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Neil Gaiman‘s bestselling urban fantasy novel Neverwhere has been restored to the curriculum at New Mexico’s Alamogordo High School (AHS), ending a temporary suspension due to a parental challenge. The book remained available to students in the library, although it had been pulled from English classes for several weeks until a review committee found it to be suitable and age-appropriate for study.
Investigative journalist Amanda Ripley, author of The Smartest Kids in the World, shares highlights of her research into the world’s top performing educational systems—Finland, Korea, and Poland—and what the US can do to replicate that success. The Common Core is a great place to start, she says, but for real improvement, administrators, educators, parents, and students need to agree that education matters.
AASL needs volunteers for its conference next week in Hartford, Connecticut. The New York Public Library has launched new after-school programs. AAAS/Subaru have announced finalists for the SB&F Prize for children’s science books. Kid lit submissions are being accepted for the PEN Literary Awards. Through November 15, ALA seeks nominations for its cutting-edge library practices technology award.
American students’ skill levels in mathematics and reading have risen marginally since 2011, according to the National Center for Education Statistics . However, The Nation’s Report Card: 2013 Mathematics and Reading shows challenges to student success remain. Gains in reading have not quite kept pace with those in math, and achievement gaps are still evident between racial/ethnic groups and among states.
Lerner Digital has launched its Lerner Digital eReader App for Android devices, featuring more than 3,000 available K–12 ebook titles across many interest areas and genres. The app, which is available free in the Google Play Store, is the Android equivalent of the app that the publisher debuted for the iPad in October 2011.
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) is launching two national surveys—one for school librarians, one for stakeholders—in order to examine ways that the two groups view the profession and to, ultimately, “provide a refreshing and inspiring image” of school librarians and school library programs.
In just a few weeks, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will finalize the soft launch of its long-awaited badging program, which aims to provide a uniquely interactive opportunity for skill-building in its seven Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth. YALSA hopes the program will be fully launched by January, Linda Braun, the project’s manager, tells SLJ.
The parent who objected to the use of Isabel Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits in North Carolina’s Watauga High School vows she will appeal the decision of a school advisory committee, who voted unanimously last week to retain the book. Notably, however, the parent also says that the book should not be banned, only that it should not be required reading for students at the high school.