Providing Homework Help in Your Library

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Providing Homework Help in Your Library
An Infopeople Workshop

• Patty Wong
• Deputy Director
• Stockton-San Joaquin County
• Public Library
• Patty.Wong_at_ci.stockton.ca.us
• Pattywong61_at_comcast.net

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Workshop Goals

• Identify your resources
• financial
• personnel
• administrative
• Create an effective plan to incorporate homework
  help with existing library services
• Make a commitment to begin the process

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Review Handouts

• Workshop Agenda
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Action Plan
• 40 Assets (in English and Spanish)
• Potential Partners
• Potential Funders
• Human Resource Considerations

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More Handouts

• Sample Activities for Homework Help Low,
  Intermediate and High Levels
• Evaluation Considerations
• Needs Checklist
• Offering Homework Help Services
• Webliography
• Bibliography
• Evaluation

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Agenda

• Homework Services to Offer
• Examples of low, intermediate, and high-cost
  programs
• Nuts and Bolts
• staff
• resources
• funding
• Operations
• Marketing
• Evaluation

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Introductions

• Who are you? Do you offer homework help now?
  What do you offer?
• What do you want to get out of this workshop?

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Ask Yourself These Questions

• Does your Librarys mission statement support
  offering homework help as a service?
• Do you have the resources needed to make a
  change?
• Is there demand in your community?
• Is there commitment from
• management?
• staff?

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Why Should the Library Offer Homework Help?

• The Mission of the Public Library
• The Librarys role
• community resource
• youth developer
• The Need
• community demand
• peak customer use
• public and organizational expectations
• Shrinking Resources in the Schools

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Youth Development

• How can Library staff make a difference in the
  lives of young people?

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Asset Building

• External Assets
• library staff play an important role in fostering
  external assets
• Make asset building part of your Action Plan
• Internal Assets
• library cant directly influence
• 40 developmental assets from
• Search Institute, Inc.

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Homework Help at the Library Current Services

• What kinds of service are you currently offering?
• When and how often do you provide that service?

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• Fill Out Your Action Plan section on
• Your Vision
• What do you provide now?
• When would you provide it?

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Costs and Impacts

• Get the most bang for your buck
• Costs
• low, intermediate, high
• Impacts
• low, intermediate, high

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Low Cost

• Minimal or no direct staffing
• Self-directed
• Initial need for some reallocation of resources
• May be tied to existing service or program
• Relationship with external organization for
  maximum impact

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Low Cost Examples

• Homework Help collection (self-help)
• Programs Stockton-San Joaquin County Public
  Librarys
• Homework Help packet
• Senior Project packet

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Collaboration Examples

• Starting small
• local community/university/high school volunteers
  or workstudy
• collaboration with another homework help agency
  (offering space, resources)

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Relationship Building

• California State Library sponsored
• Tutor.com free live homework assistance
  available from referrals for all California
  students
• 24/7 free reference at www.qandcafe.com
• San Joaquin County Office of Ed
• Math Tutoring

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Intermediate Costs

• Direct staff support
• Provision of expertise and guidance
• Ongoing costs
• Development of new and related services
• Strong relationship with schools and other
  partners

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Intermediate Cost Examples

• Homework Resource Centers
• dedicated materials
• space
• dedicated staffing
• Web presence with links
• Regularly scheduled programs and events

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Web-based Homework Help Sites
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High Cost High Impact

• Extensive staff involvement
• paid and volunteer employees
• Youth driven, youth development programs
• Comprehensive, full-service, multi-faceted
• Continual funding requirements
• Well-developed relationship with schools and
  other partners

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High Cost Examples

• Homework Centers full youth programs with
  homework help, enrichment and recreation, offered
  on a regular basis in the Library
• Homework Centers operating in the schools
• Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library
• Live Homework Help - full service programming for
  students, parents and teachers

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California Models

• Tutor.com (Live Homework Help)
• QandACafe.com and Other 24/7
• Web-based and electronic resources
• Full-service Homework Centers
• Combinations of services

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• Action Plan
• Fill in the section on
• Level Of Homework Help Service

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Your Vision

• What kinds of services do you wish you could
  offer?

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Questions to Keep in Mind

• What services would you like to include in your
  homework help plan?
• Who are the gatekeepers to implement the process?
• How do you introduce this program to the public?
  To staff?

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Getting Started

• Assess your strengths and needs
• Develop an Action Plan
• include all existing and potential resources
• include timelines, deadlines, roles and
  responsibilities
• commit to the process

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Assess Your Strengths

• Existing or Potential
• People
• staff, volunteers, partners
• Physical
• operations, partners
• Financial
• funding streams, partners

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People and Connections

• Who are your partners?
• Who are your allies?
• Your competitors?

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• Action Plan
• Fill in the section on
• People And Connections

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Physical Resources

• What other resources do you have?
• Equipment and materials
• Space
• Support outside services
• Publicity/marketing
• Audience

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• Action Plan
• Fill in the section on
• Inventory Of Physical Resources

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Financial Resources

• Does your library provide fiscal support for
  homework help now?
• What are the existing and potential funders for
  the program?

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Funding Resources

• Education
• School Districts
• County Office of Education
• Municipal and Government
• City and County associated departments
• California State Library
• LSTA/IMLS

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More Financial Support

• Financial institutions
• local and national foundations
• grantmaking agencies
• Library support
• Friends of the Library
• Library Foundation

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• Action Plan
• Fill in the section on
• Financial Resources

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Operations- Putting it All Together

• Staffing and roles
• What staff do you have committed to the program?
• What do they do?

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• Action Plan
• Fill out the Section on
• Operations - Staffing

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Operations - Budget

• Budget
• How many resources can you afford?
• Is your budget fixed or flexible to change with
  the needs of the program?
• Who do you need to involve in securing stable
  financial support?

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• Action Plan
• Fill out the section on
• Operations Budget

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Operations - Priorities

• What services/programs have a secondary priority?

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• Action Plan
• Fill out the section on
• Operations - Priority

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Operations Considerations - Structure

• Structure
• Is the program open to everyone?
• Is there a grade level preference?
• Will you require parental permission to
  participate?
• How do you handle waiting lists?

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Operations Considerations Service Plan

• Service Plan
• Does the Librarys Mission and Vision support the
  Homework Help program?
• Include the Homework Help program in any written
  documents concerning the Librarys Service Plan

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Operations Considerations Recruitment and
Training

• Review your staffing needs
• How do you include Human Resources in your plan
  to recruit, select, train, and retain?
• Are there any current tools that you use to
  assist these efforts?

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Operations Considerations Forms and Reporting

• Document early and often
• Share your success
• Review the Librarys current forms in use
• Think about
• teacher contact
• parent contact
• analysis

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Operations Considerations Ancillary Services

• Enrichment Activities
• Recreation Activities
• Healthy Snack

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• Action Plan
• Fill in the section on
• Operations Considerations

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What are your NEEDS?

• What are the missing ingredients in your
  organization to offering homework help?

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Marketing

• Use existing communications and public relations
  channels
• Publicize your success and needs
• community
• participants and their parents
• schools
• funders
• Assign a point person to handle the media
• Involve your staff at all levels

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Evaluating Your Homework Help Program

• Continual review
• SWOT
• Budget integration
• Staff buy in
• Communication with community
• Be responsive to suggestions - and stick with it

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Leveraging Your Resources

• How to turn an evaluation into 500k worth of
  support

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Commitment

• Keep the outcome in the forefront
• Stick to the plan and your timeline
• Involve the staff, the public and Library
  management for maximum support

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Next Steps

• Planning
• Set up your timeline
• RIGHT NOW make your commitment in writing
• Take out the sheet Offering Homework Help
  Services Immediate Action and commit to
  getting started

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Workshop Evaluation

• Please fill out the Evaluation Form in your
  packet.

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For More Assistance

• Patty Wong
• [phone]
• [phone]
• Patty.Wong_at_ci.stockton.ca.us
• Pattywong61_at_comcast.net