(Cazenovia, NY – March 2013Schnablsnapshot) Cazenovia High School Principal Eric Schnabl will become the first building principal to receive the School Library System Administrator/Advocate of the Year Award from Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES.

The award honors an educational administrator or library advocate in the OCM region who has made significant contributions to the school library program.

Schnabl is being recognized “for demonstrating innovative administrative initiatives in the area of school libraries and the importance of the library connection to instruction,” said Marcie Mann, interim coordinator for the OCM BOCES School Library System.

To be selected, the award recipient must implement policies and procedures for the advancement of school libraries/librarianship; exhibit educational leadership; initiate positive action and change; exercise a high degree of effective interpersonal skills; foster growth of school library media specialists; demonstrate an understanding of current library practices; possess vision regarding future trends in school librarianship; and promote and support the library media program.

In her nomination letter, Vicki Reutter, librarian for Cazenovia High School, commended Schnabl for not only advancing the high school’s library program, but also the school’s educational standing.

With Schnabl at the helm, Cazenovia was ranked third for academics in Upstate New York by Business News and was awarded the 2012 NAAE Outstanding Secondary Agriculture Program, named the 2011 Model School for Project Lead the Way, ranked 154th in New York state high schools by U.S. News & World Report, and named an Outstanding Secondary School by the U.S. Department of Education, Mrs. Reutter writes.

In her letter, she also highlights Schnabl’s ability to recognize the importance of a library media specialist in helping a school adjust to the curricular demands created by the new Common Core Standards.

“Basically, I feel he has been a strong literacy advocate for our school, and has definitely supported my program on a daily basis,” Reutter said. “We’ve had budget cuts and staff cuts, and I know he has taken these to heart and tried to come up with creative solutions.”

As an example, Reutter cited the principal’s decision to approach teachers’ aides with an innovative idea for library staffing.

“His interpersonal skills paid off when we had staff cuts, and there was no one to staff the library after school,” Reutter wrote in her nomination letter. “Mr. Schnabl went literally door-to-door, asking staff members to adjust their hours to cover the library, and was successful finding an aide to agree.”

When Cazenovia High School English teacher Christie Brenneck needed additional copies of a novel that was added to the curriculum, Schnabl came to the rescue.

“Previously, the 12th grade teachers had taught different units at different times in order to share books, but we were still short,” Brenneck said. “As we had no funds for additional books that year, Eric went to Barnes & Noble and came in the next day with two bags filled with books for my students.”

OCM BOCES Superintendent J. Francis Manning will present the award to Schnabl during an award ceremony May 8 at the OCM BOCES Henry campus.

“His program support, moral support and respectful treatment of students, staff and teachers are just a part of his hopeful and positive nature, making it a pleasure to work with him,” Reutter said.

By martha

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