A National
Need
We know that youth face tremendous challenges to
succeed in school and in life. As a nation we are increasingly
aware of the value of effective community institutions in engaging
youth, both in school and out of school.
Serving youth is core to the mission of most museums
and libraries and IMLS has a long history of grant making, research,
and convening experts to support this mission.
IMLS has statutory requirement to identify national
needs and trends; report on impact and effectiveness of programs;
and identify and share best practices.
IMLS will shine a spotlight on the role of museums
and libraries and will build bridges with other federal agencies,
the formal and informal learning community, youth development
organizations and public policy makers to help America’s
youth meet the challenges they face to succeed in school and
in life.
Together we will:
What Others are Saying
Young Americans in many communities are at
risk. Research has shown that children are less likely to engage
in risky behaviors when they are connected to parents, family,
school, community, and faith.
Laura Bush, Summit on Helping America’s
Youth October 27, 2005
What will it take – what must happen,
what resources are needed, and what obstacles overcome –
to build and sustain a rich variety of high-quality out-of-school
learning opportunities for children and families, especially
for those with the least access to such opportunities?
Children are most likely to benefit if they
and their parents are able to put together a mosaic of positive
experiences.
From: A Discussion Paper for the Wallace
Foundation Symposium on
Out-of-School Time Learning. Washington, DC April 21, 2005
State policymakers increasingly recognize
the important contributions high quality extra learning opportunities
can make toward education, youth development, workforce, and
prevention priorities.
Supporting Student Success: A Governor’s
Guide to Extra Learning Opportunities,
National Governors Association, 2005
The question we must ask is, in addition to
quality schools, what non-school learning resources should we
invest in and scale up to improve educational outcomes, narrow
achievement gaps, and equip our children with the knowledge
and skills needed to succeed in the complex and global 21st
Century?
Issue: Heather Weiss, Complementary Learning,
Harvard Family Research Project, Spring 2005
Background
The Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) has a long-standing commitment to funding grants
and to sponsoring research on the subject of how pre-school
and school-age children learn, and how museums and libraries
provide positive environments for learning.
Since 1997, IMLS estimates it has
spent more than $250 million on projects that engage youth in
productive, educational activities and that improve their skills
and relationships.
Surveys on museum-school collaborations,
published as “True Needs, True Partners,” (1998
and 2002). http://www.imls.gov/resources/alpha.shtm#t
IMLS funded research on “Learning
in Museums” (Museum Learning Collaborative) (2000) which
resulted in new research models for museum education and established
the Museum Learning Collaborative (http://museumlearning.com/default.html)
to share literature on learning in museums. This research undertaken
by Gaea Leinhardt, and Karen Knutson of the University of Pittsburgh
led to the publication of Listening in on Conversations in Museums,
AltaMira Press, 2004.
The White House Conference on School
Libraries, June 4, 2002 was a landmark event that brought together
leaders from the fields of education, library services, government,
and philanthropy to highlight the importance of schools libraries
in children’s education. The proceedings of the conference
were published by IMLS documenting the essential role of school
libraries in student achievement.
IMLS and the Association of Children’s
Museums co-hosted the symposium “The 21st Century Learner:
The Continuum Begins with Early Learning” September 18-19,
2003. The symposium brought together representatives from the
museum, library, public television, early learning and lifelong
learning communities to encourage the development or strengthening
of local learning collaborations. Attendees to the symposium
were encouraged to attend in teams of community partners (e.g.
a representative from each field -- museums, libraries, and
public broadcasting). http://www.childrensmuseums.org/programs/21_century.htm
In August 2004 IMLS convened “Charting
the Landscape, Mapping New Paths: Museum, Libraries and K-12
Learning,” the proceedings of which were published
in 2005. More than 70 educators, researchers, policy makers,
and museum and library professionals attended this workshop
examining the intersections of museums, libraries, and K-12
education. The resulting report captures the key issues that
emerged at the workshop, highlights seminal project and partnership
examples, and provides some common language around a vision
for how museum/school/library collaborations can contribute
to a learning society.
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