SandraRosa’s questionnaire

From Downtown Magnets High School and Subversive librarian

1. What were your main goals as a school librarian. What did you hope to accomplish?

Hoped to accomplish:
Making the library the vital intellectual heart of the school.

Main goals:
Collaborate with classroom teachers in developing and delivering curriculum.

Provide a stimulating, information-rich mix of resources for students, teachers, and staff.

Readers advisory attuned to individual needs.

Provide a safe space for introverts, eccentrics, and vulnerable students.

2.  What drove you to the field?

After being laid off a corporate management job at age 47 I became an elementary school teacher. The job wasn’t a good fit and I was looking into becoming a high school English teacher. I visited my daughter’s high school to meet and observe some teachers. My daughter’s English teacher told me, “I know you, and I know a much better option for you. You should be a high school librarian. It’s the best job in K-12. It’s a secret jewel of the system. If I had known about it earlier I would have changed years ago. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to the school librarian.” That moment initiated the best 9 years of my life.

3. What was your favorite thing about being a school librarian?

The privilege of being immersed in a community of a thousand very active teenagers every day.

4. What was your biggest accomplishment as a school librarian?

Earning the trust of students and teachers so I could be a stealth educator in every moment.

5. What was your biggest struggle/setback as a school librarian?

Struggling against the decimation of the Teacher Librarian profession in California public schools, and especially Los Angeles Unified School District.

Working toward a shared planetary consciousness that heals the Earth