Memo

To: Principal Jo Hall From: Date: Re: Judy Irwin School Library Media Specialist Steven Hornyak School Library Media Specialist Candidate Friday, March 8, 2013 Media Program Evaluation

Steven Hornyak is attending Georgia Southern University to attain his Masters in Instructional Technology. After graduation he plans to seek employment as a School Library Media Specialist. An integral part of the program he is enrolled in is to assess our Media Center using the Georgia Department of Education 2012 Library Media Program Self-Evaluation Rubric. This rubric outlines many of the essential elements of a school library program across six categories including: Student Achievement & Instruction, Staffing, Facilities, Administrative Support, and Staff Development. The rubric helps establish an efficient way of scoring each category. This memo defines the results we found for the evaluation of the Media Center here at Russell Elementary. An outline for categories that did not rate exemplary is given along with suggestions on how to move those categories to the exemplary level. Category 1 Student Achievement and Instruction This category includes indicators on: information literacy standards, collaborative planning, media staff as active teachers, media center resources, student services provided by the media center, and student achievement focus. We rated our media center as exemplary in three categories and none were rated basic. The other three categories were rated proficient. The areas that needed the most attention were area 1: information literacy standards are integrated into content instruction. The library does not currently list these standards or engage teachers in their integration into instruction. Collaborative planning was another issue of concern in this category as collaborative planning has been limited to specific units that teachers bring to the attention to the media specialist. We also found that student achievement was not discussed in the media

center programs and that this is also an area that can be focused upon to bring the indicator to exemplary status. Category 2 Staffing Due to budget cuts over the past few years we understand that staffing is a sensitive issue in the county. Since the aids have been cut from the Elementary and Middle School media centers, the tasks completed by these individuals has been placed solely on the media specialist. Despite these cuts, we found that among the two indicators in category 2, we were basic in one and exemplary in the other. The media specialist is full-time and is not employed in any other position in the school; her attention is focused solely on the media center, which is an important component of the category. The one category that we rated basic was because the rubric lists the employment of a part-time media paraprofessional which Russell currently does not have. Category 3 Facilities, Access, and Resources This category has six specific indicators pertaining to scheduled library media center access, square footage, streaming video resources, print/non-print resources, and resource management. We rated the media center as exemplary in one, proficient in four, and basic in one category. The indicator related to online resource integration we rated basic. Although our school has access to GALILEO there is insufficient evidence that it or any other online resource is implemented into curriculum. One additional category we thought needed the most attention was the indicators relating to online resource management. The current budget of the media center prevents many of the databases to be purchased. It was also noted that the media center is void of much technology outside of the student work stations in the media center, which are out dated. We found that the OPAC system is a strong program and has been overhauled by Mrs. Irwin since she started working at Russell. It was also noted that the media center does not have an interactive white board which could help teachers deliver instruction in the media center, even lessons that integrate information literacy; a key component of this category. We believe that adopting new technology could bridge the gap between the proficient and exemplary ratings in this category. Category 4 Administrative Support This category includes indicators pertaining to county wide access to media center resources and support. These board level decisions are not directly influenced by the school media specialist, and in some cases, the principal. One area that is considered just basic is policy adoption of a media committee. We were both unaware of any such committee and believe it would be a great asset to the county to form one. We also found that there was an absence of basic long-range strategic funding and planning on the county level. If these plans or documents exist, we were both unaware of them and unable to locate them. The policy manual for the media center is a great resource to all media specialists in the county and is updated on a regular basis.

Furthermore, we found that school level administration has been integral in promoting the services of the media center and has been an advocate for the program as a whole. Category 5 Staff Development Staff Development is an important part of the media center. This category includes indicators that represent opportunities for staff development for both teachers and media specialists. We found that the county and school have implemented many new opportunities for development in the field of instructional technology. There are webinars, seminars, professional learning days, and staff have been sent to technology and media conferences that cover these topics as well. We found that there was no additional need for resources in this category. Category 6 Other We found that one recent development at Russell has been the implementation of the selfcheckout computer at the front of the media center. This has been a great resource, especially for the very youngest members of the school community as it may be their very first interaction with a computer. Learning how to interact with technology in kindergarten are important skills that can help students learn how to use future technology and further integrate it into both school curriculum and their daily lives.

Suggestions for Future Improvements There were several categories in the rubric that we identified as being basic or proficient. We believe there are steps that can be taken now to bring these indicators up to a rating of exemplary. The biggest focus should be on the integration of information literacy into the curriculum. After surveying several teachers we found that information literacy is rarely taught throughout the school. A large part of information literacy integration is having the technology available to help teach and enrich the education of information literacy skills. We believe that updated work stations should be purchased so that students have the opportunity to access current hardware and software applications that enhance their education. Databases can also be purchased to further access to important information for students in their research. We have enjoyed compiling this report and welcome any discussion pertaining to our findings. Thank you.