Keeping the Connections Electric

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Keeping the Connections Electric

• Sharon Armstrong
• Head of Library, North Park Collegiate
• Valerie Bureau
• Teacher-Librarian, Courtland Walsh
• Public Schools
• Grand Erie District School Board

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Keeping the Connections Electric

• Keeping the zap in your library program can be
  challenging when youre not scheduled full-time.
• What can you do to charge up your library program?

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Agenda

• 1. Fantasy vs reality
• 2. The challenges
• 3. Charge up to electrify
• 4. When the going gets tough, remember the
  little engine that couldIdeas, ideas, ideas
• 5. Evidence based practice tips

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Fantasy vs Reality

• The Fantasy
• a full-time teacher-librarian in every school
  (some schools do have em)
• The Reality
• I am a .x teacher-librarian - how can I run a
  great program?

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The Challenges

• Inflexible scheduling
• Prep coverage
• Lack of administration time
• Volunteers
• Lack of staffing
• Outdated materials
• Outdated technology
• Lack of funding/budget

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Inflexible Scheduling

• Research says - use the Scholastic Research
  Foundation paper studies to help educate and
  advocate decision makers
• Evidence based practice - use the tools you have
  at hand and the student success that you collect
  to forward the rationale for the need
• Collective bargaining issue - your CBC should be
  negotiating flex scheduling into your
  collective agreement if its not already there

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http//www.scholastic.com/librarians/printables/do
wnloads/slw_2006.pdf
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http//www.accessola.com/osla/toolkit/home.html
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Inflexible Scheduling

• Be creative! Look for opportunities to maximize
  the time you have.
• in elementary divide the class in half and do
  two activities at once
• alternate weeks use one week for book exchange,
  the next week to teach information skills
• in secondary trade classes
• use your prep period collaborate with teachers,
  help students, do administrative tasks

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Prep Coverage

• You have the power - use prep coverage as
  library time for students.
• book talks, book exchange
• literacy initiatives
• research skills, library skills
• information technology skills
• information management skills

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Ideas

• Kindergarten Journal
• Research Slideshow
• Forest of Reading book clubs
• Library skills
• Note-taking skills
• Software skills
• Project skills

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Lack of Admin Time

• Make every minute count - have ongoing tasks at
  hand to work on
• Block off a rotating period a day
• Recruit volunteers
• Survey teachers and students for their wish lists
  for library purchases
• Collaborate by email
• Dont reinvent the wheel
• SHARE!

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Volunteers

• Library club - student volunteers
• Class room - student volunteers
• Community hours - student volunteers
• Parent/grandparent volunteers
• Student-teacher volunteers
• Community College/Co-op work placement students

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Lack of Staffing

• Be proactive !
• join Canadian and Ontario Coalitions for School
  Libraries, People for Education
• political action (letters, M.P.P.)
• union action (educate rep, become a rep)
• TL association meet with Director or senior
  administrators
• parent council (speak, show)
• use the evidence you collect to advocate for more
  time

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Outdated Resources

• Weed collection to demonstrate need
• Create a collection development plan supported by
  statistics
• Incorporate resources as part of student success
  plan
• Have wish lists at hand share them
• Demonstrate technological limitations
• Sit on your schools IT committee

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Lack of Budget

• Create a success plan that fits the school
  board strategic plans
• Be proactive - ask your principal for money to
  support your success plan
• Present at Parent Council meetings regularly -
  ask for money support
• TL association - present to trustees, senior
  administration
• Fundraise through book fairs

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Charge Up

• Be student oriented - kids count
• Be staff oriented - teachers count
• Be community oriented - parents count
• Use what you have to make it great
• Find opportunities to connect

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Kids Count

• Keys to making kids count
• Create a warm, caring, inviting environment
• Interact with students
• Know students likes and needs
• Provide inspired, current, diverse collections

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Kids Count

• Add zap to your program
• SSR/DEAR
• Author visits
• Book fairs
• Web quests
• Thematic displays
• Battle of the Books
• Contests

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Kids Count

• Offer informal program before/ after school, at
  lunch/recess
• Reading time
• Book exchange
• Book clubs
• Help (for school projects)

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Kids Count

• Help students to achieve higher academic success
  by having a research guide available for them
  when youre not.

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Kids Count

• Writing/Poetry club
• Drama club (puppetry, etc.)
• Hobby club
• Games club
• Make and take
• Breakfast and Books
• Pen pals

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Teachers Count

• Provide helps for teachers
• when youre not there.
• Plan collaboratively with teachers in advance of
  a visit
• Create visit notices clearly defining what the
  teacher wants to do in the library
• Create pathfinders for teacher use with a class

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Teachers Count

• Send research materials to classrooms
• Display relevant resources for research topics
• Create easy to use organizers for teachers to use
  with students
• Trade classes for a period to teach skills

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Teachers Count

• Dont leave your colleagues to fend for
  themselves
• Provide the helping hand to teach them
  howin-service your colleagues on the 4 stages of
  research and your librarys resources (data bases
  etc.)

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Teachers Count

• Share new resources at every opportunity
• Always speak briefly at every staff meeting
• Communicate regularly through principals
  bulletin, newsletters
• It will take personal time

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Parents Count

• Partnerships with parents
• Family literacy
• Snuggle-up and Read
• Volunteers
• Newsletters
• Evidence of student success
• Fund raising for projects

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Community Counts

• Investigate the possibilities in your community
• Contributions
• Guest speakers
• Advertising/promotion of events
• Fundraisers

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Opportunities to connect

• Be part of every school initiative
• Be visible in school and public
• communities
• Celebrate
• -National School Library Day
• -Forest of Reading voting day
• -student success (projects, literacy,
• awards, accomplishments, excellence)

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Opportunities to Connect

• Sharing the Evidence of student success
• turn evidence into action research - share
  results
• display results
• video students in action
• share the process leading to success
• share collaboration

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I know I can, I know I can...

• There are many things you can do to make and keep
  the connections electric
• Start with baby steps - no one can do it all -
  prioritize what, how, when
• You can do it - you are magic!