Today is "my day" on social media for #dossnohassle. Let me be clear, this is an easy assignment; one that I take great pride in completing. It is an honor and pleasure to be a part of this community. I feel trusted and supported in all that I do. My time at Doss began when my daughter Jenna was in kindergarten. We made the decision to move to Northwest Hills so that our children could be part of the AHS vertical team and we are very grateful that we did. I signed up to be a room parent and while our youngest child Caleb was at the ECP, I found my niche. As a former kindergarten teacher, I loved being back on an elementary campus and enjoyed getting involved with the PTA. I took on several roles over the years as a Doss parent and member of the PTA including Read Naturally, classroom reader, Wednesday folder stuffer, Yearbook Chair, Howl Co-Chair, and my favorite: library volunteer. This is where I got to help the amazing Jane Willis. I would have never guessed that her office would one day be mine. I feel so lucky to be here now and am forever grateful to have Jane as a mentor and friend. She is my work mom and one amazing lady! Jane taught me all the things that I needed to know to be a librarian while I completed online coursework through TWU. Jane and I began job-sharing when Caleb was in third grade and Jenna was in sixth. We shared the job until Caleb completed his freshman year and Jenna graduated from AHS. I'll admit, I loved working with Jane, job-sharing was the best, and that first year full-time was rough! But, the time was right- Jane had things that she wanted to do and it was my time to do it on my own. Our campus chose to name the library after Jane and it was for a great many reasons and ever so well deserved! Jane encouraged me to make the space my own and always wanted the best for the teachers, students, families, and community.
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| Jane Wills with Bad Kitty author, Nick Bruel, Mrs. Palmer as Bad Kitty, and myself. |
So.... here we are now. I believe in advocating for our teachers and students. I support free choice, voluntary reading and am unapologetic about my belief in the value of this. This is my fourteenth year at Doss. During my tenure I have been blessed with the support of an amazing PTA! This group makes things happen. They've answered my requests over and over again. It began first with a wish to implement the Bluebonnet Reading Program on our campus. In order to have successful participation, we needed books. We typically don't spend library funds on multiple copies, but PTA supported my desire to encourage participation at Doss and thus I am never questioned about ordering multiple copies of the twenty nominated books each year. Students work hard to read at least 5 books from the list so they can vote for their favorite and attend the celebration. I thank PTA for this support and for trusting me as I make decisions that require additional funding. The next one was big! I wanted more programming and I needed extra people to help- and guess who answered the call?!!! Yep, this amazing group of volunteers provided funds for author visits and special events AND helped me with all aspects of planning, organizing, and executing. We were on a roll and were rewarded for our efforts with the Shirley Igo Award for Library and PTA Collaboration... and it's only grown since then! Along with BookPeople as a partner, we have literally brought the rockstars of children's literature to our school. I don't want to brag, but... Dav Pilkey, Doreen Cronin, Tim Green, Jon Scieszka, Ridely Pearson, Jerry Pinkney, Adam Rex, Jory John, Gene Luen Yang, Lincoln Peirce, and Andy Griffiths have been at Doss!!! And there are more, I could go on! It's just amazing!!! PTA's Read Across Doss committee (RAD) makes sure that events are publicized, books are ordered and delivered, authors are greeted and treated so well, and while I may get nervous, I know that these people are going to make sure everything goes smoothly! It is an amazing feeling to have this kind of support in your workplace. I explain it like this... and I mean it- My husband, my mother, my kids- I know they've got my back and that I can do things because I feel safe with them behind me. This group of parents, community, volunteers, it's the same! You've got my back and I cannot thank YOU all enough for that!!!
Okay- I know that you thought I was done, but there are a few more things. Firstly, if you haven't set foot in the Jane Willis Library at Doss Elementary School, well you should. I invite you in to bask in the beautiful space that I get to work in each and every day! It is a flexible, dynamic, collaborative, inviting, gorgeous space that could not have happened without the PTA! I explained what I wanted to do and why I thought we should do it and the support was overwhelming! It took a great deal of planning, time, effort and of course money and PTA made it happen. Once again, you trusted me. I had a vision and with the support of our Doss families, it came to fruition. I feel a responsibility to do great things in the space and believe that since the renovation was completed three years ago, I've made many efforts to live up to these self-imposed standards. This year alone, we've added 24 iPod touches and VR headsets and have taken "trips" to Greece, Paris, Iceland, the 7 Wonders of the World, and American Landmarks. We've used the new Padcaster to create green screen videos and others. We've also had several STEAM/STEM/maker lessons and have plans for many more! The library is a busy, busy place- we also read lots of stories and check out many books! Our circulation tops 5000 books in a month and you can trust that books are being re-shelved by PTA members daily!
And... then there's this lady! Sherrise Palmer is my morning library assistant. Many of you know her from the front office where she works in the afternoon. When our enrollment grew dramatically, PTA stepped up to help me get things done by hiring Sherrise. Her salary is paid by the PTA and she is a wonder! She never lets me down and excels at making me look good. Sometimes the job is just too big and PTA recognized that and made sure that I could handle it. See... it's that example again, of having support and feeling safe- We value that at Doss Elementary and I wouldn't work anyplace else!
I encourage you to donate to No Hassle. Our PTA is magical! They do great things and have unconditionally supported me and the library program and I am forever grateful! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please follow me on Instagram and twitter- look for @dosslibrary ~Bonnie Lang
Here's Caleb over a year ago on his AHS graduation day with Jenna.
He is now a sophomore at Northwestern and she graduated from Vassar in May and is currently working as a member of the Disney College Program. And yes, they both LOVE to read!!!!
