Pat Dedicos's School Library Honored

Pat Dedicos, School Librarian at Twin Lakes Academy Elementary School in Jacksonville and former NEFLIN Board President, was honored recently when her library was visited by Dr. Nancy Everhart, American Association of School Librarians’ President and recognized on the AASL Vision Tour.

Pat says, "We are proud to be one of only 35 school libraries in the country to be distinguished as an “Outstanding School Library”, and the only one in Florida."

The Vision Tour is Everhart's idea to showcase exemplary school libraries across the nation. The Twin Lakes Academy Elementary School Library Program was chosen as an "outstanding" Florida school library by FAME (Florida Association for Media in Education).

On her tour, Everhart's goal is to gain support for Learning4Life (L4L), AASL's national plan for implementing the "Standards for the 21^st Century Learner" and "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs." By touring exemplary school libraries, Everhart hopes to raise the profile of what an outstanding school library can do for students, as well as the school and local community. She also hopes to create a celebrity roster of well-known educators, organizations and public figures as advocates for school librarians and their programs.

The American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.The mission of Twin Lakes Academy is to inspire the Wildcat LEADers to Learn-Excel-Achieve-Dream.

The vision of Twin Lakes Academy library states: “By analyzing and evaluating information, Wildcats are leaders who become learners for life.” Its library mission reads “Guided inquiry connects the curriculum to the world.” Twin Lakes Academy Elementary is dedicated to improving student achievement in all areas on all levels.