Education of the Handicapped Act/Individuals with Disabilities Education Act p. 27
• Section 504 of the Vocational and Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act p. 29
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 30
• Section 2 What Is Effective? p. 33
• Introduction p. 33
• Chapter 4 The Impact Study Research: School Library Characteristics That Raise Academic Achievement p. 35
• Learning and Teaching p. 39
• Information Access and Delivery p. 40
• Program Administration p. 42
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 44
• Chapter 5 Educational and Social Science Approaches That Raise Academic Achievement p. 45
• Resiliency p. 45
• Marzano and Translating Research into Action p. 50
• Student Motivation p. 55
• The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Guidelines p. 56
• Resources to Learn More about These Topics p. 60
• Section 3 Applying What Works to the School Library p. 63
• Introduction p. 63
• What Are Dispositions? p. 63
• Chapter 6 The Turnaround School Library p. 67
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 79
• Chapter 7 Creating the Holistic Library p. 81
• The Systems Perspective p. 83
• The Ecological Systems Change Approach p. 83
• The Ecological Systems Change Journey p. 84
• Resources to Learn More about This Topic p. 92
• Works Cited p. 93
• Index p. 101
• About the Authors p. 107