The ILA recently released results of its 2020 What's Hot in Literacy Report.

Below are some excerpts that apply to our work within a high school setting.

Themes: Equity and Profession Development

"Equity and professional development are among the top five most important topics to improve literacy outcomes, and they are both deserving of more focus and attention among education policymakers. In addition, addressing inequity is the No. 1 area respondents report wanting more support in (49%)." (p. 7)

Regarding Access and Opportunity

"Access to books in general is viewed by respondents as a top barrier to equity in literacy instruction. Fifty-seven percent of respondents say a barrier is families not having enough books at home, while 40% say a barrier is not having enough at school." (p. 36)

A critical note on the issue of access...

"It’s critical to note the importance of high-quality and authentic texts as well. Respondents recognize that the issue of access and opportunity is about more than just access to books themselves: 42% of literacy professionals cite a lack of diversity and cultural relevance in literacy resources as a barrier to equity in literacy instruction, and an equal percentage point to a lack of cultural responsiveness." (p. 37)

In fact, looking at the high school level...

"Teachers working with students ages 15–18 are more likely than those working with younger students to say barriers to equity include inadequate support/resources for English learners (57%), lack of diversity and cultural relevance in literacy resources (51%), and inadequate access to books in school (40%)." (p. 40)

The Need for Time and Collaboration

"The majority of respondents (61%) say they need additional time to collaborate/confer with other teachers facing similar challenges." (p. 7)

Do these results resonate with you?

If they do, how can GUHSD libraries best support you and your students?

Supporting reading and literacy is a key role of teacher librarians, and we are always excited and grateful to collaborate with classroom teachers in order to best serve our students together.

Of note, equity is a key value of libraries in general, and GUHSD teacher librarians not only connect students with high quality digital resources; we continue to maintain complementary print collections to provide our students with high-quality, authentic, and culturally relevant texts.

Contact your school's teacher librarian to learn more about available resources and/or to collaborate. We value your experience, insight, and partnership!

See the full Resource Snack Time Archives at bit.ly/guhsd-rst.