UPDATE: The deadline to join the Student Success Initiative has been extended to August 24th!

Hello California Public Libraries!  Have you heard about the Student Success Initiative?  Want to join us? For the last two years, California public libraries have been joining the Student Success Initiative, an LSTA funded program, to create partnerships with schools for library cards and services for students. Last year, we had 51 public libraries join us, with 759,169 libraries cards issued to students over the last 2 years!

We are now recruiting for FY 2018/19. Here is how you can join:

• • Implementing Library: a library that hasn’t yet set up an initiative. You can be new to this or continuing on from a previous year.  You will get access to the support of others, toolkits and templates to help you, access to Basecamp, phone calls and in-person meetings. You can also choose to have a mentor library.

• • Sustaining Library: a library that has an existing partnership with schools to issue library cards to students. This can be through a formal MOU or an informal arrangement, or a library that has established a partnership through the Student Success Initiative. You will get support from others to sustain and expand your initiative, as well as toolkits and templates to help you, access to Basecamp, phone calls and in-person meetings. We would also be interested in doing case studies with some of you for targeted outreach (e.g. wrap-around services to students, teachers and parents once the library card is issued; afterschool programs; home schools, etc.)

• • Mentor Library: Some of the Implementing Libraries will want mentor libraries. Lending a hand helps everyone, and the mentor sites check in with their assigned pilot sites and give them guidance and support. We suggest that Sustaining Libraries consider also signing up to be Mentor Libraries, but it’s not required.

Things you will get:  a copy of the Student Success Implementation Resource Toolkit and the Student Success Sustainability Resource Toolkit.  You will receive help in setting benchmarks to establish your baseline and growth, and will work with each other on best practice to create and expand your initiatives. You will have access to two supporting Educational Services Coordinators (one for Northern California and one for Southern California). Through your work, together we will create a Measuring Community Impact Resource Toolkit.

New this year: Funds will be available for reimbursements for supplies related to your initiative (e.g. library cards, promotional material) and for backfill of staff.  This grant lasts through June 30, 2019.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact either of our Educational Services Coordinators: Katie Leach,  leach@plpinfo.org  or Emily Meehan, meehan@plpinfo.org  for application materials. The deadline for submission of materials is August 24th.  Libraries will be notified by early September, and a kick-off meeting will be in late September or October.