Standards for Elementary School Programs

The following standards for elementary school media programs are to be used by principals of schools who are making application for Provisional, Accredited, or Accredited WithQuality status for programs in their schools.

I.

Organization 1. A school day consists of at least six hours, exclusive of lunch and recess periods. (A minimum of a school day of four-and-one-half hours is acceptable for grades one through three. Schools may operate on shortened schedules up to one day for each grading period for teacher-parent conferences.) 2. The Media Center has a minimum of 10 books per student or a minimum of 7 books per student and an annual expenditure of $2.00 or more per student for computer disks, video cassettes, video disks, film strips and other non-print media. 3. The organization of the Media Center collection and the school schedule facilitate maximum use of the collection by pupils during all school hours.

II.

Personnel

1. All teachers employed on a full-time or part-time basis as instructors in the school hold, as a minimum, a Georgia professional certificate or a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 semester hours of professional education. An exception may be granted for those teachers issued permits by the Georgia Department of Education. This standard may also be met by teachers with bachelor's degrees completing 6 semester hours per year of appropriate professional education until 18 semester hours of credit are obtained. 2. Schools with between 201 and 250 students have one person assigned at least one-half time to media services. 3. The qualifications and assignments of Media Specialists conform to the following provisions: Enrollment Up to 250 251 to 375 Qualifications A minimum of: 12 semester hours in Media 12 semester hours in Media Time in Media Center A minimum of: One-half day Full-time

376 to 750 751 to 1,000 1,001 and above

15 semester hours in Media masters degree with S-5 or 15 semester hours in media masters degree with S-5 or 15 semester hours in media

Full-time with half-time clerk Full time with full-time clerk Full-time with full-time clerk and 1 associate media specialist

An elementary school that is a part of a combination school has media service allocated on the basis of the total enrollment of the combination school. 4. Persons employed as paraprofessionals, auxiliary helpers, or teachers' aides are under the direct supervision of a professionally qualified person. 5. All teachers who do not hold current Georgia teaching certificates and who have been employed by the school or school system for five years or more, have received at least 6 semester hours or 10 quarter hours of college credit, or 10 Continuing Education Units, or 100 contact hours in locally approved professional development activities within the past five years. 6. The elementary school curriculum includes objectives that facilitate the development of proficiency in: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. listening, expressing ideas effectively and creatively, reading well, writing legibly, spelling accurately, speaking clearly, thinking critically, figuring accurately, observing carefully, solving problems, participating in groups, keeping healthy, enjoying aesthetic experiences, and living in a pluralistic society.