An "Elevator Pitch" IRL

Usually in this blog, I write about things that have already happened. For today's blog, I'm writing about things to come.

The local news (such as The Toronto Star and CityNews) has shared that the province intends on auditing four school boards. There will be a huge meeting of the TDSB Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee on Wednesday where some decisions will be made. To help trustees make their decisions, there is a special meeting the day before. I have applied to be a delegate at the marathon board hearing on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Each delegate will only have three minutes to share their comments.

This is similar to an "elevator pitch". I am familiar with the concept. In fact, as part of one of the Additional Qualification courses that I teach, candidates are required to create an elevator pitch to promote school libraries. This specific task on Tuesday holds a lot more weight than a class assignment. I do not want to exaggerate the importance or impact of my words, but I want to do my part to ensure that, as the board scrambles to find savings, that school libraries are not included in the cuts. 

I am still waiting to see if a) I was accepted and b) when my allocated time slot will be. If I get a chance to present, then maybe I will post a copy of what I said here on my blog. 

In the meantime, if a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few images (or $7000 worth ;>) to indicate the things that go on in school libraries in a typical week.

I improved my Forest of Reading Blue Spruce loose parts provocations. This one, for "Still My Tessa" invites the participants to explore "How do you show who you are?"

This is a sample from the "More Than Words" loose parts provocation: "How do we communicate?"

This student example is from "When The Stars Came Home" and the prompt, "Where are the stars? Where is home?"

This is part of a STEM project that some Grade 8 students are working on.

This part of a McDonalds Happy Meal was the fodder for lots of discussions with the ESL students.

I brought a new tent into the library. One student thought it was the perfect place to get work done. 

This close-up is from the Earth Day clean-up initiative. I took photographs of the action.

Wish me luck with this endeavor. (This coming week is also the Forest of Reading Voting Day and the GTA Resource Fair. Busy, busy!)