Michelle Colte, 2004 LIS alumni, has been selected 2014 School Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal. Michelle is school librarian at Hale Kula Elementary in Wahiawa. This prestigious award honors K-12 school library professionals for outstanding achievement and exemplary use of 21st-century tools and services. Michelle received a $2,500 cash award and another $2,500 worth of materials from Scholastic Library Publishing, the award’s sponsor.
She is featured in a cover story in the September 2014 issue of School Library Journal. The news story is available online at www.slj.com/librarianoftheyear. She stated:
I believe that being a librarian is about so much more than providing access to information and promoting literacy—it’s about helping people make connections share knowledge within the community and beyond. I hope that my passion for learning will inspire others in my field to creatively push themselves, their fellow educators and students in their schools.
Award nominations were judged by a panel of school librarians, journal editors, and industry professionals from Scholastic Publishing, and the International Society for Technology in Education.
Among Hawaii’s school librarians, Michelle is widely acknowledged as a tech innovator. She possesses an insatiable and infectious curiosity about how far she can stretch herself and others in using technology to transform learning. Last year, she was one of 50 educators worldwide selected to participate in the Google Teacher Academy held in Sydney, Australia.
Violet Harada, professor emerita, said, “Michelle is a visionary leader whose creativity and drive have motivated innovative practices. She embraces a strong commitment to her school community of students, faculty, and parents; and she engages everyone in actualizing a shared dream to prepare digital citizens, who are confident, resourceful, and caring human beings.”