April is School Library Month

School Library Month is the American Association of School Librarians' celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in transforming learning. The 2019 theme is Everyone Belongs @ Your School Library and the 2019 spokesperson is Dav Pilkey “Growing up with learning challenges in school after being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, I’ve been fortunate to have had the encouragement and support of my parents who helped me to associate reading with fun. I have fond memories of going to the library with my mom who had a radical idea; she let me pick whatever book I wanted to read. I read lots of books and magazines that made me laugh out loud, which led me to discover many other books in different genres. Reading without judgment was a turning point in my life and that is what made me a lifelong reader. Over the years I’ve had the privilege to have met many committed librarians whose passion and dedication to literacy is life changing. I’m honored to be this year’s AASL ambassador for school libraries and an advocate for everything they do to make the world a better place.” Watch and share a new video from Dav on the importance of school libraries and reading.

Reading gives you superpowers!

   

Week of the Young Child 2018

This week is the Week of the Young Child. It is an annual celebration of children and early childhood education. It is hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Below are some fun suggestions to do with your children and students. Share and post ideas and pictures using the hashtag #woyc18. Enjoy!

Music Monday: Sing, dance, celebrate, and learn! Through music, children develop math, language, and literacy skills - all while having fun and being active!

Tasty Tuesday: Healthy eating and fitness at home and school! This fun, food-themed day is more about than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom.

Work Together Wednesday: Work together, build together, learn together! When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material - from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home.

Artsy Thursday: Think, problem solve, create! Children develop creativity, social skills, and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands. On Artsy Thursday, celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials - from crayons to paint, clay to crafts!

Family Friday: Sharing family stories! Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members' role as young children's first and most important teachers.

SXSW EDU Conference 2018

I am SO excited to get to attend the South By Southwest (SXSW) Education 2018 conference in Austin, TX. The SXSW conference "empowers a community of engaged stakeholders to advance teaching and learning." I will have a chance to network and learn from and with educators, leaders, business, and community individuals who all want to help our children and their futures. I will have a chance to participate in all my passions: early learning, equity, leadership, technology, and literacy!! I can't wait to share what I've learned!

Racial Equity Work in FWISD

I am so honored to be a part of the spring cohort of the Affiliate Program at Pacific Educational Group as a part of the Racial Equity work in Fort Worth ISD and Courageous Conversations. I will be working with a small group of educators in FWISD. I am also looking forward to the Hands on Peace Event tomorrow and to the Racial Equity Summit for Fort Worth on March 24th.

The Importance of a Quality Early Childhood Education

As a former Pre-K teacher and Librarian and current FWISD Coordinator, and as an Ed.D. in Early Childhood student, I am a HUGE proponent of a quality early childhood education!! It is the foundation for our children. I am so proud of the district I work in and our wonderful Superintendent, Kent P. Scribner, Ph.D. and of our Mayor, Betsy Price, as we work together as a community to ensure ALL students are prepared for college, career, and community leadership by starting with quality Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms and education. This important foundation builds up to reading on grade level by 3rd grade, which builds up to math/Algebra readiness in middle and high school, which builds up to college, career, and community leadership.

This is a link to a YouTube video of Dr. Scribner and Mayor Price as they visit a Pre-K classroom in FWISD and as they discuss the importance of early childhood education.

100X25 is FWISD's literacy initiative where our goal is 100% of all 3rd graders reading on grade level by 2025. This is a link to more information on our district webpage.

I'm so proud of my school district and community as we move forward working together to help our children!

2017 - Hopefully the Year I become Dr. Cissy L. Mattingly

Welcome to a new year! My friends/colleagues and I at Walden University are working hard to hopefully finish our research and our dissertations this year and graduate. I wish all my friends the best of luck as we work our way towards finishing this leg of our journey together!!

#DisruptRacism

Yesterday I attended and participated in the Border Crossers Training on Talking About Race in the Classroom. It was a powerful training and I am excited to share with the Racial Equity Committee in Fort Worth ISD as we move forward as a District in supporting the success of ALL Fort Worth ISD students and ensuring all students are prepared for College, Career, and Community Leadership.

One quote in particular resonated with me and I wanted to share:

"When those who have power to name and to socially construct reality choose not to see you or hear you, whether you are dark-skinned, old, disabled, female, or speak with a different accent or dialect than theirs, when someone with the authority of a teacher, say, describes the world and you are not in it, there is a moment of psychic disequilibrium, as if you looked in to a mirror and saw nothing. Yet you know you exist and others like you, that this is a game with mirrors. It takes some strength of soul—and not just individual strength, but collective understanding—to resist this void, this nonbeing, into which you are thrust, and to stand up, demanding to be seen and heard."

-Adrienne Rich, "Invisibility in Academe"

Here is a link to Border Crossers if you are interested in learning more. Here are two articles we read for the training as well as a link to a video. 

Thank you, Cissy

#DisruptRacism  #TalkingRace  @bordercrossers