SLJ Talks to Mark Ray, School Librarian and Slayer of Information Ignorance

It’s not often that a school librarian shakes hands with the president, talks policy with government officials, and hobnobs with our nation’s top lawmakers—but that’s what Mark Ray, a 20-year veteran of Washington’s Vancouver School District, did as 2011 State Teacher of the Year.

Ray, a media specialist at Skyview High School, was one of 53 teachers who were recently honored for inspiring students to learn in a ceremony at the White House. We caught up with Ray after his whirlwind trip to our capital to talk about what it feels like to be singled out as one of the best teachers in our country, where his passion comes from, and some of the secrets to his success.

Did you ever imagine you’d be in Washington, DC, accepting an award for your work from the President of the United States? What was it like?

Eh, it was alright. But seriously, it was amazing! We had pomp and circumstance. The pomp included face time with President Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. We did black tie with luminaries, including [Education Secretary] Arne Duncan, [American Federation of Teachers' President] Randi Weingarten, and [trade union leader] Lily Eskelsen. Then we spent time at the Department of Education and with educational consultants thinking big thoughts about education. I wore a power suit most of the time and pretended that I was a big shot.

You beat eight other regional teachers from your state for Teacher of the Year (TOY). What does that say about the value of librarians in Washington?

I understand your question, but I’m a little uncomfortable about “beating other teachers.” All TOYs, whether they are regional, state, or national are humbled by the recognitions and are more than a little uncomfortable about being singled out. It takes us time to see the recognition for what it is—a celebration of teaching as much as a celebration of a given teacher. This time, my state gave it to a teacher librarian and that’s awesome. There is no question that the selection of a teacher librarian as state teacher of the year is historical for Washington State and cognitively dissonant at the national level. My resume aside, the presence of a teacher librarian among the best teachers in the nation forces teachers, administrators, lawmakers, and industry leaders to stop and think. What is a 21st century teacher librarian? What is the state of school library programs in my district? And in some cases, why don’t we have qualified teacher librarians in my school? I am a spanner in the works for those who believe that effective school library programs are somehow not critical to student success in this 21st century.

Your colleagues and parents describe your teaching as “transformational” and say you have a vision and enthusiasm for teaching. Where does that passion come from?

Looking for the Holy Grail, huh? As I look around Skyview High School to my teacher heroes, there are constants: a genuine respect and appreciation of each student, the belief that each student can learn, and that teachers can help students in their paths to success. I’ve noticed that teachers of the year talk less about teaching than they talk about students and speak of meeting students where they are with whatever it takes. Creating a genuine connection fosters engagement and authenticity. The best teacher librarians are no different. Like other great teacher librarians, I do everything in my power to get to ‘yes.’ And in my teaching, I am thinking about what needs to be—not what used to be.

Your principal has described you as a slayer of ignorance. Care to elaborate?

Technically, my nom de bibliotheque is Slayer of Information Ignorance (With A Black Belt in Think Kwon Do). I adopted the moniker in mock protest during the school library job title name wars of the past century. I think we’re past that now. By state statute and district convention, I am proudly a teacher librarian. And tennis coach. And information technology facilitator. And 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year. And as of this week, Manager of Information Technology and Library Services for Vancouver Public Schools.

What are some of the biggest obstacles that you’ve faced?

Mark Ray with Second Lady Jill Biden

Warning, this may not be a feel-good answer. I’m afraid that librarians are frequently our own worst enemies. All too often, through sins of commission or omission, we create or reinforce the very perceptions others are trying to change. In my work locally, regionally, and nationally, I have been working with others to frame a narrative that sometimes bears little resemblance to existing library policies, practices, and perceptions of school librarianship and school library media programs. As examples of success, we have been training and supporting our district teacher librarians over the last four years to expand librarian roles to include educational technology leadership, collaboration, and effective instructional practices. In nearby Evergreen School District, a shared process led to a new job description better aligned to district initiatives and 21st century learning needs. Both of these efforts are based on the Library Information Technology (LIT) Framework developed by the Washington Library Media Association and others including Mike Eisenberg. This narrative is simple—teacher librarians must be master teachers and the first to embrace emerging technologies, digital text, 21st century skills and innovative collaborative instruction. I agree with Joyce Valenza and Mike Eisenberg that we must not only acknowledge but cull many sacred cows that encircle our profession. When I hear stories of school librarians who are feared, dismissed as irrelevant, or who simply don’t choose to teach, I realize that in the battle of perceptions they may have far more impact on the profession than I will ever have.

How has the common core standards changed the way you work?

Common Core was a key area of study at our national TOY conference and in Washington State, teacher librarians are part of local and statewide discussions about the implementation of Common Core. As with discussions about new teacher evaluation programs, I am proud that my state organization, the Washington Library Media Association, has made sure that teacher librarians are at the table as decisions and plans are made. Common Core is another moment of educational dissonance and opportunity that allows teacher librarians to be active and be viewed as leaders among teachers.

How important is your principal to your success?

My principal—and my other legion of bosses—are the reason I am teacher of the year, that I met President Obama, and am featured in this article. She had the crazy idea that a teacher librarian is not only a real teacher, but someone who can have real impact on student learning, teacher leadership, and school improvement. To her and to the State of Washington, I am much more than a teacher librarian. This award is an affirmation of my long-held belief that we must “teach more and librarian less.” And she is living proof that administrators get it more often than we realize.

What are some of the best ways that you collaborate with your colleagues?

One of my favorite collaborations right now is a unit called CSI: Wikipedia. Working with ninth-grade tech skills teacher Lisa Schmidt, we have students choose a favorite movie and then compare how Wikipedia, IMDB (the Internet Movie Database), and a third website covers that movie. By choosing a familiar movie, students are both engaged and have the expertise to be able to effectively evaluate the websites. I travel to their classroom lab to co-teach, which takes me out of the library. What’s important is that I also went outside my usual core of teachers to connect with a different subject and population. The success of this work established a rapport with our Career and Technical Education department and I am now working with Schmidt and others as part of a team that is redesigning the course at the district level. I firmly believe that collaboration is as much about building relationships as it is about building curriculum. One thing leads to another. And if teachers don’t trust, like, or find instructional value in the teacher librarian, collaboration won’t happen. In my work at conferences, I often hear TLs complain that teachers don’t want to collaborate. I have to wonder—is the problem them or us?

How big of a role does technology play in your success as a teacher?

Again, this is a question worthy of an entire article. Since I may have started a fire, I’m going to fan some more flames. The analog/digital war is over. Digital won. Years ago. If we as teacher librarians do not wholly embrace and champion digital media, digital text, and educational technology, then we will not only find ourselves out of a profession, but be doing our students and teachers a grave disservice. Our students and teachers need expertise—not in Dewey or encyclopedias, but in Prezi, Google Docs, Evernote, Edmodo, open educational resources, iPads, eBooks, and the new apps and online services that emerge every day. In our district, I am proud to say that our teacher librarians are not only the first to learn emerging digital technologies, but are challenged to be the first to be able to share 21st century tools with their students and teachers. This year, our teacher librarians are working with district leadership to assess the viability of eReaders and to develop and expand our digital citizenship work with students. Our high school teacher librarians have worked together to develop a union catalog of nonfiction and reference eBooks. As a district and cadre of teacher librarians, we still have a long way to go, but we’re moving forward and thinking differently about our essential leadership and teaching roles.

What advice do you have for other school librarians who want to become more visible and relevant?

It’s very simple: make sure you are among the most respected, loved, and invaluable teachers in your school, make sure you can say “yes” even if your policies would lead you to say “no,” make change a daily habit, and at least one day a week, wear absolutely non-sensible shoes.

I read that your father taught at your school and your mom served lunch there. Was teaching in your blood?

I went into teaching against the advice of my father. Chuck taught junior high in the 70s with five preps including journalism, yearbook, drama, radio, speech, and various humanities. I recall him saying that if he had the chance to do it again, he would have been a school librarian. When I went back to get my teaching degree, I was set to be an English teacher. Then I took a stray young adult literature class and never looked back. I even made a point not to get a regular classroom endorsement because I knew I wasn’t going to settle for anything other than working in a school library.

Tell us about some of the work that you’re most proud of?

I have had a wonderful career as a teacher librarian, designing four libraries, training new and in-service librarians, building collections and programs, and obviously working with tens of thousands of students. And this last year has been one of a kind. As I mentioned earlier, I have recently accepted an administrative position as Manager of Instructional Technology and Library Services in my district. I am proud to say that it was a profoundly difficult decision to leave my library, my students, and my fellow teachers. That means I chose well when I ignored my father’s advice. That my district has asked me to lead some amazing work and my great teacher librarian colleagues is, like the recognition as teacher of the year, a victory for our profession, a recognition of school libraries as much as a recognition of a single teacher librarian.

This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.