The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has named six US school districts as “Great Districts for Great Teachers.” To be a Great District, NCTQ states that a district must demonstrate:

“superior teacher policies across five main areas: compensation, professional support, effective management and operations, career and leadership opportunities, and support for students.” 

Two of the six districts, chosen from the over 14,000 public school districts nationwide, are home to two 2015/2016 Lilead Fellows, Jennifer Boudrye of DC Public Schools and Lynne Oakvik of Broward County Public Schools.

Jennifer Boudrye is the Director of Library Programs for the District of Columbia Public
Schools (DCPS). During her tenure as  Lilead Fellow, Boudrye focused on 3 Library Program Goals:

1. Every DCPS school library is staffed with a
   certified school library media specialist (LMS)
2. Equity in DCPS library collections to support students’ academic and personal needs
3. All LMS are instructional partners across content areas and grade levels, leaders in educational technology integration, and passionate advocates for reading

Jennifer worked tirelessly to build a coalition and meet these goals. By the end of the Fellows Program in June 2016, every DCPS library was fully staffed, $1.8 million was invested in library collections, and partnerships increased. Boudrye continues to change the perception of what libraries can and should do, positively impacting all students in her district.

Lynne Oakvik is the district administrator for Library Media programs for Broward
County Public Schools. She oversees all administrative activities of BCPS Library services, providing instructional, operational, and professional development support to 160 library media specialists in 228 elementary, middle, high school and centers. Oakvik’s project as  a Lilead Fellows focused on how library media specialists can support personalized learning. Oakvik worked on a library re-design model, with Broward’s first renovated library space opening in August 2016, as well as specialized training for library media specialists to integrate and implement a learning management system and technology integration. Although there are challenges ahead, Oakvik remain dedicated to the improvement or libraries for the betterment of the district’s students.

We know that these districts could not have become what they are today without the leadership of their library supervisors! Congratulations Jennifer and Lynne.