Jennifer LaGarde

I'm not a librarian, and I haven't been a teacher in almost twenty years. But I'm still intrigued about how great schools happen and the role that books play in that drama. Two weeks ago, I got to spend time with Virginia school librarians at their annual conference in Williamsburg. Here are a few of my favorite takeaways. Library Girl fighting against Zombie librarians everywhere! If you're not already doing so, follow Jenifer LaGarde's blog or her twitter handle. Jennifer is an Educator on Loan for the NC Dept of Instruction. That means she travels the country as a mentor and lecturer, helping librarians develop the subversive skills they need to become the beating heart of their schools. She fights stereotypes, the Dewey decimal system and use of late fines with the same fervor Batman takes to the Joker - and she's figured out how to turn her innovative library programs into hard data that principals can't ignore when it's time for the budget ax. All that, plus a killer sense of humor. She's definitely worth following. My fellow Virginia author Natalie Dias Lorenzi introduced us to Padlet as a way to engage students with multicultural lit in the classroom. Natalie is the author of Flying the Dragon, but she is also a teacher with 19 years of experience. She uses the Padlet site to help middle school students connect with the  characters and stories they're reading. She walked us through building a custom-made Padlet comment wall, where students can post reader responses, ask…