Times Colonist
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Thank you to the CanWest Raise-a-Reader program. Without your charity, many literacy programs would starve.
So far, the government has not directed any of its literacy funds toward school library programs, despite studies indicating that well-funded, professionally staffed school library programs are the single most effective way of raising student achievement.
B.C. school libraries are now competing with each other for mercy funding from Chapters-Indigo, which is smart enough to be able to connect the dots between school libraries and future readers.
When will the government figure it out? When I was in school, libraries got enough money to be able to buy three books per student per year. Now they average enough to buy one book for every three students. It's not good enough.
Our kids deserve better.
Karen Lindsay, teacher-librarian,
Victoria
