Strategic Management Plan

FRIT 7331

by Carmen McQueen, Emma Stephens, & Nicole Whitney

Section I: Description and Analysis of the School Library Media Program

Section II: School Library Media Center Philosophy/ Mission Statement

Our Mission:Positively impact student achievement by establishing instructional partnerships, implementing evidence-based practice, and providing reliable resources in an environment welcoming to all stakeholders.

Our school is located in a school system with a county-wide media center mission statement (see above). Therefore, no statement specific to our school exists. The county-wide statement is a great foundation and provides a thorough description of the purpose of the media center. Although this statement does mention resources and the learning environment, more specific wording could make this a stronger statement. This mission statement is vague in noting the connection between the media program and the local learning community and beyond. It notes all stakeholders, which may include the community and larger learning environment. However, more specific wording would make the statement stronger. Another area that would be important to add is the idea of fostering a love of reading in children.

Overall, the countys mission statement is a good, general statement but can be improved with more specific ideas and wording. In researching various mission statements from other media centers, additions were identified to strengthen the mission statement. Therefore, a more school specific mission statement for our school might be:

The purpose of the Floyd Middle School media center is to positively impact student achievement by establishing instructional partnerships, implementing evidence-based practice, and providing reliable resources in an environment welcoming to all by: developing real and virtual access to appropriate, high-quality resources and services during and outside the school day creating facilities that are conducive to learning partnering with parents and the community to teach students to skills needed to live in and contribute to a global community fostering a love of reading by helping students make social connections through reading, broadening their knowledge base and interests, and expanding reading for informational and recreational opportunities teaching students with the most up-to-date instructional technology opportunities fostering an appreciation and respect for the use of technology in school teaching students the skills related to instructional technology that will prepare them as they progress through school and into their careers building an encouraging and enriching environment where the students feel comfortable and challengedThis new statement represents a media center program that addresses the needs of the 21st century learner.

Section III: School Library Media Center Services Overview

Floyd Middle School Library Media Center Policies and Procedures 2014 ~ 2015The Floyd Middle School Library Media center is an integral part of the instructional program of this school. Our MISSION is to support the curriculum and to ensure that students and faculty are effective 21st Century users of ideas and information. The primary role of the Teacher~Librarian is to teach information seeking strategies and research skills within subject areas that support the curriculum, while collaborating with classroom teachers.1. Our Media Center utilizes a flexible schedule based on the needs of the curriculum and classroom teachers. In order to reserve the Media Center for collaborative classes, special events, and classroom checkouts, pleasesign up at the circulation desk. If you would like for Mrs. Bobbitt to be involved in your class or activity, please schedule time for collaboration with her in advance. She welcomes collaboration andco-teaching!2. Checkouts / Checkins:Studentsmay exchange booksby visiting the Media Center during homeroom, after school, and throughout the day during the week with a signed pass.3. Teachers may sendsmall groups ofstudentsduring the day to the Media Center forOpen Check-Out, reading, and research. Students must sign in at the circulation desk and have signed hallpasses that state their expected return time. 4. Please see Mrs. Bobbitt in advance if you need to make special arrangements for a small group of students to work in the Media Center or ifyou need to send a student to the Media Center to make-up a test or an assignment; the Media Center may not be available at the last minute.5. Because we all want our students to be able to access reliable information on the Internet safely, pleasedo notsend students to the Media Center unsupervised to use computers in the Media Center unless you have made arrangements with Mrs. Bobbitt; otherwise,students will be sent back to class. Teachers arewelcome to seeMrs.Bobbitt in advance to schedule time in the Media Center soshe canwork with small groups of students who need to use computers. 6. Teachers who need several resources pulled for a particular project may request a reserve cart. Please allow at leastone school day for us to accommodate these requests. When we have advance notice of a project or unit of study, we are able to locate the best resources.7.Please refer to the Copyright Policy for W-S/FCS for Fair Use Guidelines. You must have written approval from school administration before showing students Videos/DVDs. All Videos/DVDs must have instructional value and be integrated into specific lesson plans.8. Teachers will submit DVD/Video reservation requests at least one day in advance. Last minute requests will be handled only if time allows.9. Please let Mrs. Bobbitt or Mrs.Stewart know if you have signed up for time in the Media Center but will not be coming.10. Check-out: Students may check out up to two books at one time for personal use for a three-week period. Additional books may be checked out for research. Students may renew items for three more weeks. It is recommended that teachers not check out books and then loan them to students.11. Lost or Damaged Materials: Students are responsible for the materials they check out. Ifthese materials are lost or damaged, students will be charged a damage fee or a replacement fee. If a lostbook isreturned within three months, the money will be refunded to the student; after three months, the money will have already been spent to replace the lost book and a refund will not be issued.12. Overdues and Lost Materials: Students with overdue materials and/or fines will not be allowed to check out resources or attend dances, field day, etc.until the overdue materials have been returned to the Media Center or until fines have been paid.13. Behavior: In the Media Center, students are expected to practice the Three R's: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Be Responsible.Circulation Policy-There is no distinction between grade levels in the circulation policies. Since this is a middle school, only students in grades 6th-8th are included. In regards to the checking out of books, policies have been set that the students must adhere to. Students can check out up to two books at a time for personal use. However, if additional books are needed for research, students are allowed to check out more books. The check-out period is 3 weeks and students can renew items for three more weeks whenever they wish. Students are completely responsible for the items they check out. If any media center materials are lost or damaged the student will be charge a replacement fee. However, if a lost book is returned within 3 months students will receive a refund. If a student has overdue materials and/or a fine, they will not be allowed to check out resources OR attend dances, field days, etc. until those materials are returned and fines paid. The media center highly values internet safety and because of this students are not allowed to use the computers in the media center unsupervised unless they have made arrangements with the Media Specialist. The staff wants the students to be technologically proficient, so groups of students are encouraged to come to use the computers under the supervision of the Media Specialist; it just needs to be a scheduled time. There is no policy concerning BYOT and this is something that should be addressed. A suggestion would be to have a policy that personal devices are not allowed unless there is a permission slip from the students teacher and parent. At this time the media center does not offer E-books and this is an area that should be added. Scheduling- The media center offers flexible scheduling based on the needs of the students and teachers. It allows teachers to reserve the media center for special events, classroom wide checkouts, collaborative classes, etc. Students can come to the media center during homeroom or after school for reading, research, approved computer use, etc. However, if it is during school hours, students must have a signed hall pass that clearly states their allowed time in the center. Services- The media center encourages the teachers to utilize the media center and the media specialist as resources. The media center staff are always available and willing to lead classes on research, instructional technology, etc. There is a large amount of resources that can be used in the classroom. With advanced notice, the media center staff will reserve a cart and have the teachers resources prepared. There is no mention of services offered to parents of diverse patrons (students with disabilities) in the media center policies. This is something that needs to be considered and added to the services. An addition to the policies for consideration would be to encourage parents to come to the media center with their child or children after school. It could be called Parents Hour and the parents and students could check out books, work on research project, etc. or just relax and read a book together. As far as students with disabilities, the media center staff could receive specialized training in how to best meet the needs in the media center for disabled students. Project Enable is a wonderful resource that provides free training for librarians worldwide on how to create inclusive and accessible libraries that meet the needs of all students. Ethics and Legal Principles- The media center has a strict policy regarding the viewing of videos and DVDs. All teachers must have written approval from the school administration prior showing videos to students. All videos must also have instructional value and be relevant to specific lesson plans. The policies do not currently go deeper than that as far as ethics and legal principles. A needed addition to the policy should include clear-cut expectations such as, All students will be given the opportunity to check out and read any book that is included in the Media Center and The media center usage history of each student is to remain private knowledge, made only available to the parent or guardian of the student. The media center policies are a good starting point but there is vast room for improvement. The policies of media centers must reflect the 21st century learner and there needs to be significantly more focus on technology standards and usage. The policies also need to encompass a greater focus on the rights that students have, the ethical principles the center needs to reflect, and more detail overall.

Section IV: School Library Media Center Facilities As of right now, there are many wonderful aspects of the media center at our school as well as several areas that need updating. This is the media specialists second full year, and with many budgetary concerns, she is doing what she can with the resources that are provided. Overall, the media center has a positive learning environment. The decorations are simplistic. While there are posters and dcor pieces on the walls, they are minimal and most of the dcor and displays do come from student work displays. The media center could afford to add more dcor to the room and on top of bookshelves. The media specialist and para-pro work diligently to provide the school with a student centered Media Center for students by being open to questions, concerns, and suggestions. This contributes to the overall positive climate. The media center is laid out and organized to have the feel of a classroom. The main aspect that contributes to this atmosphere is a central learning station that includes a projector and table area for the students with a teacher station (a podium). Students also have working areas located in back of the media center with paper, pencils, scissors, and different color media (markers, crayons etc.) There are two computer banks with soft, rolling ergonomic chairs. Each computer bank has 20 computers (at Floyd this is considered a class set) with a chair for each computer station. In the middle of the computer banks is an area for students to sit and work at tables. This is also the area that is used for lessons and instruction. Generally this organization works well; however, the amount of tables limits the amount of movement and collaboration that can be done within this area. This area can hold up to 36 students and because of the table organization leads to overcrowding during collaboration opportunities. There are 9 rectangle tables with 4 chairs at each table located in this area. With the exception of the chairs at the tables and the computer chairs there are no couches or comfortable areas for students to utilize as reading or working space. The books are organized on shelves on the back half of the media center with perimeter shelving as well. Because of the organization of the shelves there is a large, empty area of the Media Center that is not being taken advantage of. The county in which Floyd Middle School is located has a large technology initiative, so access to technology is not a weak point within the media center. There are two banks of computers each with a class set of 20. This allows two classes of students (around 45 students) in the media center at one time. This is utilized frequently by multiple disciplines. The two content areas that tend to collaborate the most are Social Studies and Language Arts across all grade levels. Most days there are multiple classes in the media center working on interdisciplinary activities. Students can also check out ipads from the media center for use during one class period (the must to stay within the media center.) In the table area, there is a large screen and projector for instruction. Wireless technology is integrated throughout the school so students can connect to the Internet using their phones or ipads at any location within the building. An additional positive aspect regarding the media center is the natural lighting. The Media Center has a large glass panel window located on the outside wall of our media center that lets in a large amount of light. The circulation desk is set up against the middle wall of the media center. Students with wheel chairs or walkers have adequate space to move both through the library and between shelving. The only issue with room in the media center for students in wheel chairs or walkers is the table area, where the tables are close to one another and the shelves surround them. Also, because of the large windows, it tends to stay either cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer. Virtually, our media center does an adequate job at providing students with resources and tools online. The media center website has a great explanation of destiny, and how to find books using student Lexile Levels. There is also a large section for free research and practice tools; such as IXL, BrainPop, and Skills Tutor that students can access via the media center website. However, filtering is still a large issue at Floyd. Popular and useful sites, such as Youtube, are blocked to both students and staff. Students have passwords to all of the programs accessible at school so they can access resources at home as well. In addition, teachers are required to maintain a blog that is updated weekly with content updates as well. Overall, the elements that work well within the media center are the access to technology (especially the double banks of computers) and the amount of space available to students and teachers. This Media Center was an addition to the school during a campus wide expansion a few years ago. It was built with size in mind, making it larger than most current media centers. The biggest change that could be made would be use of space and decorations. There is a considerable amount of space that is not used to its full advantage and sits empty a majority of the time. This area could be used for additional seating using comfortable chairs and couches. While the media center provides an environment that is conducive to learning, it is not attractive. Aside from the natural appeal from the large windows, there are minimal dcor pieces and the library has a plain feel too it. Section V: Budget Using both the school media specialist and the Cobb County School District budget website all sources of income that contribute to the media center have been included. The most current budget available to the public is Fiscal Year 2013 media allotments. The FTE (Full Time Equivalent) for Fiscal Year 2012 Materials allotment is as follows:

$12.40 x (FTE-269) + $5000= School Allotment Along with the school allotment, the media center has income from school book fairs. This is the first year the school is having a book fair twice a year. Normally a fair is done one time a year, in the fall. Depending on how much is sold through the fair, the school gets to keep a certain amount as profit. The school does not have any other forms of income other than grants completed by the media specialist. She recently received a grant for headphones with microphones. Also, sporadic donations from stakeholders are common but not completely reliable. Grants and donations are potential sources of income for the Media Center. With the rise of technology, media center use and reliance, and reading needs from students, it is believed this is a sizeable budget because of the population of our school. However, there is definitely a need for more reliable income. Most of the computers and technologies that are in the Media Center are left over from other parts of the school and are received from grants in different departments that are housed in the media center due to space. The library is also in need of newer books and a larger Spanish section as well as more furniture.

Section VI: Stakeholder SurveySurveySurvey Monkey was used to develop a teacher survey for stakeholders at the school. The purpose of the survey was to gather teacher opinions about the media center and provide direction for the future of the media center. The survey was anonymous. The link to the survey was emailed to twenty teachers via school email. No incentive was offered for completion of the survey. Eight teachers responded. The link to the survey is below:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RDW5SYNResultsThe results of the individual questions of the survey are included below:

Questions 9 and 10 were open-ended questions. Question 9 was as follows: What obstacles have you encountered/do you envision when collaborating with the media specialists. Four out of the eight participants responded to this question. Results found the following obstacles/potential obstacles: too many distractions, lack of time, and lack of knowledge of subject matter. Question 10 was as follows: How can the media specialist or the media center better serve you as a teacher? Three of the eight participants responded to this question. Results include the following: more technology resources/web 2.0 tools, more training on technology in the classroom, and more and better communication.InterpretationQuestion 1 found that the majority (75%) of teachers schedule time in the library on a weekly basis. However, it seems collaboration between classroom teachers and the media specialist is rare with the majority of respondents indicating they never collaborate with the schools media specialist (62.5%) or never invite the school media specialist to co-teach in their classroom (75%). The media specialist is recognized as being useful by helping teachers learn new information seeking skills (37.5% indicated the media specialist teaches new information seeking skills monthly). The majority of teachers (62.5%) prefer the media centers budget should be allocated on hardware including computers, printers, tablets, etc. The majority of respondents indicated they very strongly agree (37.5%) or strongly agree (37.5%) that they usually find what they need when visiting the media center. The most used resources in the media center, according to our respondents, are fiction books (37.5%) and computers/printers (37.5%). The large majority of respondents find the media center staff helpful and approachable (62.5% strongly agree and 25% agree). Based on results of this survey, the media specialist has obstacles to address in order to increase collaboration with teachers. This includes the perception of a lack of time, a lack of specific subject material knowledge, and too many distractions. In the future, teachers would like an increased level of communication with the media specialist, more technology training in the classroom, and more technology.

Section VII: Planning for the futureFloyd Middle School- Media Center GoalsLong Range GoalShort Term ObjectivesRationale & Evaluation

1. Create an environment within the media center that encourages the responsible use of technology as well as a deep appreciation for literature. 1a. Rearrange the library to provide space to create a reading area. Purchase comfy furniture and accessories for the reading area.

1c. Hold a contest for the students to submit artwork depicting, in the medium of their choice, their favorite novel. The top 5 works will be framed and displayed in the reading area.

1d. Create and display advertisements to be placed around the school to remind students of the Media Center and all it has to offer. Provides space and seating that enhances and encourages technology use, leisure reading and browsing, and us of materials in all formats

Creates a friendly, comfortable, well-lit, aesthetically pleasing, and ergonomic space that is centrally located and well integrated with the rest of the school.--Empowering Learners pg. 33

With this addition of a reading area as a short-term goal, we are filling a void in our media center. Our computer and technology areas are sufficient and used daily by our students, however we completely lack an area that is comfortable and designated for leisure reading. Additionally, we will be partnering with the art department to hold and judge the novel art contest.

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status of these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016 school year. We will include the furniture updates in our budget request for that school year.

2a. Work with the Teachers and Administration to encourage overall collaboration in the classroom and the media center with the Media Specialist to meet curriculum goals.

2b. Create a grade-specific library and technology curriculum that will be drafted and implemented in collaboration with teachers.

2a. The Media Specialist will begin to hold How to Utilize our Media Center seminars once a month for teacher and administration.

2b. The Media Specialist will attend all grade level teacher meetings where she will have an opportunity to present collaborative ideas.

2c. Form a Media Center Committee with the Media Specialist, teachers from each grade level, administration, parents from each grade level and students representatives from each grade level to keep abreast of the most up to date resources. This committee will make decisions on what programs or tools would best serve our students.

2d. The Media Specialist will strive to collaborate with a different teacher every week.

2e. The curriculum will be drafted to ensure that every student is reaping the full benefits the media center can offer. The school librarian works with members of the school community to develop the policies, practices and curricular to guide student learning. The School Librarian guides instructional design by working with the classroom teacher to establish learning objectives and goals

-Empowering Learners, pg. 17

Works with administration to actively promote, support, and implement collaboration.

Seeks input from students on the learning process.

-Empowering Learners, pg. 20

These short terms goals are in place to meet the overall goal of increased collaboration. There is a lack of communication in our school between what is available to teachers and what is actually utilized. Our media center is relatively up to date on instructional technology resources that are readily used by our students but not our teachers. We desire to see communication and collaboration increase so that our students can reap the benefits that comes with a cohesive school. We also desire input from students and members of the community.

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status of these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016 school year. The once a week collaboration will be implemented as a requirement during the pre-planning period of the 2015-2016 school year.

3a. Purchase and grow our collection of quality resources and books to support our curriculum and encourage a love of reading in our students.

3b. Strive to grow a love of reading in every student that will prepare him or her to be successful students and people in the future. Readers are leaders. 3a. We will survey the student body as a whole to find out what they want to see on our shelves.

3b. Present a budget plan to the administration to revamp our selection of books.

3c. Peruse and research the possibility of using an e-books program for our supply of I-pads.

3d. Host a volunteer Saturday where students, teachers and members of the community can attend. We will sort through our existing literature collection to find books that are in need of repair or replacement. We will donate books that need to be replaced. This event can count to our students community service hours.

3e. Develop an incentive program within our school that encourages reading. The library will contribute to student reading by providing access to current quality materials on a wide range of reading interests and abilities. The program will use incentives to make reading a lifelong, intrinsically motivating activity for all students.

-The Indispensible Librarian pg. 38

Acquires and promotes current, high-quality, high-interest collections of books and other reading resources in multiple formats.

-Empowering Learners pg. 21

Our media center is a relatively new build and is quite large. We have room to expand our collection and provide our students with more options to help foster in them a love for reading.

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status of these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016 school year. We will include the furniture in our budget request for the 2015-2016 school year.

ReferencesAlabama Department of Education. (2008). Alabamas School Library Media Handbook for the21st Century Learner. Retrieved fromhttp://alex.state.al.us/librarymedia/Library%20Media%20Handbook.pdf

Arlington Heights School District. (n.d.). Library media centers. Retrieved from http://www.sd25.org/pages/sd25/Departments/Menu/Student_Learning/Library_Me dia_Centers

Cobb County School District. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/librarymedia/

Georgia Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.gadoe.org/Pages/Home.aspxEmpowering Learners- Guidelines for School Library Programs. (2009). Chicago, Ill.: American Association of School Librarians.

Johnson, D. (1997). The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School Media Centers. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Pub.

National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/index.aspx

New Canaan High School. (n.d.). New Canaan High School Library Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=32925&

Program Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.cobbk12.org/librarymedia/budget/index.htm