Agenda Item
u. Proclamation: School Library Month DeKalb County School District (DCSD) Library Media Specialist of the Year and DeKalb Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (HRRB) 27th Anniversary ~ Added 5.5.2026
Summary: Presented by: Mrs. Deirdre P. Pierce, Immediate Past Chair, District 3
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education proclaim April as School Library Month in the DeKalb County School District and recognize the vital contributions of school libraries, teacher-librarians/school librarians, and library support personnel to teaching and learning. Additionally, it is requested that the Board of Education recognize the DCSD 2026 Library Media Specialist of the Year, Mrs. Shaina Gilley, teacher-librarian at Allgood Elementary School. We also request recognition of the 27th Anniversary of the DeKalb Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, including its participants, coaches, volunteers, and planning committee. Finally, we request recognition of the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA) Administrator of the Year, Ms. Sheveeta Bonner, Principal of Druid Hills Middle School.
Why: DeKalb County School District recognizes April as the month to celebrate school libraries, library personnel, school library program supporters, and the 27th Anniversary of the DeKalb Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition.
Details: School Library Month exists to:
Recognize the contribution of school libraries and their teacher-librarians to the individual growth and development of all students while fostering both excellence and equity in education;
Celebrate the unique learning environments and opportunities available to our students and communities through the work of school librarians and reading competition;
Promote intellectual freedom by providing materials to meet individual needs, varied interests, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds and maturity levels of students served;
Encourage lifelong learning as developed through library media programs in our elementary and secondary schools;
Honor Mrs. Helen Ruffin, a dynamic and innovative Library Media Specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School in DeKalb County, who in 1986 created a unique and competitive reading competition called The Reading Bowl. Her vision was to have teams, comprised of students from different schools, compete to test their knowledge of select books. Twenty-seven years later, it has grown into a statewide competition with local, regional and state competitions known at the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition.
Contact: Dr. Kia Billingsley, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Teaching & Learning
Proclamation School Library Month, April 2026
WHEREAS: April 2026 has been designated as the annual Na onal School Library Month with the theme
Excellence is Our Story: School Libraries Leading the Way, highligh ng the mission of school library
media programs to ensure that students and staff are effec ve users of ideas and informa on
through tradi onal and emerging technologies; and
WHEREAS: The teacher-librarians and library media assistants of DeKalb County work to provide high-quality
school library media programs, teaching students to locate and use informa on, promo ng
literature apprecia on, fostering recrea onal and content-based reading, and ensuring intellectual
freedom by offering materials that meet diverse needs. interests, abili es, backgrounds, and
maturity levels of all students; and
WHEREAS: The DeKalb County School District recognizes outstanding leadership and excellence in library
services, including Mrs. Shaina Gilley, the 2026 Library Media Specialist of the Year, whose work
demonstrates strong collabora on, technology integra on, and celebra on of student reading; and
Ms. Sheveeta Bonner, the 2026 GLMA Administrator of the Year, whose leadership is evidenced
through her support of library personnel, reading engagement, celebra ons, collabora ons, and
partnerships; and
WHEREAS: On Saturday, February 7, 2026, 62 teams- 44 elementary, 8 middle, and 10 high schools- par cipated
in the 27th annual Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl at Southwest DeKalb High School, with Ki redge
Magnet School and Chamblee High School advancing from the Metro Regional to the State
Compe on on March 21, 2026, demonstra ng the district’s con nued commitment to literacy and
academic excellence;
THEREFORE: By this ac on, let it be known that the DeKalb County Board of Educa on hereby proclaims April
2026 as School Library Month in the public schools of DeKalb County and calls upon administrators,
teachers, and ci zens to recognize, support, and par cipate in this celebra on throughout the
month of April. It is so proclaimed, and in official recogni on whereof, we affix our signatures this
20th day of April 2026.