Lois Lenski Covey Foundation

2012 School Library Grant Application

Hutto Middle School 5-6 School name ____________________________________________________ Grades served _________ 1201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Bainbridge GA 39817 Address _______________________________City__________________ State ____ Zip _____________ http://huttomiddle.dcboe.com/ School website address _________________________________________________________________

A. TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY

Tell us about the community in which your school is located. (Setting, economic conditions, and special circumstances are appropriate.)
Hutto Middle School is a public school located within the city limits of Bainbridge, Georgia. It houses both fifth and sixth grade students that are residents of Decatur County. The county also includes the small rural towns of Attapulgus, Brinson, and Climax. The county has a population of about 27, 800 people with over 25% of the population below poverty level. The average household income ranges between $17, 800 to $33, 300. The populations consists of 56% White, 42% African-American, 6% Hispanic, and 2% Other races. The county also has a large migrant population, and this causes a considerate student population fluctuation during certain seasons of the school year. The county is continuing a transition period after the completion of a new high school facility, the shift of grade levels to different schools, and the closing of two school facilities. Transportation costs and state/federal budget cuts have caused the district administrators to use teacher furlough days and decrease budgets for some divisions within the school district. Since Hutto is one of the schools that went under the grade level transition, it is necessary that the media center be changed from a 6th through 8th grade level, to a 5th and 6th grade level.

B. TELL US ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL

817 Number enrolled ______ 64 Percentage qualified for free or reduced lunch programs _________ %

12 Percentage of students reading below grade level: _________%

Specify the percentage reading below grade level in individual grades:

N/A N/A N/A N/A 12 11 N/A N/A 1st ____%; 2nd ____%; 3rd ____% 4th _____%; 5th _____%; 6th _____%; 7th _____%; 8th _____%

Tell us about pertinent school challenges and achievements. (Evidence of outstanding service to children is appropriate.)
Hutto Middle School made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the requirements of the state of Georgia for the 2011-2012 school year. The school made an increase in the areas of Reading and Language according to state and local reports. The school qualifies as a Title I School for the state of Georgia, and it is monitored and assessed successfully each year. The school also received a grant for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program and is currently teaching new concepts related to the STEM standards. The school maintains an outstanding gifted student program in accordance to state guidelines that enhances and accelerates gifted learners. The students are involved daily with learning based on Common Core and Georgia Performance Standards. They also take part in music, band, art, health, physical education, and career skill courses. Parent involvement is encouraged through parent workshops, Parent-Teacher Organization events and fundraisers, and school family events, such as "Tiger Family Night" each year.

C. TELL US ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

14 Age of facility: _______ years 2618 Square footage of library: __________

40 Number of hours per week library is open during the school year: __________ hrs. 1 Number of full time library staff: _____
Master's Degree in School Library Media Training of full time library staff: __________________________________________________________

1 27.5 Number of part time library staff _____, who work a combined ______ hours weekly. Associate's Degree, on the job media training Training of part time library staff: _________________________________________________________

Please attach a two photos representative of the interior of your library. If you cannot provide photos, explain why here:

(Photos are provided as an attachment with document)

Number of library computers for students to use:

35 _________

290 Number of student computers elsewhere on campus: _________

(This includes all computers for students; including those in computer labs on campus no matter their location, computers on mobile computer carts, and classroom computers set aside for students.)

Number of individual pre-K through 8th grade students that use the library at least once a week: 800 _________ individual students
(A number must be provided. It is important that this number accurately reflect the use of the library by individual children. Please estimate, as accurately as possible, the number of children that use your library in a weeks time. Do not count multiple visits as separate children.)

How many childrens books (books published for children pre-school through 8th grade) are in your 21,380 collection? _______ (Do not include reference books, text books, or classroom collections.) In what condition are the childrens books? Provide percentages.
5 ___ % Excellent (new and in good condition)
45 ___ % Good (not new, but in good condition)

47 ___ % Fair (well used, but not overly-deteriorated) 3 ___ % Poor (significantly damaged, close to unusable)*

*If more than 10% of collection is in poor condition, provide explanation:

What special programs does your library offer children to encourage reading and library use:
The media center offers school-wide reading incentive programs. The "Millionth Word Challenge" offers a donated prize or reward for the first students to read one-million words in both the fifth and sixth grades. The "Top Accelerated Reader" awards offer small rewards, such as candy, cupcakes, pencils, bookmarks, etc., for students who reach monthly milestones or monthly reading goals. The reading and language teachers offer reading incentives in the classrooms, also. Students who reach an allocated number of words (each reading level and grade level vary the required word count) are given small incentives, such as "Tiger Paws" to collect for prizes, extra free time, or free snacks from the grade team's snack cart.

D. TELL US HOW LLCF GRANT FUNDS WILL BE USED

What type(s) of childrens books do you need?
The media center is in need of new and current nonfiction books, especially for the newer 5th grade student population. The science and mathematics area contains many books that need to be updated and replaced in both sections. The science collection needs to have many subjects made more current and appropriate for 5th grade reading levels. The mathematics nonfiction collection is limited and needs to be added upon to create variety that includes 5th grade standards. The social studies section needs to be updated and newer editions covering foreign nations need to be added. The sports section has received more wear and tear than the other sections, and many books are in poor condition. These need to be replaced with newer versions.

How was this need determined?

The media center is still in process of converting from a 6th through 8th grade media center, into a 5th and 6th grade media center. The media center has been working on transferring some materials from the elementary schools, but many of the materials are inadequate. The media center has also sent many materials to other media centers, and has lost some numbers in materials. The current collection is not adequately stocked to meet all of the student's needs at a 5th grade level, especially for those reading below grade level. The current changes in Common Core Georgia Performance Standards has also caused a need to upgrade and update the current nonfiction section. The reading percentages now require 55% nonfiction books and 45% fiction books.

How many childrens books are needed, at what total cost?

190 Number of books: _______ 1200.00 Total cost: $ _______

How has this cost determined?
The books were chosen according to age/grade level, reading level, and content area. The 5th and 6th grade learning standards were used to choose book topics. Collections were created for areas of science: Earth science, physical science, solar system, animals, ecosystems, and microbiology. Social studies areas included U.S. History, foreign countries, and current conflicts and wars. The mathematics collection included addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, fractions, decimals, and concepts. Cultural and current biographies were also included. Appropriate age/grade level and reading level books were chosen for each content area.

What special plans (events, displays, publicity) do you have to use the acquisition of additional books to encourage greater library use and foster a love of reading?
The media center encourages parents, businesses, clubs, and organizations to donate books and media to the media center. These donations are recognized by listing the donation sponsor and year inside the book cover. The Parent-Teacher Organization also performs fund raisers to assist in raising money for the entire school. This money is often used to order new books and technology for the media center. The media center also uses an annual Scholastic Book Fair to raise funds. The money raised is used to buy books for the media center, and parents are encouraged to donate books in their, or the child's, names.

E. TELL US ABOUT YOUR LIBRARY BUDGET

What are your historic and projected expenditures for the purchase of childrens books? (Books published for children pre-school through 8th grade.) Use the table below to document dollar amounts from the last three years, and your projected amounts for
2012-13. Do not include a hoped-for Lenski Covey grant in 2012-13 projected amount. If your budget includes monies for non-literature items (overhead lamps, supplies, etc.), do not include that portion.

Budgeted *
2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10
6000.00
6000.00
6000.00

Grants
0
0
0

$ Donations
300.00
300.00
0

Other Income **
0
1500.00
1500.00

Total ***
6300.00
7800.00
7500.00

5500.00

5500.00

* dollars provided by the administrators of your library ** other fundraising such as book fairs, bake sales, etc. *** total of previous four columns

Complete budget information is required. We cannot accept applications where any of the above cells are blank; use 0 if appropriate. Provide the source of grants of $1,000 or more:
No grants.

Provide explanation of budgets that contain zero dollars, and any drop in budgeted dollars of over 50 percent:
No drops in budget over 50%.

F. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (optional)

If desired, give additional information that you feel would be useful to our directors in considering your application by attaching no more than one extra page. The appended page needs to contain explanatory text that you have written yourself. Do not append book lists, printouts of state/local income data, or collection age lists. Check here if you have opted to add information:

How did you learn of the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation library grant program?
Book Grant Recommendations from Scholastic

For the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation's future use (not for 2012 applications), we would be interested in knowing if you have the capability of submitting your grant application and photo attachments electronically?

Yes No
Melissa Brock Media Specialist Candidate 555-5555

Name of contact person ___________________________ Position ____________________

me@email.com

Contact email address ____________________________ Phone number _______________ Date: _______________

10/ 29/12

Signed:_______________________________________________

Melissa Brock