Ashley Brewer

Fall 2016

School Library Program Assessment

Part 1: Program Analysis
I began with evaluating the Robert Moton Media Center using the AASL
School Library Program Assessment Rubric. I found that RME scored strongly
in Teaching for Learning: our alignment to school wide goals, the
encouragement of stakeholder participation, and our reading initiatives all
reflect the areas I focused on in my first year in the Media Center. Visitors to
the media center find it welcoming, accessible, and engaging. It is a
wonderful place to learn in our building!
This year, Id like to focus on some of our weaknesses in our
Technology Infrastructure within the Computer Lab. The Lab is adjacent to
the Media Center, but suffers from limited use. This is partially thanks to our
abundance of mobile technology: we have 7 Mobile Computer Labs, allowing
each grade level to have its own shared lab for student use in their
classrooms. It is, however, also a result of the age and design of the
Computer Lab. At a recent meeting with the Technology Services
representative for our building, we discussed that the desktops in our lab
(the majority of our class set) will be slowly phased out this year: there will
be no more updates for these machines. After following up with our
administration, it was determined that any replacements or additional
improvements to the space would have to be incorporated into next years
budget: well need to use what we have for the remainder of this school year.
I would like to redesign this space to best fit our RME community and
to once again make it a highly desired learning area. Our RME Mission
statement reads: In order to develop independent, successful learners the
RME community will motivate, communicate, and collaborate to provide a
consistent approach to 21st century learning. This Lab Redesign could update
our space to more closely align with this mission. It would allow me to take
on more of a leadership role as a change agent, while also contributing to
our administrations shared vision for this space adjacent to the Media
Center.
Part 2: Goals and Objectives
Based on the weaknesses of our Technology Infrastructure of the Computer
Lab, the following three goals and objectives will guide my redesign:
Prior to any physical changes to the lab, the Computer Lab Redesign project
will be shared with the RME community for shared input during the month of
October.

Ashley Brewer
Fall 2016

o The School Librarian will communicate with administration to determine a

shared vision for the redesigned space.
o The School Librarian will communicate the reasons for the updated lab
with stakeholders via emails and staff meetings to establish the reason for
the lab redesign.
o The School Librarian will collect staff, student, and community feedback
on options for this shared vision via several online surveys to further
guide the redesign.
o The School Librarian will use data collected to create and share a final
Computer Lab Redesign Floorplan during this school year.
The Computer Lab will be redesigned during the month of November to be a
unique learning space that attracts classroom teachers to visit it frequently,
rather than an additional space for 1:1 student to device use.
o The School Librarian will coordinate with Technology Services to
correctly remove old desktops from the space.
o The School Librarian will coordinate with the Building Supervisor to
rearrange the existing furniture to determine what is still needed and
what will be removed.
o The School Librarian will use existing furniture, laptop computers and
Planar touchscreens to create a unique, collaborative learning space.
o The School Librarian will work to implement the Redesign Floorplan by
the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
The Computer Lab redesign will be a means to advocate for increasing
budgeting for collaborative tech for this space for the 2017-2018 school year.
o After implementing the no-budget redesign, the School Librarian will
work collaboratively with the school administration to incorporate staff
suggestions and improvements using the 17-18 budget.
o The original changes to the space will demonstrate the essential
nature of this collaborative learning space, and the value of investing
in its continued improvement.
Part 3: Assessment Tools
Feedback from staff and adult stakeholders will be collected using the
following online survey tool:
The following Survey Monkey survey was created to evaluate current uses of
the lab by staff and adult library stakeholders, and desired functionality for
redesign: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8DL86MM The following page
contains the student design survey I will use. I will ask for student design
options as part of our Student Voice in Media Initiative.

Ashley Brewer
Fall 2016

Computer Lab Redesign: What would you like to see in our space? What
would you use the most? Sketch your ideas below using the following key:
Rectangle tables (with room for computer cords)
Wheelie chairs

Laptop Work Station

Touchscreen Work Station

Wall White Board Space

Draw Your Design in the Space Below:
Door to
5th Grade

Door to
Media

Ashley Brewer
Fall 2016

Part 4: Data Summary and Analysis

During the month of October, teachers and students all had the
opportunity to provide input for the redesign project. Teachers were
reminded via email, and during Faculty Meetings. Students were given Media
Class time to sketch and share their ideas. On October 31st, I met with our
administration to share the results of the survey, and a sampling of student
sketches.
Teacher responses on our survey reflected the great need for this
project. 60% of teachers who completed our survey agree with a general
evaluation of the space as Not effective, I do not use this space. On
questions of how to improve the space, most teachers who responded voted
for a Collaborative Tech Space where students could work together on
shared devices and with shared materials. Almost all comments left on the
survey emphasized the desire for small group space for classroom assistants
and support teachers.
Our student sketches yielded a variety of creative responses: from an
indoor recess or class reward space to a Makerspace Lab. About 60% of
students focused on the same theme as our teacher responses: a flexible
space for small groups to work together outside of their classroom areas. I
selected 5 designs at random from the sketches to share with administrators
at our meeting on the 31st.
At our meeting, the administrators and I decided on the plan on the
following page for our space. We felt that this design provided the most
flexibility and met the most needs identified by our survey tools, while using
the materials currently in the lab.
This month, the Building Supervisor and I have begun work on moving
out the old, and rearranging. We plan to finish by the end of the month, to be
ready for testing in the spring.

Ashley Brewer
Fall 2016

Computer Lab Redesign for Remainder of 2016-2017 Year

White Board for
Projector

Door to Media

Laptop Work Station:

5 Student Laptops

Touch screen work

station: 1 Planar
Screen, 1 laptop

Open Group Work

Station (no laptops:
pencils, scissors,
and other supplies)

RME Printer
8
Door to 5th

Projector hookup station

Ashley Brewer
Fall 2016

Part 5: 2017-2018 Goals

Plans for our 17-18 lab are already underway! Classroom teachers and
I have already begun advocating for the possibility of this space to our
county supervisors. As STEM education is emphasized, our Elementary
Science Supervisor has provided us with grant funding to build our Maker/
STEM materials. As this area of interest grows, the potential of a
collaborative learning space takes shape.
For our administrations planning purposes, I provided literature on
flexible learning furniture that can be easily rearranged. This literature was
collected through conversations with my classmates in SLM, and also at the
October Maryland Association of School Librarians Conference, who hosted
vendors specific to designing 21st century learning spaces. We plan to meet
again in the spring to reevaluate our budget.
I am looking forward to continuing this project to redesign our library
space. Teaching and learning are constantly changing as new technology
becomes available, especially in our Title 1 School. The library is in a
wonderful situation of advocating and then implementing changes that will
best meet these needs as they become apparent. Although our lab started as
an outdated, barely used space, I hope that with my next program analysis,
this Collaboration Lab is an outstanding example of a 21st century learning
environment.
Works Cited
"A Planning Guide for Empowering Learners with School Library Assessment
Rubric." Empowering Learners (2010): n. pag. American Association of School
Librarians. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.