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Esprofessional ESPecially for Kids Award AEA honors an exceptional education sup- port professional (ESP) with the “ESPecially for Kids” Award. The award recognizes a classified employee for “extraordinary efforts on behalf of young people.” Linda Howard Clarkdale-Jerome Education Association Linda Howard goes above and beyond the role of school library and media center tech. Her innovative ideas and expectations have given students an understanding and respect of world cultures and instills a love for reading. Every year Howard creates a theme for the library to motivate Clarkdale-Jerome Elementary students to read, learn, and grow. She integrates this theme in several ways and across all grade levels. She becomes familiar with the curricu- lum of the regular classroom teacher and adapts her lessons both in the library and computer lab to compliment and incorporate objectives taught in the classroom. She works one year in advance to fine tune her theme. In addition, she invites relevant guests to the library as well as school assemblies. This year her theme, “Reading takes you ESP Action Be sure to check out these other stories for more opportunities to get involved and take action. 6 At the Capitol – 2011 Legislative Session Targets Teachers and Public Employees 8 Around AEA 19 In Depth Look – Faces of AEA: Association Representatives places,” focuses on geography and world cultures. She wrote letters explaining her goals and received donations from a variety of organizations and businesses including the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Disneyland, Legoland, Grand Canyon Railway, Greyhound Bus lines, and travel agencies. She enlisted the help of friends who traveled to bring items to her from their trips throughout the country and world. Howard brought flamenco dancers who performed in two assemblies for all grades and talked to the students about Spain. The children danced and enjoyed playing several instruments to accompany the dancers. In January she brought in Naomi Rose, a Tibetan author, who showed all grades K-8 a slide show of Tibet along with stories and taught the children a chant. She displayed Tibetan treasures and dressed in an authentic costume. Howard visited several cultural festivals and events in Phoenix taking away donations and items she purchased, such as African neck- laces and soccer balls from Greece, to use in 14 Fall 2011 ❘ AEA Advocate drawings for the student Accelerated Reading Program. In the fall she rewarded several students with a trip on the Polar Express. As students reach goals and milestones in their reading, their names are added to several draw- ings for prizes throughout the year and their “passports” are stamped showing they have read varied genres of books. On each of the seven library tables children find a map of one of the continents and enjoy playing Bingo Travel finding famous landmarks. This year four authors with book series are high- lighted reading, and Howard uses a game called “39 Clues” for children to explore the library for answers. A large puzzle is always on display for students to complete. The puzzles this year fol- low the theme showcasing various places in the United States and the world. Howard invited several storytellers and shows pertinent movies to enlighten students in grades K-6 about different countries and cultures. Sometimes the children enjoy a gift such as a fortune cookie or chopsticks follow- ing the Chinese New Year story, Mexican candy after watching a Day of the Dead movie, or a shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day. Other storytellers and movies are included to follow teacher or grade-level curriculum. In the computer lab Howard’s lessons include typing, grammar, poetry, word process- ing, ecology, and the solar system. Howard recently incorporated a lesson she created in a class she took by selecting and collecting items such as hats from visits to Long John Silver, organizing and presenting skills on a pirate theme to take fifth-grade students on a different kind of journey through the SCOPE research program. Since there is no real budget for our small ru- ral school library during these difficult econom- ic times, Howard has held two Book Fairs the past two years to generate funds to purchase new books for the students to read. She always tries to find ways to increase the selection of books – new or used. Linda Howard is creative, energetic, friendly, and above all devoted to her students and qual- ity public education. Her organizational abili- ties, insight, and communication skills create a positive environment for students. She chal- lenges and encourages them to excel through meaningful and interesting lessons. ✒