Hello,
With all the national and local discussion taking place about books in schools, I want to take a moment to assure parents that our Media Centers have always been, and continue to be, a great source of safe and age appropriate materials for your children.
Our schools will continue to be a welcoming, safe space for all children. Media centers reflect that with books on a wide variety of topics and age appropriate materials. There has always been a process for reviewing and approving what books are added to our libraries. The district has reviewed and updated that process. If there are any concerns about a particular book, there is a fair process available to review that book. I highly recommend, and encourage you, to visit the District’s First Bell website where you can read about the book review process in detail and other important information.
The district has almost 500,000 books in our libraries, representing 300,000 unique titles. The catalog for your media center is available on the Parent Portal page. Parents have always, and continue, to have the ability to opt their child out of a specific book. A Parent Opt Out for Media Materials form can be found on our website under the Parent Portal. The form can be used to limit specific titles your child can check out or to prevent your child from making any media checkouts.
Reading is so very important for children at all grade levels. Please do not stop encouraging your child to read and taking advantage of the thousands of great books in our Media Centers. Our Media Specialists are working everyday to provide your children with the very best materials that help them to be successful as a student and as a person.
Dr. Tynan