Anderson, Cynthia 1945-

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Anderson, Cynthia 1945-

PERSONAL: Born March 2, 1945, in Joplin, MO; daughter of Robert George (a heavy-duty truck dealer) and Mary Elizabeth (a homemaker) Smith; married Michael Ferrell Anderson, June 12, 1965 (divorced, March, 1976); children: Colin Michael, Nathan Ferrell. Ethnicity:“White.”Education: Attended William Woods College, University of Missouri at Columbia, University of Missouri at Kansas City, and University of Kansas; earned B.A., 1967, M.S., 1980, and administration certification. Politics: Republican. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES: Home—Fairway, KS. E-mail— cyndeeanderson@sbcglobal.net.

CAREER: Shawnee Mission School District, Shawnee Mission, KS, worked as librarian, elementary school principal, director of media and services, and associate superintendent, between 1978 and 2005; Linworth Publishing, Inc., Worthington, OH, editor, 2005—. Kansas Exemplary Educator Network, member, 1994-2005; consultant in education and library information management.

MEMBER: American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, Kansas Association of School Librarians.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Educator Award, Milken Family Foundation, 1994; Broadcast Media Award for television, International Reading Association, 2003; named distinguished library media specialist, Kansas Association of School Librarians, 2005.

WRITINGS

Write Grants, Get Money, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2002.

District Library Administration: A Big Picture Approach, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Cynthia Anderson told CA:“Literacy, libraries, and learning form the keystone of our democracy. Today, more than ever before, it is critical that we use our resources to build literacy, to build and staff libraries, and to foster learning. School districts are scrounging for dollars while the expectations for student learning climb skyward. Grant writing is a critical skill for educators and librarians, and yet the skill or art of grant writing is not part of pre-service education. I wrote Write Grants, Get Money to help educators get their slice of grant funds for their students. Those grant dollars can make a huge different to student learning.

“I am an avid reader. I read both fiction and nonfiction and am usually reading five or six books at once. I feel a little desperate if I don’t have a really good book near me at all times. I listen to audiobooks in the car and while walking. Writers learn by reading, so I believe in reading the masters. The more you write, the better writer you become.”