AWM Librarian completes ‘Declaration of Learning’

AWM Librarian completes ‘Declaration of Learning’

State Department announces successful first year of curriculum program

Arkansas Department of Education U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announces the successful conclusion of the first year of the “Arkansas Declaration of Learning” program, a first-inthe- nation, public-private partnership that works collaboratively with school librarians and educators in the fields of art, English language arts, and social studies to develop innovative curriculum that brings history and art to life and shares the importance of civic engagement with students in grades 7-12.

Through this program, teachers have the opportunity to work with historic art and objects from national and state partners to develop innovative lessons for their classrooms and school libraries that inspire student learning.

Arkansas is the first state in the country to participate in this national program; all states are eligible to participate, and others are already in the pipeline.

On Monday, teachers and school librarians who participated in the program were honored for their work at two special events in Little Rock, at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.

The events celebrated the success of the 26 participants, highlighting their work, feature presentations by some of the program’s exemplary educators, including Academies of West Memphis librarian Norrita Langston.

Objects and art selected for the program were used to illustrate national and statebased stories that vibrantly demonstrate the many ways our nation valued civic engagement during its formative years, as well as the importance of this continued focus today. A special focus of this program is to engage students in active learning that teaches the importance of stewardship and civic engagement in the life of their community at the national, state, and local level. The program is led by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms and is part of a national Inter-Agency Educational Initiative that began when representatives from 13 national partnering organizations signed the “Declaration of Learning” in 2013.

This document pledged that the U.S. Department of State, the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, and 11 other national organizations would work with state and local partners to co-create learning tools for educators and students in middle and secondary education using historical art and objects from their respective collections and best practices in education.

From Drew Bailey