AASL Standards now crosswalked to ASCD Whole Child Tenets

CHICAGO – As part of its continued commitment to provide school library professionals the materials and resources needed to implement its “National School Library Standards,” the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has released a crosswalk aligning the AASL Standards to ASCD Whole Child Tenets. The crosswalk and accompanying statement of alignment are downloadable, and the printable PDFs are available on the AASL Standards Portal.

“Collaboration is a core value for AASL members,” said Lisa Brakel, chair of the crosswalk task force. “School librarians collaborate with teachers, administrators, community members, and other colleagues within the library ecosystem. When the AASL Standards Framework for Learners was released, it seemed a given that we would look to other educational organizations and examine how our work supports and compliments theirs.”

“I am excited for the release of the new crosswalk between the AASL Standards and ASCD’s Whole Child Tenets because this shows the strength of school libraries in providing space and resources for learners to be their authentic ‘whole’ selves,” said AASL President Jennisen Lucas. “Often when we think of standards, we think purely academically, but many of our learners have strengths beyond core subjects that also need to be nurtured and developed, and the school library is a huge part of that.”

“In examining the Whole Child Tenets, we saw very logical correlations, and these are clearly outlined in this new AASL crosswalk,” continued Brakel. “It is our hope that educators will utilize this document to guide their instruction. In addition, we hope this crosswalk will assist administrators and librarians to design and implement curricula and learner-centered education policies which will empower transformative teaching and learning for all.”

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.