SWPR Group

In recent years, librarians have earned a reputation for creating vibrant learning environments that extend far beyond books. Now these resourceful innovators are helping district leaders share the impact their strong library programs are having with systems, with the goal of sustaining the viability of their programs into the future.

This piece by library advocate Jennifer Miller for eSchool News offers tips for telling the full story of library impact through:
▪️ Circulation data to demonstrate student engagement with their collections
▪️ Collection analysis to showcase the strengths of their resources and areas of focus for future growth
▪️ Diversity and demographic data that illustrate how closely their collections and programming align with their students’ characteristics

We’re grateful to the support of Follett Software in helping share Jennifer’s expertise with a wider audience. Read "Demonstrating impact with data: How librarians can make the case for increased funding" here: https://www.eschoolnews.com/innovative-teaching/2026/05/21/librarians-can-make-the-case-for-increased-funding/

Demonstrating impact with data: How librarians can make the case for increased funding After years of spending all their time on smartphone screens, today’s students are heading back to the school library for a range of reasons.

Measuring the success of a new district-wide initiative can be daunting. To avoid having to rely on anecdotal and qualitative results that amplify successes while masking challenges, leaders must ensure the tools for gathering and analyzing comprehensive are set up from the start.

Because Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, put in the hard work up front, the district was able to show results like these from the first year of its Journey to Success implementation:
▪️80% of fifth-graders met “Ready” or “Excelling” criteria for demonstrating their next steps to achieve future goals.
▪️82% of eighth-graders were “Ready” or “Excelling” in their ability to reflect on how their learning journey helped them develop knowledge of content and standards.
▪️Among seniors, those numbers were 92% and 91%, respectively.
▪️In addition, 85% of seniors were able to analyze how their skills can be applied personally and academically.

In their piece for DATIA K12, Elisabeth Read and Dr. DeNay Speaks describe the JCPS Journey to Success initiative and explain how the district’s partnership with Otus brought together assessments, data, and progress monitoring from 150 schools into one centralized platform where measurable outcomes were defined. https://www.datiak12.io/student-success/article/15821514/how-accessible-data-and-greater-student-agency-helped-one-district-pave-a-journey-to-success-for-every-child

How Accessible Data and Greater Student Agency Helped One District Pave a Journey to Success for Every Child A new competency-based developmental framework is having a transformational impact in Jefferson County Public Schools.

This is a challenging time in higher education. But hope and enthusiasm rippled throughout the room when OPB hosted a Think Out Loud broadcast from the Linfield University campus in Oregon. https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/29/think-out-loud-liberal-arts-education-student-debt-unemployment/

Students and professors from Lewis & Clark College and Linfield joined the conversation with OPB’s Dave Miller, Linfield President Dr. Mark Blegen, and Lewis & Clark Executive Director of Community Partnerships Sarah Warren.

SWPR CEO Sarah Williamson was thrilled to be able to join this lively and thought-provoking discussion in person.

Is a liberal arts education worth it? Student debt in the U.S. has risen dramatically in the last few decades, while recent college graduates are having a harder time finding work. We sit down with students, faculty and administrators from Linfield University and Lewis & Clark College to ask whether a liberal arts degree is still worth....