Three AECSD Educators Present at Conference in Croatia

Three Auburn educators recently attended and presented at the annual International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) conference, held this year in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Genesee Elementary School librarian and innovation lab coordinator Anne Mlod, Auburn High School library media specialist Victoria Calarco, and Auburn High School science teacher Christina Calarco were among over 500 conference attendees representing over 40 countries. The three presented on how to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into makerspaces, innovation labs, libraries and classroom instruction. The SDGs are a set of 17 global priorities set by the UN General Assembly in 2015 to address world issues like poverty, hunger, the environment, health, education, and justice.

“It is important to help students become globally competent because they will be our future leaders and problem solvers; thanks to technology, they are able to communicate with people all over the world,” Mrs. Mlod said. “I want them to learn about the world, understand others’ perspectives, be able to communicate with people around the world and be motivated to take action on the world’s problems. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, in conjunction with books, is a great framework for teaching these concepts to my elementary students.”

During their trip, Mrs. Mlod, Ms. Calarco and Miss Calarco explored Croatia and shared their experiences with students through a travel blog. They shared photos and descriptions of local food, animals, culture, and the surrounding environment and visited a Croatian school, comparing Croatian students’ experiences to those of students in Auburn. Through the blog, students were able to ask questions about Croatia throughout the trip and get answers from their teachers across the world. The Croatia blog can be found at www.auburngoesglobal.org.

“This trip has inspired us to continue efforts to embrace global citizenship, collaboration, and student empowerment in all of our classrooms,” Ms. Calarco said. “We hope to share our passion with our students, colleagues, and community.”