It’s School Library Month, which makes it a perfect time to share a news item about Jane Jergensen, the library media specialist at Lena Vista Elementary.
(Bonus tidbit: Jane’s daughter, Courtney, is a media specialist at Jesse Keen Elementary. It runs in the family!)
Jergensen was chosen last year to serve on the selection committee for Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA) program, a statewide initiative that encourages students in grades 3-8 to read independently for pleasure and fluency. A committee of qualified school librarians selects the official list of SSYRA books each year.
Being on the committee means having to read up to 300 books before narrowing it down to a final list of 30 books chosen as the official SSYRA selections (15 books are designated for elementary schools, the other half are for middle schools). The SSYRA list for 2021-22 will be revealed on April 30.
Jergensen said the extra reading required of a SSYRA committee member helps keep her connected with students.
“I only read the books that my students can read, because I want to be able to talk to them about what they’re reading,” she said. “I want to find just the right books!”
With Jergensen’s 15 years of library experience (six at Lena Vista), we’d say the SSYRA program is in good hands.